Physical Mechanisms Based Constitutive Model of Creep in Irradiated and Unirradiated Metals at Cryogenic Temperatures

Abstract The present work describes the physical mechanisms of low temperature creep in irradiated and unirradiated metals. The slow inelastic deformations of solids under stress below the yield stress of the material are considered. For the problem of creep at cryogenic temperatures, the classical creep models are not enough. The purpose of this paper is to formulate a physically-based constitutive model of creep for irradiated materials at cryogenic temperatures (liquid nitrogen 77 K, liquid helium, 4.2 K) based on the idea that a dislocation held up by a potential barrier can pass through it owing to the quantum-mechanical tunnelling effect. The problem is novel in the context of recognition of physical mechanisms taking place at cryogenic temperatures leading to the evolution of radiation induced defects under mechanical loads. Creep produced by the expansion of irradiation induced dislocation loops is considered. The kinetic law for evolution of a dislocation loop is proposed using the mechanism of development of a dislocation line over Peierls stress hills. Also, creep produced by the elastic interaction of a radiation induced point defects with existing dislocations in materials is regarded. Predicted creep rate behaviour as a function of stresses and dpa are presented which would need to be validated with data in irradiated materials. Moreover, the new constitutive model of low temperature creep in unirradiated materials is formulated. The Glen-Mott quantum mechanical dislocation tunnelling effect allows extending the theory to the liquid helium temperature range. For this case of unirradiated materials, the creep curves validated experimentally for copper and stainless steel in cryogenic temperature are shown.