The effects of fast neutron irradiation on the repeated yielding characteristics of a copper‐tin alloy

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Abstract
The rate of vacancy formation during straining of irradiated copper‐tin alloys has been investigated by means of repeated yielding experiments, and was found to increase with neutron doses in excess of 1·6 × 1016 n.v.t. The rate of formation was very high immediately after yielding, but fell to a constant value after 3% strain. Transmission microscopy was used to identify two distinct types of damage. Small dislocation loops with an average diameter of 40 Å and a density of 1016 cm−3 were observed, together with large dislocation loops with a diameter of 380 × and a density of 2 × 1014 cm−3. The overall increase in rate of vacancy formation was attributed to the interaction of glide dislocations with the small dislocation loops and the initial high rate to the presence of heavily jogged dislocation sources.