Origin of increased helium density inside bubbles in Ni(1-x)Fex alloys

Due to virtually no solubility, He atoms implanted or created inside materials tend to form bubbles, which are known to damage material properties through embrittlement. Higher He density in nano-sized bubbles was observed both experimentally and computationally in Ni(100-x)Fex-alloy samples compared to Ni. The bubbles in the Ni(100-x)Fex-alloys were observed to be faceted, whereas in elemental Ni they were more spherical. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that stacking fault structures formed around bubbles at maximum He density. Higher Fe concentrations stabilize stacking fault structures, suppress evolution of dislocation network around bubbles and suppress complete dislocation emission, leading to higher He density. (C) 2020 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd.