Mechanisms of radiation-induced segregation around He bubbles in a Fe-Cr-Ni crystal

Fe-15Cr-15Ni (wt.%) austenitic stainless steel was irradiated with 200 keV ⁴He⁺ ions to a fluence of 5 × 10¹⁶/cm² at 500 °C. Radiation-induced segregation (RIS) at He bubbles in the irradiated steel was measured using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) coupled with Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). The RIS measurements exhibited an enrichment of Ni and a depletion of Cr and Fe at the bubbles. To determine the underlying mechanisms of the RIS, the prediction of the Marwick model was compared with the RIS measurements. The model with parametric input in accordance with the Inverse Kirkendall effect (IKE), i.e. a preferential flux of elements associated with vacancy flux, was inadequate in explaining the observed amount of segregation of Fe, Cr and Ni. Specifically, a considerably lower ratio of the concentration gradient between Cr and Fe, [Formula presented], of 0.53 was obtained from the RIS measurements versus the model-predicted value of 2.3, indicating an overestimation of Cr depletion at the bubbles by the Marwick model. To explain this difference between the model prediction and the RIS measurements, in addition to the Cr depletion at the bubbles by IKE due to the fastest diffusion via vacancy flux, a preferential interstitial flux of Cr from the matrix to the bubbles is discussed as a possible concurrently operating mechanism.