Pipe diffusion at dislocations in UO2

ST Murphy and EE Jay and RW Grimes, JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS, 447, 143-149 (2014).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.12.029

We present the results of a combination of static and dynamic simulations employing empirical potentials, investigating the structures of dislocations in UO2 and show how the dislocation core structure influences the rate of O2- and U4+ diffusion along the dislocation (i.e. pipe diffusion). In the region immediately surrounding the dislocations there is a significant reduction in the activation energies and diffusion coefficients for O2- and U4+ diffusion, however only out to a cylindrical radius of approximate to 20 angstrom from the dislocation centre. The contribution of pipe diffusion to the overall O2- and U4+ diffusion is also discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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