Unraveling irradiation induced grain growth with in situ transmission electron microscopy and coordinated modeling

Nanostructuring has been proposed as a method to enhance radiation tolerance, but many metallic systems are rejected due to significant concerns regarding long term grain boundary and interface stability. This work utilized recent advancements in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to quantitativ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2015-11, Vol.107 (19)
Main Authors: Bufford, D. C., Abdeljawad, F. F., Foiles, S. M., Hattar, K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
GOLD
GRAIN BOUNDARIES
GRAIN GROWTH
GRAIN SIZE
IRRADIATION
NANOSTRUCTURES
SIMULATION
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
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Summary:Nanostructuring has been proposed as a method to enhance radiation tolerance, but many metallic systems are rejected due to significant concerns regarding long term grain boundary and interface stability. This work utilized recent advancements in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to quantitatively characterize the grain size, texture, and individual grain boundary character in a nanocrystalline gold model system before and after in situ TEM ion irradiation with 10 MeV Si. The initial experimental measurements were fed into a mesoscale phase field model, which incorporates the role of irradiation-induced thermal events on boundary properties, to directly compare the observed and simulated grain growth with varied parameters. The observed microstructure evolution deviated subtly from previously reported normal grain growth in which some boundaries remained essentially static. In broader terms, the combined experimental and modeling techniques presented herein provide future avenues to enhance quantification and prediction of the thermal, mechanical, or radiation stability of grain boundaries in nanostructured crystalline systems.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118