2025/02/26 by Chinonso Ugwumadu, Ugwumadu, C., D. A. Drabold +3 · 3 citations
Materials Science · #Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn) #FOS: Physical sciences #Fusion materials and technologies #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Nuclear Materials and Properties #Thermal properties of materials
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2502.19449
openalex publication_date 2025/02/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The impact of irradiation on the thermal and electronic properties of materials is a persistent puzzle, particularly defect formation at the atomic and nanoscales. This work examines the nanoscale effects of low-energy irradiation on tungsten (W), focusing on defect-induced modifications to thermal and electronic transport. Using the Site-Projected Thermal Conductivity (SPTC) method [A. Gautam et al. PSS-RRL, 2400306, 2024], we analyze bulk and twin-grain boundary W with vacancy defects based on the Norgett-Robinson-Torrens displacements per atom (NRT-dpa) model. SPTC provides a detailed prediction of post-cascade spatial thermal conductivity distribution. We estimate electronic conductivity activity using the "N2 method" [K. Nepal et al. Carbon, 119711, 2025] to explore the consequences of vacancies and grain boundaries, highlighting the defect-dependent nature of charge transport behavior. These findings offer high-resolution insights into irradiation-driven transport phenomena, with implications for space-exposed materials and nanoscale thermal/electronic management.