A diffusion model for solute atoms diffusing and aggregating in nuclear structural materials

In nuclear structural materials, the nuclear irradiations induce the precipitations of soluble elements or produce the insoluble elements such as He atoms that may form clusters, heavily shortening the service life-times of the materials. In the present work, a diffusion model is developed to predict where and how fast the solute atoms (either soluble or insoluble) aggregate, and this model is applied to the study of the formation and growth of He bubbles in metal tritides (PdT_0.6, ErT₂, NbT_0.0225, VT_0.5, TaT_0.097, TiT_1.5, ZrT_1.6) within one thousand days. The results are in good agreement with the available experimental observations and suggest that searching for metals with a barrier of more than 1.1 eV for a single He atom diffusion and making more defects in metal tritides can significantly reduce the growth of He bubbles and extend the service time of the metals. (paper)