Cascade diffusion theory of sink capture fluctuations during irradiation of a solid
Fluctuations in the number of defects captured by sinks in an irradiated solid, that arise because of the stochastic nature of collision cascade events, are analyzed. Two types of sinks are considered, cavities (or voids) and dislocations. The importance of the physical size of the sink is emphasized, as also is the magnitude of the fluctuations in defect capture relative to the behavior of its statistical mean. In particular, it is shown that the ratio of the variance to the mean, for either a cavity or a dislocation segment, decreases rapidly as overall steady state is approached. Further analytical and computational aspects of a shell model that we introduced earlier are analyzed. The relationship of this model to a truly random system is established, and additional calculations are presented to exemplify some of the features predicted by the mathematical analysis. Importance functions describing the spatial origins of the point defects contributing to the average concentration and flux are described. The probabilities of special types of cascade coincidences are developed. The application of the present formalism to the problems of void nucleation, and dislocation climb over localized obstacles, in irradiated solids is indicated.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 6108807
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-6123; ON: DE85006953
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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