Defects and Impurity Properties of VN precipitates in ARAFM Steels: Modelling using a Universal Machine Learning Potential and Experimental Validation

Abstract: VN precipitates used to strengthen ARAFM steels for fusion applications, have been shown to undergo dissolution under high Fe ion irradiation doses of 100 dpa at dose rates of 10^-3 dpa/s at 600 C. Here, point defects and solute substitutions have been studied using atom probe tomography (APT), universal machine learning interatomic potentials (uMLIPs), and density functional theory. Through a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), APT, and atomic scale calculations, N-vacancies and substitutional Cr are found to be present in VN precipitates prior to irradiation. Ternary convex hulls were calculated for ten VNX (X=Cr, Fe, C, Si, Mn, W, Ta, B, S, P) systems with an uMLIP. These calculations predict Fe, P, Mn, and Si to be unstable solutes in the VN precipitate. Therefore, Fe, P, Mn and Si implantation via collision cascades is found to be a possible mechanism driving dissolution of VN.