The Reduction of Irradiation-Induced Creep by Point Defect Trapping

摘要

The theory of point defect trapping was applied to predict the effect of solutes on the steady-state dislocation climb creep rate. Vacancy loops generated in the cascades of point defect production by heavy particles were included. It is shown that the effect of vacancy loops on the creep rate is mathematically equivalent to a simultaneous reduction in the vacancy trapping rate at solutes as well as in the free point defect generation rate and recombination coefficient. These parameters are reduced by the ratio of the sink strength without vacancy loops to the total sink strength. Solute trapping and vacancy loops do not reduce the unperturbed creep rates by more than an order of magnitude for the parametric range considered. (ERA citation 04:006272)