Molecular dynamics investigation of the interaction of an edge dislocation with Frank loops in Fe-Ni10-Cr20 alloy

The inhibition of dislocations motion by irradiation-induced defects, such as dislocation loops, is one of the main mechanisms of irradiation hardening of austenitic stainless steels. In this work, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of interaction between an edge dislocation and Frank loops in Fe-Ni10-Cr20 ternary alloy mimicking austenitic stainless steels are carried out to investigate and model dislocation behavior. An empirical interatomic potential developed recently for a ternary FeNiCr system is used for the MD calculations. The interactions are calculated at different temperatures, loop orientations, loop size and solute atom configurations. The results show that the loop strength and the interaction processes depend on the solute atom configuration, the geometrical configurations between the dislocation and the loop and temperature. It is also demonstrated that a small Frank loop is not so weak an obstacle in the alloy. The interaction leads microstructural change such as loop shearing, loop unfaulting and loop absorption in the dislocation. In the former two cases, the loop remains after the interaction, however in some cases an absorption of the remaining loop by subsequent interactions with successive dislocations is observed.