Evolution of dislocation loops in iron under irradiation: The impact of carbon

The impact of carbon content on the evolution of dislocation loops in iron carbon was studied by object kinetic Monte Carlo, explicitly introducing carbon atoms and their atomic features for the first time. We demonstrate that the saturated loop density strongly depends on carbon content and temperature, in good agreement with in situ irradiation microscopy studies. The physical processes responsible for the accumulation and long-range migration of the loops are rationalized with implications for nanostructural evolution in commercial steels upon low-dose-rate neutron irradiation. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.