Atomistic simulations for the effects of stacking fault energy on defect formations by displacement cascades in FCC metals under Poisson’s deformation

We performed molecular dynamics simulations of displacement cascades in FCC metals under Poisson’s deformation using interatomic potentials differing in stacking fault energy (SFE), in order to investigate the effect of tensile strain on the SFE dependence of defect formation processes. There was no clear SFE dependence of the number of residual defects and the size distribution of defect clusters under both no strain and the applied strain, while the strain enhanced the defect formation to a certain extent. We also observed that the strain affected the formations of self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters depending on their size and the Burgers vector. These results were consistent with the analysis based on the defect formation energies. Meanwhile, the number of SIA perfect loops was higher at lower SFE under both no strain and the applied strain, leading to an increase in the ratio of glissile SIA clusters with a decrease in SFE. Further, the absolute number of SIA perfect loops was increased by the applied strain, while the SFE dependence of the number of SIA perfect loops was not affected. These findings were associated with the difference in formation energy between an SIA perfect loop and an SIA Frank loop. The insights extracted from this study significantly contribute to the modeling of microstructural evolution in nuclear materials under irradiation, especially for low SFE metals such as austenitic stainless steels.