Grain boundary metastability controls irradiation resistance in nanocrystalline metals
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: • In-situ TEM-irradiation experiments are performed in nanocrystalline iron. • Defect denuded zones were shown to collapse as a function of dose. • A radiation damage evolution model is demonstrated based on Molecular Dynamics and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. • Microstate changes in grain boundaries after their ability to absorb irradiation induced defects. • Microstate changes give rise to the formation of a defect network that manifests itself as a net Nye-tensor signal detectable via lattice curvature experiments. Grain boundaries (GBs) in polycrystalline materials are powerful sinks for irradiation defects. While standard theories assume that a GB’s efficiency as a sink is defined solely by its character before irradiation, recent evidence conclusively shows that the irradiation sink efficiency is a highly dynamic property controlled by the intrinsic metastability of GBs under far-from-equilibrium irradiation conditions. In this paper, we reveal that the denuded (i.e., defect-free) zone, typically the signature of a strong sink, can collapse as irradiation damage accumulates. We propose a radiation damage evolution model that captures this behavior based on the emergence of a series of irradiation defect-enabled metastable GB microstate changes that dynamically alter the ability of the GB to absorb further damage. We show that these microstate changes control further defect absorption and give rise to the formation of a defect network that manifests itself as a net Nye-tensor signal detectable via lattice curvature experiments.
Source: Materials & Design
Institutions: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Drexel University, Johns Hopkins University, Clemson University, City University of Hong Kong, University of Pennsylvania, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories California, University of California, Los Angeles, Sandia National Laboratories, Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Hong Kong
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,650
Funders: Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, U.S. Department of Energy, Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee, Office of Science, National Nuclear Security Administration, Basic Energy Sciences, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Awards: G1017065088, GRAIN BOUNDARY MICROSTATES: EXPLORING THE METASTABILITY OF SINK EFFICIENCY, G11630931, G1279347439, G1527848044, G2773657150, G280414146, G288067973, G3137353516, G4102362729, G413247060, G4411328396, G4623051538, G585365113, G6410514744, G6563880843, G660390541, G680142904, G7977574923, LINKING THE CODEPENDENCE OF GRAIN BOUNDARY STRUCTURE AND DENSITY TO DEFECT EVOLUTION MECHANISMS DURING RADIATION DAMAGE, G855168022, G872931124, G8972739767
OpenAlex ID: W4416756076