About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
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Radiation Effects in Solid-State Materials: An SMD Symposium Honoring William J Weber
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| Presentation Title |
Kinetic pathway of dislocation loop formation in fluoride oxides under irradiation |
| Author(s) |
Yongfeng Zhang, Lin-Chieh Yu, Shuxiang Zhou, Chao Jiang , Linu Malakkal, Marat Khafizov, William J Weber , David Hurley |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Yongfeng Zhang |
| Abstract Scope |
Understanding defect evolution is critical for realizing the potential of fluorite oxides in nuclear applications. In UO₂ and ThO₂, interstitials commonly aggregate into faulted loops, which can evolve into perfect loops upon growth beyond a critical size. However, the kinetic pathway of fault loop formation remains unclear due to the low mobility of cation interstitials and the unknown transition from individual interstitials to faulted loops. Combining density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we investigate cation interstitial and cluster transport mechanisms and reveal the dynamic pathway for faulted loop formation. The results identify several novel transport mechanisms, including O-interstitial-assisted cation diffusion, cuboctahedral-mediated cluster migration, and rapid 1D diffusion of crowdion clusters. The crowdion clusters eventually transform into faulted loops upon growth. Together, these mechanisms suggest a distinct loop formation pathway in fluorite oxides compared with metals. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Ceramics, Modeling and Simulation, Nuclear Materials |