Radiation damage quantification in elemental copper using Wigner energy storage

Abstract

Radiation damage in materials can cause critical components in fission and fusion reactors to fail with potentially catastrophic consequences. Radiation damage quantification is essential for understanding, predicting, and preventing such failures. The current unit of radiation damage, displacements per atom (DPA), is not a measurable quantity, and it is known to be an inaccurate measure of radiation damage. This project aims to quantify radiation damage accurately and measurably by characterizing the storage of energy in radiation-induced material defects, known as Wigner energy storage. In order to gain an atomistic understanding of radiation damage, the irradiation and calorimetry of elemental copper were simulated using molecular dynamics code. A custom defect analysis script was used to determine the energy stored as a function of irradiation energy and defect type. Wigner energy peaks were clearly visible in the calorimetry data, indicating that Wigner energy measurement is a plausible technique for quantifying radiation damage. Future work should focus on achieving more realistic heating rates and measuring Wigner energy storage experimentally using fast scanning calorimetry.