Achieving enhanced irradiation-resistant metallic alloys by immobilizing induced defects

Advanced fission and fusion technologies require materials that withstand extreme conditions, relying on irradiation-tolerant structures to suppress defect evolution and mechanical degradation. This study introduces a novel approach to immobilize irradiation-induced defects by tuning local lattice distortion in concentrated solid solution alloys. Results demonstrate that higher distortion levels significantly reduce microstructural changes. The single-phase Ni80Mo20 alloy, with the highest recorded distortion (4.82% atomic size mismatch), exhibits frozen defect motion and negligible irradiation effects. This suggests engineering lattice distortion as a straightforward method for designing irradiation-resistant metallic alloys.

This dataset provides the initial and final atomic structures from molecular dynamics simulations of single vacancy and single interstitial diffusion in Ni, NiFe, NiCoV, and Ni80Mo20 alloys, each exhibiting distinct levels of lattice distortion.