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Benchmarks and Tests of a Multidimensional Cluster Dynamics Model of Helium Implantation in Tungsten

Sophie Blondel, David E. Bernholdt, Karl D. Hammond, Lin Hu, Dimitrios Maroudas, Brian D. Wirth

Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 71 / Number 1 / January 2017 / Pages 84-92

Technical Paper / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST16-109

First Online Publication:October 13, 2016
Updated:January 18, 2017

We present a hierarchical multiscale modeling study of implanted helium (He) segregation near grain boundaries (GBs) of tungsten. We extend our spatially dependent cluster dynamics model to two spatial dimensions in order to take into account the biased drift of mobile He clusters toward the GBs observed in atomic-scale simulations. We are able to reproduce the results from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations near and away from the GBs at low fluence with the extended cluster dynamics model. We suggest and verify that the sink (surface and GB) strengths are attenuated by the increasing concentration of He clusters at high fluence. This cluster dynamics model continues to set the stage for development of fully atomistically informed, coarse-grained models for computationally efficient predictions of He retention and surface morphological evolution, advancing progress toward the goal of efficient and optimal design of plasma-facing components.