Mechanical response of He clusters in bcc iron

In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to study the mechanical response of a stable helium cluster in bcc iron under a uniaxial loading. He-interstitial clusters consisting of 12-, 18- and 24-He atoms were studied as a uniaxial tensile stress along the [1 0 0] direction was imposed on the MD block. The results show that self-interstitial atoms (SIA) produced during helium atom clustering play an important role in the mechanical response to the applied stress. These SIAs make the simulated sample soft due to the contribution of the Fe–He interaction to the elastic properties of the sample during the tensile simulation. A structural transformation of the Fe interstitial cluster takes place under the high uniaxial stress.