In order to investigate interactions between solutes and point defects during radiation-induced grain-boundary migration, stainless steel and Ni-Si model alloys were irradiated. Induced grain-boundary migration was often observed in the stainless steels during irradiation. The migration rate of the boundary varied, and 3 stages of migration were identified. At lower temperatures, an incubation period was observed before the first stage. Such a behavior was common for alloys with lower solute contents. Activation energies for boundary migration were estimated from the relationship between the migration rate in stage I, and the reciprocal temperature. These values were very low when compared with the activation energy without irradiation. It was suggested that the radiation-induced grain-boundary migration was caused by a flow of mixed dumb-bells towards the grain boundary.

Effect of Solute Concentration on Grain Boundary Migration with Segregation in Stainless Steel and Model Alloys. H.Kanda, N.Hashimoto, H.Takahashi: Journal of Nuclear Materials, 1999, 271-272, 311-5