Molecular-Dynamics Analysis of the Mechanical Behavior of Plasma-Facing Tungsten

Weerasinghe, Asanka; Martinez, Enrique; Wirth, Brian D.; Maroudas, Dimitrios

doi:10.1021/acsami.2c20795

Title: Molecular-Dynamics Analysis of the Mechanical Behavior of Plasma-Facing Tungsten

Journal Article · Tue Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2023 · ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c20795· OSTI ID:2000072

^[1]; Martinez, Enrique ^[2];

^[3];

^[1]

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)
Clemson University, SC (United States)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

We report a systematic computational analysis of the mechanical behavior of plasma-facing component (PFC) tungsten focusing on the impact of void and helium (He) bubble defects on the mechanical response beyond the elastic regime. Specifically, we explore the effects of porosity and He atomic fraction on the mechanical properties and structural response of PFC tungsten, at varying temperature and bubble size. We find that the Young modulus of defective tungsten undergoes substantial softening that follows an exponential scaling relation as a function of matrix porosity and He atomic content. Beyond the elastic regime, our high strain rate simulations reveal that the presence of nanoscale spherical defects (empty voids and He bubbles) reduces the yield strength of tungsten in a monotonically decreasing fashion, obeying an exponential scaling relation as a function of tungsten matrix porosity and He concentration. Our detailed analysis of the structural response of PFC tungsten near the yield point reveals that yielding is initiated by emission of dislocation loops from bubble/matrix interfaces, mainly 1/2<111> shear loops, followed by gliding and growth of these loops and reactions to form <100> dislocations. Furthermore, dislocation gliding on the <111>{211} twin systems nucleates 1/6<111> twin regions in the tungsten matrix. These dynamical processes reduce the stress in the matrix substantially. Subsequent dislocation interactions and depletion of the twin phases via nucleation and propagation of detwinning partials lead the tungsten matrix to a next deformation stage characterized by stress increase during applied straining. Furthermore, our structural analysis reveals that the depletion of twin boundaries (areal defects) is strongly impacted by the density of He bubbles at higher porosities. After the initial stress relief upon yielding, increase in the dislocation density in conjunction with decrease in the areal defect density facilitates the initiation of dislocation-driven deformation mechanisms in the PFC crystal.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States); Clemson Univ., SC (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR). Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0018421; OIA-1655740

OSTI ID:: 2000072

Journal Information:: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Vol. 15, Issue 6; ISSN 1944-8244

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
plasma-facing materials
plasma-exposed tungsten
mechanical behavior
helium implantation
molecular-dynamics simulation
bubbles
defects
porosity
stress
tungsten

Title: Molecular-Dynamics Analysis of the Mechanical Behavior of Plasma-Facing Tungsten

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