Effects of solute segregation and precipitation on void swelling in irradiated alloys

A model of radiation-induced segregation of substitutional solutes has been used to study the effects of solute segregation and precipitation on void swelling behaviour in metals and alloys. If the binding energies between point defects and solute atoms are sufficiently large, significant solute segregation takes place during irradiation, giving rise to a solute depletion or enrichment at defect sinks and a nonuniform distribution of defect-trapping centers in the matrix. The swelling reduction, which results from trapping of point defects by minor additions of alloying elements, is affected by radiation induced solute redistribution in alloys. The effects of either dominant interstitial-solute interactions or dominant vacancy-solute interactions on segregation and swelling were studied. The present calculations are in good qualitative agreement with experimental results. (Auth.)