Frank loop unfaulting mechanism in fcc metals during neutron irradiation

The unfaulting mechanism whereby sessile Frank dislocation loops evolve into a complex tangle of glissile dislocations during irradiation of face centered cubic metals is not well understood. It is presumed that such loops grow by absorption of point defects until interactions develop which provide sufficient impetus for nucleation of an unfaulting event. The loops then become glissile, interact and form a dislocation network. An alternate mechanism which has been observed to occur in an austenitic precipitation-strengthened commercial alloy irradiated in the EBR-II fast reactor. The mechanism requires an interaction between the sessile a/3 <111> Frank loop and a moving glissile a/2 <110> perfect dislocation. An unfaulting a/6 <112> dislocation is created which, as it moves, eliminates the Frank loop and leaves only a perfect dislocation with the original a/2 <110> Burgers vector. This process is demonstrated. This alternate mechanism can have significant impact on the development of the dislocation microstructure in a metal undergoing irradiation creep. This impact will be discussed in relation to relevant irradiation creep models