• Citation: S.V. Starikov, L.N. Kolotova, A.Y. Kuksin, D.E. Smirnova, and V.I. Tseplyaev (2018), "Atomistic simulation of cubic and tetragonal phases of U-Mo alloy: Structure and thermodynamic properties", Journal of Nuclear Materials, 499, 451-463. DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.11.047.
    Abstract: We studied structure and thermodynamic properties of cubic and tetragonal phases of pure uranium and U-Mo alloys using atomistic simulations: molecular dynamics and density functional theory. The main attention was paid to the metastable γ0-phase that is formed in U-Mo alloys at low temperature. Structure of γ0-phase is similar to body-centered tetragonal (bct) lattice with displacement of a central atom in the basic cell along [001] direction. Such displacements have opposite orientations for part of the neighbouring basic cells. In this case, such ordering of the displacements can be designated as antiferro-displacement. Formation of such complex structure may be interpreted through forming of short U-U bonds. At heating, the tetragonal structure transforms into cubic γs-phase, still showing ordering of central atom displacements. With rise in temperature, γs-phase transforms to γ-phase with a quasi body-centered cubic (q-bcc) lattice. The local positions of uranium atoms in γ-phase correspond to γs-phase, however, orientations of the central atom displacements become disordered. Transition from γ0 to γ can be considered as antiferro-to paraelastic transition of order-disorder type. \n\nThis approach to the structure description of uranium alloy allows to explain a number of unusual features found in the experiments: anisotropy of lattice at low temperature; remarkably high self-diffusion mobility in γ-phase; decreasing of electrical resistivity at heating for some alloys. In addition, important part of this work is the development of new interatomic potential for U-Mo system made with taking into account details of studied structures.

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    Notes: These files were sent by S.V. Starikov (Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences) on 3 Dec. 2017 and posted with his permission.
    File(s): superseded


  • See Computed Properties
    Notes: This file was recieved by Sergei Starikov on August 2, 2018. He noted: "In the previous version, one function for Mo-Mo interaction had poor smoothing with r=r_cut. This "bug" led to the sake of the energy conservation during high-temperature (or long) calculations for pure Mo or U-Mo alloy. I made an additional check and found a small potential compilation issue leading to this energy drift. I fixed the file, so now it can be safely used with the time-step = 0.5 fs, even for long runs at high temperatures (the test was made for 1500K)."
    File(s):
Date Created: October 5, 2010 | Last updated: November 20, 2024