Experimental and computational studies of the influence of grain boundaries and temperature on the radiation-induced damage and hydrogen behavior in tungsten

We study the influence of grain boundaries (GBs) on radiation-induced vacancies, as well as on the hydrogen (H) behavior in tungsten (W) samples with different grain sizes in the temperature range from 300 K to 573 K, both experimentally and by computer simulations. For this purpose, coarse-grained and nanostructured W samples were sequentially irradiated with carbon (C) and H ions at energies of 665 keV and 170 keV, respectively. A first set of the implanted samples was annealed at 473 K and a second set at 573 K. Object kinetic Monte Carlo simulations were performed to account for experimental outcomes. Results show that the number of vacancies for nanostructured W is always larger than for monocrystalline W samples in the whole studied temperature range and that the number of vacancies is only reduced in samples with a large density of grain boundaries and at temperatures high enough to activate the vacancy motion (around 573 K). Results also indicate that the migration of H along vacancy free grain boundaries is more effective than along the bulk, and that the retained H is trapped in vacancies located within the grains. These results are used to explain the experimental outcomes.