Influence of interface sink strength on the reduction of radiation-induced defect concentrations and fluxes in materials with large interface area per unit volume

We use a reaction--diffusion model to demonstrate that buried interfaces in polycrystalline composites simultaneously reduce both the concentrations and the fluxes of radiation-induced defects. The steady-state radiation-induced defect concentrations, however, are highly sensitive to the interface sink strength {η}. Materials containing a large volume fraction of interfaces may therefore be resistant to multiple forms of radiation-induced degradation, such as swelling and hardening, as well as to embrittlement by solute segregation, provided that the interfaces have suitable {η} values.