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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 February 2011
Energetic particle irradiation may induce athermal processes in addition to the thermallyactivated single atom addition or subtraction events considered by classical nucleation theory. Displacement cascades could destroy sub-critical precipitates. Similarly, either displacement cascades or energetic knock-on atoms could remove single atoms or groups of atoms from subcritical clusters.
Cluster destruction becomes significant in nucleation when the probability of destruction is comparable to the probability of growth by single atom capture. The model is applied to the nucleation of embrittling precipitates in pressure vessel steels. The scaling of accelerated embrittlement tests on the basis of displacements per atom is found only sometimes to be applicable. Athermal single atom loss, as in ion mixing, may appreciably reduce the nucleation if the rate of loss approaches or exceeds the rate of solute atom capture.