Predicting Nonequilibrium Patterns beyond Thermodynamic Concepts: Application to Radiation-Induced Microstructures

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 124; no. 8; p. 085701
• Main Authors: Luneville, L, Garcia, P, Simeone, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physical Society 28-02-2020
• Subjects: Alloy systems; Computer simulation; Mathematical models; Phase diagrams; Precipitates; Radiation effects; Steady state; Thermodynamic equilibrium
• ISSN: 0031-9007; 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.085701

In this work, we derive an analytical model to predict the appearance of all possible radiation-induced steady states and their associated microstructures in immiscible A_{c[over ¯]}B_{1-c[over ¯]} alloys, an example of a nonequilibrium dynamical system. This model is assessed against numerical simulations and experimental results which show that different microstructures characterized by the patterning of A-rich precipitates can emerge under irradiation. We demonstrate that the steady-state microstructure is governed by irradiation conditions and also by the average initial concentration of the alloy c[over ¯]. Such a dependence offers new leverage for tailoring materials with specific microstructures overcoming limitations imposed by the equilibrium thermodynamic phase diagram.