Radiation Damage in Nuclear Systems: from Bohr to Young

This Workshop will be held at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy from 11 – 22 May 2020. It assists Ph.D. students and early-career researchers in developing a quantitative understanding of the impact of radiation damage on materials, both for existing fission and proposed fusion reactors. There is an emphasis on the conceptual progression of theoretical and experimental techniques across spatial scales from atomistic descriptions to the macroscopic behaviour of bulk material.

Applications are now open. Apply at the ICTP website page for this event.

Directors

• Céline Cabet (CEA, France)
• Kalle Heinola (IAEA)
• Christian Hill (IAEA)
• Wolfgang Jacob (Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), Garching, Germany)
• Sabina Markelj (Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia)
• Jean-Christophe Sublet (IAEA)
• Gary Was (University of Michigan, USA)
• Steven Zinkle (University of Tennessee, USA)

Local Organiser

• Nicola Seriani

Confirmed Lecturers

Workshop Sessions

Week 1

• Collisional cascade simulations
• DFT simulations of defect production and evolution
• Microstructural damage due to neutron irradiation
• Hydrogen retention and transport in nuclear materials
• Advanced materials
• Experimental studies of neutron-induced material damage
• Computing Practical: LAMMPS
• Poster Session

Week 2

• Measurement and simulation of material behaviour under irradiation
• Neutron production to damage metrics
• Nuclear reactions and kinematics simulation
• Multiscale modelling of radiation damage
• Computational Aspects of radiation damage simulation
• Computing Practical: NJOY-2016
• Computing Practical: SPECTRA-PKA, FISPACT-II
• Poster Session

Participants by Application

Successful participants by application are expected to be early-stage career researchers (at about the post-doc level) working in the field of modelling and simulation of radiation damage in nuclear energy research. Applications for participation are accepted through the ICTP webpage for this event (details to follow). A scientific contribution (a proposal for an oral presentation or a poster) is expected from each participant.

A limited number of grants are available to support the attendance of selected participants, with priority given to participants from developing countries. There is no registration fee.

Topics

• Irradiated material: defect production and damage metrics
• Dose-rate, damage energies, atomic displacement
  • Transmutation, activation, depletion
• Neutron-induced material defect simulation
• Nuclear Kinematics
• Void swelling, post-short-term cascades
• Correlation and prediction of material behaviour under irradiation
• Paradigms for irradiation testing: accelerator simulation
• Using ion irradiation as a proxy for neutrons
  • Ion accelerators, standardised testing, interstitials
• Theoretical modelling of radiation effects
• Micro-structure and microchemistry
• Ion versus neutron irradiation within a steady state microstructure
• Multiscale modelling of structural materials for nuclear systems
• From Bohr model to Young modulus
  • Physics – Chemistry – Material science – Engineering
  • Femtometres to metres; attoseconds to days
• Plasma-material interaction
  • Erosion and surface-evolution studies
  • Surface chemistry, codeposition
• The effect of neutron and surrogate radiation on the properties of fusion-relevant materials
  • Molecular Dynamics and Kinetic Monte Carlo studies (esp. W and Fe)
  • Quantum transition state theory, path integral approaches to hydrogen and defect migration
  • Experimental techniques
  • Prospects for “advanced materials” development such as high-entropy alloys
• Hydrogen isotope deposition, trapping and permeation in fusion-relevant materials
  • Experimental studies
  • Ab initio and semi-empirical quantum mechanical approaches
  • Prospects for uncertainty quantification (UQ)

Further Reading

1. J. Knaster, A. Moeslang and T. Muroga, Materials research for fusion, Nature Physics 12, 424 (2016).

2. J. Knaster et al., Overview of the IFMIF/EVEDA project, Nuclear Fusion 57, 102016 (2017).

3. M. R. Gilbert et al., Neutron-induced dpa, transmutations, gas production, and helium embrittlement of fusion materials, Journal of Nuclear Materials 442, 5755 (2013).

4. K. Nordlund et al., Primary radiation damage: A review of current understanding and models, Journal of Nuclear Materials 512, 450 (2018).

5. B. Wirth et al., Fusion materials modelling: Challenges and opportunities, MRS Bulletin 36, 216 (2011).

6. J. Marian et al., Recent advances in modeling and simulation of the exposure and response of tungsten to fusion energy conditions, Nuclear Fusion 57, 092008 (2017).

7. J.-Ch. Sublet et al. Neutron-induced damage simulations: Beyond defect production cross-section, displacement per atom and iron-based metrics, European Physical Journal Plus 134, 350 (2019).

8. G. R. Odette and D. R. Doiron, Neutron-Energy-Dependent Defect Production Cross Sections for Fission and Fusion Applications, Nuclear Technology 29, 346 (1976).