A new simulation technique (3-dimensional dislocation dynamics) was reported which permitted the modelling of a hardening effect, in metals, that was due to irradiation. When bombarded with high-energy particles, the metals acquired internal damage which could take the form of interstitial loops. Such loops were nano-sized and typically had a high number density. The stress field of a loop was given by dislocation theory. It was shown here that the hardening was due to the elastic interaction of gliding dislocations with a high number of spatially dispersed interstitial loops. The results were found to agree well with experimental data.

Modelling of Irradiation-Induced Hardening in Metals using Dislocation Dynamics. T.A.Khraishi, H.M. Zbib, T.Diaz de la Rubia, M.Victoria: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 2001, 81[9], 583-93