Model-based quantitative methods to predict irradiation-induced swelling in alloys

TL;DR

This paper introduces a model-based approach to predict irradiation-induced swelling in alloys, enabling safety assessments and material screening for nuclear reactors by translating low-dose data to high-dose conditions.

Contribution

The authors develop a new defect absorption model and quantitative methods to predict high-dose swelling from low-dose data across different particles and dose rates.

Findings

Established a universal parameter for alloy swelling resistance.

Predicted high-dose swelling behavior from low-dose experiments.

Provided a framework for evaluating radiation tolerance of materials.

Abstract

Predicting volume swelling of structural materials in nuclear reactors under high-dose neutron irradiations based on existing low-dose experiments or irradiation data with high-dose-rate energetic particles has been a long-standing challenge for safety evaluation and rapidly screening irradiation-resistant materials in nuclear energy systems. Here, we build an Additional Defect Absorption Model that describes the irradiation-induced swelling effects produced by energetic electrons, heavy-ions, and neutrons by considering additional defect sinks inherent in the irradiation process. Based on this model, we establish quantitative methods to predict high-dose swelling from low-dose behavior and obtain the equivalent irradiation dose for different energetic particles when the dose rates differ by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, we propose a universal parameter to characterize the swelling resistance of various alloys and predict their radiation tolerances under different radiation conditions. This work provides quantitative prediction methods for evaluating irradiation-induced swelling effects of structural materials, which is critical to the safety and material development for advanced nuclear reactors.