Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 December 2011
The effects of ion irradiation damage on dislocation generation and propagation in austenitic stainless steels were studied by means of in situ transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography. Tensile samples were irradiated in situ to a dose on the order of 1017 ions/m2 with 1MeV Kr+ and strained at 300 K as well as 673 K. Dislocation motion through the irradiation-obstacle field was jerky and discontinuous, dislocation pile-ups formed in grain interiors and at boundaries, long straight dislocations were generated decorating the channel-matrix walls, and dislocation cross-slip within the channel created debris along the channel leading to channel widening. Electron tomography was applied for the first time to reveal new detail about the dislocation reactions in the channel wall.