Impact of interstitial impurities on the trapping of dislocation loops in tungsten.

Ab initio simulations are employed to assess the interaction of typical interstitial impurities with self-interstitial atoms, dislocation loops and edge dislocation lines in tungsten. These impurities are present in commercial tungsten grades and are also created as a result of neutron transmutation or the plasma in-take process. The relevance of the study is determined by the application of tungsten as first wall material in fusion reactors.

Analysis of Radiation Damage in Light Water Reactors: Comparison of Cluster Analysis Methods for the Analysis of Atom Probe Data.

Irradiation of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels causes the formation of nanoscale microstructural features (termed radiation damage), which affect the mechanical properties of the vessel. A key tool for characterizing these nanoscale features is atom probe tomography (APT), due to its high spatial resolution and the ability to identify different chemical species in three dimensions. Microstructural observations using APT can underpin development of a mechanistic understanding of defect formation.