An Assessment of Radiation Damage Models and Methods

The current state of development of the primary models used for investigating and simulating irradiation effects in structural alloys of interest to the U.S. DOE's Generation-IV reactor program are discussed. The underlying theory that supports model development is also described where appropriate. First, the key processes that underlie radiation-induced changes in material properties are summarized, and the types of radiation effects that subsequently arise are described. Future development work needed in order for theory, modeling, and computational materials science to support and add value to the Gen IV reactor materials program are then outlined. The expected specific outcomes and overall benefits of the required effort are: the knowledge to extrapolate material behavior to conditions for which there are no experimental data; systematic understanding of mechanisms and processes to enable confident interpolation between point-by-point experimental observations; acceleration of the development, selection, and qualification of materials for reactor service; and prediction of material response to real-world operating load histories which often involve a complicated superposition of time, temperature, radiation dose rate, and mechanical loading conditions. Opportunities for international collaboration to accelerate progress in all of the required research areas are briefly discussed, particularly in the context of two well coordinated, broad-based research projects on modeling and simulation of radiation effects on materials that are currently funded in Europe. In addition to providing the opportunity for substantial leveraging of the DOE-funded activities in this area, these projects may serve as models for future development within the Gen-IV program. The larger of these two projects, which involves 12 European research laboratories and 16 universities, is called PERFECT and is funded by the European Union. A smaller effort focusing on developing predictive models for fusion reactor materials is funded within the United Kingdom. Increased formal collaboration with these projects by DOE-funded materials scientists would be of substantial benefit to the Gen-IV program