Radiation-induced segregation at grain boundaries under irradiation was investigated. Account was taken of the evolution of faulted dislocation loops and network dislocations. A theoretical analysis was carried out by solving the coupled rate equations for solute and defect concentrations near to a grain boundary sink. The formation of a dislocation-free zone in the vicinity of a grain boundary was also observed during in situ observations under electron irradiation. The temperature dependence of the segregation width, and of the dislocation-free zone width, exhibited similar trends. It was therefore suggested that radiation-induced segregation and the existence of dislocation-free zones could be explained by the occurrence of defect-flow induced phenomena under irradiation.

Defect Flow-Induced Heterogeneous Dislocation Formation and Solute Redistribution near a Grain Boundary in Austenitic Stainless Steel under Electron Irradiation. S.Watanabe, N.Sakaguchi, S.Mochizuki, H.Takahashi: Journal of Nuclear Materials, 1999, 271-272, 184-8