Irradiation-induced heterogeneous nucleation in uranium dioxide

G. Martin (1) , P. Garcia (1) , C. Sabathier (1) , L. van Brutzel (2) , B. Dorado (1) , F. Garrido (3) , S. Maillard (1)

1 LM2C - Laboratoire de Modélisation Multi-échelles des Combustibles
2 LM2T - Laboratoire de Modélisation, Thermodynamique et Thermochimie
3 CSNSM - Centre de Spectrométrie Nucléaire et de Spectrométrie de Masse

Using classical molecular dynamics simulations, we have studied the first stages of defect cluster formation resulting from 10 keV displacement cascades in uranium dioxide. Nanometre size cavities and dislocation loops are shown to appear as a result of the irradiation process. A specifically designed TEM experiment involving He implanted thin foils have also been carried out to support this modelling work. These results, in conjunction with several other observations taken from the literature of ion implanted or neutron irradiated uranium dioxide, suggest a radiation damage controlled heterogeneous mechanism for insoluble fission product segregation in UO(2). (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mots clés: Irradiation; Cascade; Nucleation; Cluster; Uranium dioxide; Fission gas; Molecular dynamics

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Matériaux

G. Martin, P. Garcia, C. Sabathier, L. van Brutzel, B. Dorado, et al.. Irradiation-induced heterogeneous nucleation in uranium dioxide. Physics Letters A, 2010, 374, pp.3038-3041. ⟨10.1016/j.physleta.2010.05.033⟩. ⟨in2p3-00667209⟩