Application of generalized deformation theory to irradiation creep of fcc and bcc stainless steels

The physical framework employed for most of the current irradiation creep models of cubic polycrystalline materials is a single crystal with a dislocation system consisting of three orthogonal Burgers vectors. The irradiation creep models based on this crystal system can be broken into two categories, one where irradiation creep occurs by dislocation climb alone, and the other where irradiation creep occurs by a combination of dislocation climb and glide. Often, irradiation creep is presumed to proceed by dislocation climb alone at low applied stresses, but by a combination of dislocation climb and glide at higher applied stresses. However, the rules for generalized deformation, as applied to dislocation climb, determine if a polycrystal is capable of deformation by dislocation climb alone. The current work analyzes generalized deformation by dislocation climb of fcc and bcc stainless steel crystals. Some implications for irradiation creep of polycrystalline fcc and bcc stainless steels are discussed.