High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms

The study innovatively examined a nano oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy with nanosized grains to address the challenge of discovering structural materials for high-temperature irradiation applications, such as in advanced nuclear reactors. The ODS-NiCoFe alloy exhibite...

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Main Authors: Sri Tapaswi Nori, Amin Esfandiarpour, Damian Kalita, Maciej Zieliński, Katarzyna Mulewska, Ruben Bjørge, Per Erik Vullum, Pedro A. Ferreirós, Witold Chrominski, Mingyang Li, Yongqin Chang, Yanwen Zhang, Ryszard Diduszko, Nagini Macha, Sai Rama Krishna Malladi, Daniel R. Mason, Randi Holmestad, Mikko Alava, Lukasz Kurpaska
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425017387
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author Sri Tapaswi Nori
Amin Esfandiarpour
Damian Kalita
Maciej Zieliński
Katarzyna Mulewska
Ruben Bjørge
Per Erik Vullum
Pedro A. Ferreirós
Witold Chrominski
Mingyang Li
Yongqin Chang
Yanwen Zhang
Ryszard Diduszko
Nagini Macha
Sai Rama Krishna Malladi
Daniel R. Mason
Randi Holmestad
Mikko Alava
Lukasz Kurpaska
author_facet Sri Tapaswi Nori
Amin Esfandiarpour
Damian Kalita
Maciej Zieliński
Katarzyna Mulewska
Ruben Bjørge
Per Erik Vullum
Pedro A. Ferreirós
Witold Chrominski
Mingyang Li
Yongqin Chang
Yanwen Zhang
Ryszard Diduszko
Nagini Macha
Sai Rama Krishna Malladi
Daniel R. Mason
Randi Holmestad
Mikko Alava
Lukasz Kurpaska
author_sort Sri Tapaswi Nori
collection DOAJ
description The study innovatively examined a nano oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy with nanosized grains to address the challenge of discovering structural materials for high-temperature irradiation applications, such as in advanced nuclear reactors. The ODS-NiCoFe alloy exhibited a nanoindentation hardness of 4.3 ± 0.9 GPa, representing a two-fold enhancement over the 2.0 ± 0.1 GPa of single-crystal NiCoFe. Dislocations were identified as the primary defect structures. Following irradiation (Ni2+, 580 °C), the average dislocation length density increased from ∼2.6 × 1013 m−2 to ∼6.1 × 1013 m−2, while the mean dislocation length decreased from 249 nm to 104 nm, contributing to a relative irradiation hardening of 25 %. Additionally, the study demonstrated the stability of various nanostructures, with only minor changes in the average sizes of nanoprecipitates and grains—from 6.7 ± 1.7 nm to 6.4 ± 1.7 nm, and from 73 ± 2 nm to 76 ± 2 nm, respectively, upon irradiation, suggesting effective defect annihilation at interfaces and grain boundaries. The alloy exhibited no observable irradiation-induced voids. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed irradiation resistance of the alloy through the absorption of vacancy clusters at grain boundaries and Shockley-dominant-dislocation chains and the absorption of interstitial clusters at grain boundaries, aided by the high mobility and three-dimensional motion of interstitial clusters. Thus, the findings demonstrate the high-temperature radiation resistance of the novel ODS-NiCoFe alloy, surpassing that of well-known ODS steels, using a correlative approach that combines experiments and simulations.
