Atomistic Simulation of He Clustering and Defects Produced in Ni

Using the molecular dynamics method, the stability of small He-vacancy clusters is studied under the condition of the high He and low vacancy densities. The result shows that there is a competition between He atoms detrapped and self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) emitted during the clustering of He atoms. When the He number is above a critical value of 9, the SIA emission is predominant. The SIA emission can result in deep capture of He atoms since the binding energy of He to a He-vacancy cluster is increased with the number of SIAs created. The cluster thus grows up. In addition, more SIAs are created when the temperature is elevated. The average volume of a He atom is increased. The cluster expansion takes place at high temperature.