Effects of atom–electron energy exchange on radiation damage in zirconium

Zhou, Zhibing; Fu, Baoqin; Zhang, Kun; Hou, Qing; Cui, Jiechao; Wu, Lu; Pan, Rongjian

doi:10.1016/j.nme.2020.100787

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Previous researches pointed out that the EPC characteristic coupling time τ EPC affects the simulation results. [2,15,45,46] Thus, parameter sensitivity analysis of τ EPC is also performed. Unless otherwise stated, τ EPC was set to be 1 ps.…”

Section: Simulation Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5(a) and 5(b), a smaller τ EPC value, which represents stronger energy exchange between phonons and electrons, leads to smaller N peak , shorter relaxation time, and larger N survival , which are consistent with previous observations in Fe, [45] W, [2] and Zr. [15] This is because the strong EPC results in rapid loss of atomic velocity, thereby shortening the relaxation time and reducing defect recombination. The size distributions of the defect clusters obtained by using the two potentials (Figs.…”

Section: Effect Of Characteristic Coupling Time (τ Epc )mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to this, Cui et al [2] investigated cascade damage in tungsten (W) by using a model that introduces different electronic effects into atoms with different kinetic energy. Zhou et al [15] used this model to simulate collision cascades in zirconium (Zr) and found that EPC reduces the defects in the thermal spike phase but increases residual defects while promoting the occurrence of subcascades and inhibiting the formation of large defect clusters. Unlike W, EPC has no significant effect on the spatial distribution of defects in Zr.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unlike W, EPC has no significant effect on the spatial distribution of defects in Zr. [2,15] It was observed that the influence of electronic effects varies among different materials and their influence on cascade damage in α-Fe still need further detailed investigation. This work presents MD computational models with different electronic effects for simulating the cascade damage in α-Fe and systematically assessing the influence of ES and EPC on defect generation and recombination, the size distribution of residual defect clusters and subcascade formation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Electronic effects on radiation damage in α-iron: A molecular dynamics study

Jiang 江,

Li 李,

Fu 付

et al. 2024

Chinese Phys. B

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Widely used as structural materials in nuclear reactors, iron (Fe) -based alloys experience significant changes in their microstructure and macroscopic properties under high flux neutron irradiation during operation, posing issues associated with the safe operation of nuclear reactors. In this work, a molecular dynamics simulation approach incorporating electronic effects was developed for investigating the primary radiation damage process in α-Fe. Specifically, the influence of electronic effects on the collision cascade in Fe was systematically evaluated based on two commonly used interatomic potentials for Fe. The simulation results revealed that both electronic stopping (ES) and electron–phonon coupling (EPC) contribute to a reduction in the number of defects in the thermal spike phase. The application of ES decreases the number of residual defects after the cascade evolution, whereas EPC has a reverse effect. The introduction of electronic effects promotes the dispersive subcascade formation: ES significantly alters the geometry of the damaged region in the thermal spike phase, whereas EPC mainly reduces the extent of the damaged region. Furthermore, the incorporation of electronic effects effectively mitigates the discrepancies in simulation outcomes when using different interatomic potentials.

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Section: Simulation Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%