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spelling doaj-art-cdf2c6b02eff4f63b9512305cd0a3c382025-08-20T02:47:18ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-07-01375448546410.1016/j.jmrt.2025.07.079High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanismsSri Tapaswi Nori0Amin Esfandiarpour1Damian Kalita2Maciej Zieliński3Katarzyna Mulewska4Ruben Bjørge5Per Erik Vullum6Pedro A. Ferreirós7Witold Chrominski8Mingyang Li9Yongqin Chang10Yanwen Zhang11Ryszard Diduszko12Nagini Macha13Sai Rama Krishna Malladi14Daniel R. Mason15Randi Holmestad16Mikko Alava17Lukasz Kurpaska18NOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, Poland; Corresponding author.NOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, PolandNOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, PolandNOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, PolandNOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, PolandNorwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NO-7491, Norway; Department of Materials and Nanotechnology, SINTEF Industry, Trondheim, NO-7491, NorwayNorwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NO-7491, Norway; Department of Materials and Nanotechnology, SINTEF Industry, Trondheim, NO-7491, NorwayCentre for Nuclear Safety, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Limited, Espoo, FI-02044, FinlandNOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, Poland; Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Wołoska 141, 02-507, Warsaw, PolandSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, ChinaSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada; Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USANOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, Poland; Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics, Lukasiewicz Research Network, Wolczynska 133, 01-919, Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Materials Science & Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana, 502285, IndiaDepartment of Materials Science & Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana, 502285, IndiaUnited Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3DB, United KingdomNorwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NO-7491, NorwayNOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, Poland; Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, Aalto, Espoo, 11000, FinlandNOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research, Andrzeja Soltana 7, Otwock, 05-400, PolandThe study innovatively examined a nano oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy with nanosized grains to address the challenge of discovering structural materials for high-temperature irradiation applications, such as in advanced nuclear reactors. The ODS-NiCoFe alloy exhibited a nanoindentation hardness of 4.3 ± 0.9 GPa, representing a two-fold enhancement over the 2.0 ± 0.1 GPa of single-crystal NiCoFe. Dislocations were identified as the primary defect structures. Following irradiation (Ni2+, 580 °C), the average dislocation length density increased from ∼2.6 × 1013 m−2 to ∼6.1 × 1013 m−2, while the mean dislocation length decreased from 249 nm to 104 nm, contributing to a relative irradiation hardening of 25 %. Additionally, the study demonstrated the stability of various nanostructures, with only minor changes in the average sizes of nanoprecipitates and grains—from 6.7 ± 1.7 nm to 6.4 ± 1.7 nm, and from 73 ± 2 nm to 76 ± 2 nm, respectively, upon irradiation, suggesting effective defect annihilation at interfaces and grain boundaries. The alloy exhibited no observable irradiation-induced voids. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed irradiation resistance of the alloy through the absorption of vacancy clusters at grain boundaries and Shockley-dominant-dislocation chains and the absorption of interstitial clusters at grain boundaries, aided by the high mobility and three-dimensional motion of interstitial clusters. Thus, the findings demonstrate the high-temperature radiation resistance of the novel ODS-NiCoFe alloy, surpassing that of well-known ODS steels, using a correlative approach that combines experiments and simulations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425017387High-temperature irradiationOxide dispersion-strengthened NiCoFe medium-entropy alloyIrradiation-hardening resistancePhysical stability of nanostructuresIrradiation-swelling resistanceMolecular dynamics damage cascade simulations
spellingShingle Sri Tapaswi Nori
Amin Esfandiarpour
Damian Kalita
Maciej Zieliński
Katarzyna Mulewska
Ruben Bjørge
Per Erik Vullum
Pedro A. Ferreirós
Witold Chrominski
Mingyang Li
Yongqin Chang
Yanwen Zhang
Ryszard Diduszko
Nagini Macha
Sai Rama Krishna Malladi
Daniel R. Mason
Randi Holmestad
Mikko Alava
Lukasz Kurpaska
High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
High-temperature irradiation
Oxide dispersion-strengthened NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy
Irradiation-hardening resistance
Physical stability of nanostructures
Irradiation-swelling resistance
Molecular dynamics damage cascade simulations
title High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms
title_full High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms
title_fullStr High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms
title_full_unstemmed High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms
title_short High-temperature radiation resistance of NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms
title_sort high temperature radiation resistance of nicofe medium entropy alloy enabled by stable nanostructures and defect evolution mechanisms
topic High-temperature irradiation
Oxide dispersion-strengthened NiCoFe medium-entropy alloy
Irradiation-hardening resistance
Physical stability of nanostructures
Irradiation-swelling resistance
Molecular dynamics damage cascade simulations
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425017387
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