Multiscale modeling of irradiation hardening: Application to important nuclear materials

The recent progress in investigation techniques and the accumulation of relevant simulation results across the scales allow the development of a multiscale modeling framework for the rationalization, analysis and physical assessment of the flow stress of many industrial materials, with almost no fitting parameters. Although the construction of this framework is not yet complete, it has reached a maturity level enabling the investigation of some complex properties such as irradiation hardening. In this paper, modeling and experimental results are reviewed in order to derive the constitutive equations of the yield stress and of its fundamental components accounting for the microstructure features, such as dislocation network, precipitates, dislocation loops and voids. This approach is challenged in the case of reactor pressure vessel, high-Cr ferritic-martensitic and austenitic stainless steels. Predictions are discussed in connection with the well-known experimental trends reported in the literature.