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A Monte Carlo model of irradiation-induced recrystallization in polycrystalline UMo fuels
- Source :
- Journal of Nuclear Materials. 524:164-176
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Experiments show that irradiation-induced recrystallization speeds up the swelling kinetics in U-10 wt% Mo fuels. However, recrystallization mechanisms and the effect of initial grain microstructures on recrystallization kinetics are still unclear. In this work a Monte Carlo model coupling the rate theory of defect evolution has been developed to study the irradiation-induced recrystallization. The rate theory is used to describe the spatial evolution of gas bubbles, interstitials and interstitial loops; First-Passage Kinetic Monte Carlo (FPKMC) approach is used to describe the fast and strongly anisotropic migration of interstitials, and a Cellular Automata method is used to model the formation of recrystallized grains. With the assumption that recrystallization may occur when the local interstitial loop density is larger than a given critical value, simulation results reveal that 1) recrystallized grains first nucleate on grain boundaries and the recrystallization zone front moves to the center of original coarse grains in the UMo matrix, and 2) recrystallization starts earlier in coarse polycrystalline structures, while the overall recrystallization kinetics decreases with increasing grain size. These results agree with experimental observations. The comparison of recrystallization kinetics obtained from experiments and modeling suggests that the interstitial loop accumulation leads to the recrystallization and the interstitial loop growth is suppressed inside coarse grains due to the over-pressured intra-granular gas bubbles.
- Subjects :
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Materials science
Monte Carlo method
Nucleation
Thermodynamics
Recrystallization (metallurgy)
02 engineering and technology
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
Critical value
01 natural sciences
Grain size
Physics::Geophysics
010305 fluids & plasmas
Nuclear Energy and Engineering
0103 physical sciences
General Materials Science
Grain boundary
Kinetic Monte Carlo
Crystallite
0210 nano-technology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00223115
- Volume :
- 524
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Nuclear Materials
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........719c7fca8a9ad65e63310718018ed4a4