Evolution of a microstructure of materials under irradiation

The evolution of a microstructure of metals (or alloys) under irradiation resulting in swelling of the material is considered for the case with the formation of Frenkel pairs. A closed system of equations describing the evolution of the microstructure of the material exposed to irradiation is obtained, and relationships for the swelling rate are derived. It is shown that the swelling rate varies linearly with time for a stationary source of point defects (the number of Frenkel pairs per lattice site). An expression for the swelling rate is deduced for a radiation source operating in a more realistic pulsed mode. (c) 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.