[1E01-03] Irradiation Effects in Nuclear and Fusion Materials

10:20 AM - 10:35 AM JST(1:20 AM - 1:35 AM UTC)

[1E02] Electropulsing-assisted repair of irradiation damage in a Nickel-based alloy

*Zhu Zhenbo^1,2, Gao Jie³, Huang Hefei², Abe Hiroaki¹ (1. UTokyo, 2. SINAP, 3. FDU)

Keywords:

Nuclear material,Irradiation damage,Defect repair

Irradiation-induced defects, such as helium bubbles and dislocation loops, severely degrade nuclear materials. Conventional thermal annealing for damage repair often causes undesirable microstructural coarsening. Here, we propose high-current-density electropulsing as a low-temperature physical strategy to repair irradiation damage in a nickel-based alloy. Experimental characterizations demonstrate that electropulsing significantly reduces bubble and loop densities, effectively mitigating irradiation hardening. Multi-scale simulations reveal the underlying mechanisms: localized Joule heating around defects triggers bubble dissociation, while current-activated gliding dislocations sweep away existing loops. By avoiding macroscopic grain coarsening, this targeted approach establishes electropulsing as a highly promising strategy for the on-site repair and life extension of irradiated nuclear components.