Defect structures induced by high-energy displacement cascades in γ uranium

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.09.016· OSTI ID:1162226

Miao, Yinbin ^[1]; Beeler, Benjamin ^[2]; Deo, Chaitanya ^[3]; Baskes, Michael I. ^[4]; Okuniewski, Maria A. ^[5]; Stubbins, James F. ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States) Dept. of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
2. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States) Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
3. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States) Dept. of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
4. Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State, MS (United States) Dept. of Aerospace Engineering; Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos (United States); Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
5. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Displacement cascade simulations were conducted for the c uranium system based on molecular dynamics. A recently developed modified embedded atom method (MEAM) potential was employed to replicate the atomic interactions while an embedded atom method (EAM) potential was adopted to help characterize the defect structures induced by the displacement cascades. The atomic displacement process was studied by providing primary knock-on atoms (PKAs) with kinetic energies from 1 keV to 50 keV. The influence of the PKA incident direction was examined. The defect structures were analyzed after the systems were fully relaxed. The states of the self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) were categorized into various types of dumbbells, the crowdion, and the octahedral interstitial. The voids were determined to have a polyhedral shape with {110} facets. The size distribution of the voids was also obtained. The results of this study not only expand the knowledge of the microstructural evolution in irradiated c uranium, but also provide valuable references for the radiation-induced defects in uranium alloy fuels.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1162226
• Report Number(s): INL/JOU-14-33541; TRN: US1500181
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 456, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
IRRADIATION
KNOCK-ON
MICROSTRUCTURE
SHAPE
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
URANIUM-GAMMA
DEFECTS
ATOMS
URANIUM ALLOYS
MOLECULAR DYNAMICS METHOD
KEV RANGE 01-10
KEV RANGE 10-100
POTENTIALS
VOIDS
DISTRIBUTION
ATOMIC DISPLACEMENTS
INTERSTITIALS
SIZE