Composite model of microstructural evolution in austenitic stainless steel under fast neutron irradiation

A rate-theory-based model has been developed which includes the simultaneous evolution of the dislocation and cavity components of the microstructure of irradiated austenitic stainless steels. Previous work has generally focused on developing models for void swelling while neglecting the time dependence of the dislocation structure. These models have broadened our understanding of the physical processes that give rise to swelling, e.g., the role of helium and void formation from critically-sized bubbles. That work has also demonstrated some predictive capability by successful calibration to fit the results of fast reactor swelling data. However, considerable uncertainty about the values of key parameters in these models limits their usefulness as predictive tools. Hence the use of such models to extrapolate fission reactor swelling data to fusion reactor conditions is compromised