Defect Formation Mechanisms and Point Defect Concentrations in the Anion Sublattice of Uranium Dioxide: Molecular Dynamics Study
Year: 2019
Communications in Computational Physics, Vol. 25 (2019), Iss. 2 : pp. 461–480
Abstract
Anion defect concentrations in the uranium dioxide were calculated in a
wide temperature range by the molecular dynamics (MD) method, and a good agreement
with the neutron scattering experimental data is shown. Groups of isolated
interstitial anions with the absence of anion vacancies in N nearest neighborhoods
(N=1−4) were extracted, formation energies of each group in the different phase
states were derived.
The formation energy of anion defects 4eV, derived by the MD method at low temperatures,
in general coincides with the experimental estimations (3–4)eV and the lattice
static results 4.1eV, using the same interaction potential. At high temperatures in
the superionic state anion Frenkel defects (with N=3,4) have negative formation energy
of about (-14)eV, concentrations of these defects are very small compared with
the total defect concentration, including non-stoichiometric crystals. The validity of
the point defects model in the superionic state and transition regions is also discussed.
The model of anion diffusion via the formation of short-living pairs "vacancy-interstitial anion" is proposed and confirmed by MD calculations. It is shown that
in the superionic state the exchange mechanism dominates, and at low temperatures it
coexists with the diffusion via the formation of long-living anion Frenkel pairs.
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Journal Article Details
Publisher Name: Global Science Press
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4208/cicp.OA-2017-0190
Communications in Computational Physics, Vol. 25 (2019), Iss. 2 : pp. 461–480
Published online: 2019-01
AMS Subject Headings: Global Science Press
Copyright: COPYRIGHT: © Global Science Press
Pages: 20
Keywords: Molecular dynamics uranium dioxide defect concentration exchange diffusion superionic state point defects model.