Phase Field Modeling of Radiation-Induced Precipitation in Diluted Zirconium Alloys

We study nano-sized precipitates formation in diluted Zr alloys under neutron irradiation by using phase field modeling. It is shown that in a sample containing pre-existed precipitates of the secondary phase, irradiation results in the dissolution of precipitates at small doses and re-precipitation with dose accumulation. By considering extremely diluted alloy, it is found that radiation-induced precipitation begins after incubation dose due to the combined effect of radiation-enhanced diffusion and ballistic mixing. Statistical analysis for precipitate size, their number density, and size distributions are provided. Obtained data are compared with experimental results.