Radiation damage in nano-crystalline tungsten: A molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

This study presents MD simulations for the radiation damage of single- and nano-(poly)crystalline tungsten. The nano-(poly)crystalline microstructure was constructed using a new construction method combined with the phase field model. At the maximum damage state, the recombination rate of self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) and vacancies is faster in the single-crystal that in the poly-crystal structure. In the steady state, the number of SIAs is twice as large in the nano-crystal, as caused by the attractive interaction between the grain boundary and the SIAs.