Effect of the mobility of point defects on the radiation creep of aluminium and the aluminium-zinc solid solution

The authors carried out comparative investigations of the creep of pure aluminium and Al-0.82 at.%Zn solid solution in the conditions of electron irradiation and also examined the structure of the changes of these materials in irradiation in a high-voltage electron microscope. The processes of the variation of the creep rate and of the formation of dislocation loops in the alloy do not take place immediately after the start of irradiation but there is an incubation period which is very short in pure aluminium. The results are discussed on the basis of considerations on the mobility of radiation defects in pure metals and solid solutions. (author)