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Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations of Fecu Alloys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

C. Domain
Affiliation:
EDF – DER Département EMA, Les renardières, F-77818 Moret sur Loing Cédex, [email protected], [email protected]
C.S. Becquart
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Métallurgie Physique et Génie des Matériaux, UMR 8517, Bât. C6, Université Lille I, F-59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cédex, France, [email protected]
J.C. Van Duysen
Affiliation:
EDF – DER Département EMA, Les renardières, F-77818 Moret sur Loing Cédex, [email protected], [email protected] Laboratoire de Métallurgie Physique et Génie des Matériaux, UMR 8517, Bât. C6, Université Lille I, F-59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cédex, France, [email protected]
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Abstract

The steel vessels of pressurized water reactors are embrittled by neutron irradiation. It is well known that copper atoms play an important role in the embrittlement and that different Cu- containing defects such as Cu-rich clusters (sometimes called atmospheres), Cu precipitates and Cu-vacancy complexes have been identified experimentally. It is still difficult to link the formation of these defects to the primary damage resulting from the neutron inducing displacement cascades. Therefore, we investigate the evolution of the primary damage in FeCu alloys using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations based on a vacancy diffusion mechanism. The calculations rely on adapted, phenomenological, n-body potentials that satisfactorily reproduce properties of FeCu. At room temperature, experimentally identified defects such as Cu-vacancy complexes (one Cu atom bound to three or four vacancies) form in the course of our simulations. Furthermore, it appears that complex defects such as a Cu atom linked to two vacancies are very mobile and are responsible for the formation of small Cu clusters.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

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