• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.229-236
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• 2004

Radiation hardening is a multiscale phenomenon involving various processes over a wide range of time and length. We present a multiscale model for estimating the amount of radiation hardening in pressure vessel steel in the environment of a light water reactor. The model comprises two main parts: molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and a point defect cluster (PDC) model. The MD simulation was used to investigate the primary damage caused by displacement cascades. The PDC model mathematically formulates interactions between point defects and their clusters, which explains the evolution of microstructures. We then used a dislocation barrier model to calculate the hardening due to the PDCs. The key input for this multiscale model is a neutron spectrum at the inner surface of reactor pressure vessel steel of the Younggwang Nuclear Power Plant No.5. A combined calculation from the MD simulation and the PDC model provides a convenient tool for estimating the amount of radiation hardening.