About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Vacancy Engineering in Metals and Alloys
|
| Presentation Title |
Irradiation-Enhanced Transport in Model Oxides: Insights from Isotopic Tracers and Atom Probe Tomography |
| Author(s) |
Kayla Yano, Aaron A Kohnert, Jijo Christudasjustus, Sandra D Taylor, Yongqiang Wang, Blas P Uberuaga, Tiffany C Kaspar, Daniel K Schreiber |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Kayla Yano |
| Abstract Scope |
Environmental degradation of structural alloys in nuclear reactors is governed by atomic transport across native oxide films that form on alloy surfaces, separating the alloys from the environment. Irradiation significantly impacts this process by generating non-equilibrium vacancy defect populations that alter transport mechanisms. In this study, embedded isotopic tracers (18O and 57Fe) and atom probe tomography are used to quantify atomic transport in model irradiated oxide systems. Samples are irradiated with Ar2+ at varying doses, temperatures, and dose rates, while non-irradiated control samples are thermally annealed. Combining experimental observations with a chemical rate-theory model provides detailed insights into transport mechanisms during irradiation. Both bulk and grain boundary transport are examined, revealing orders-of-magnitude increases in diffusivity due to irradiation-induced defect populations compared to annealed samples and Arrhenius extrapolations from existing literature. These findings underscore the need to further understand point defect-driven transport in nuclear materials. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, Thin Films and Interfaces |