In the present work, an ODS 12 Cr steel was characterized using Electron Microscopy techniques, in an as-received condition and after annealing treatments between 773 K and 1573 K. Results show a complex microstructure, with the presence of fine Y–Ti–O nanoparticles dispersed in the matrix. After annealing at 1573 K, the average diameter of Y–Ti–O nanoparticles increases from ~ 4 to ~ 7 nm and partial recrystallization occurs. The trapping behavior of deuterium in the steel in its as-received state and annealed at 1573 K was investigated. Samples were exposed to low-energy deuterium plasma and analyzed with thermal desorption spectroscopy, after waiting times of 1 day and 25 days. The samples measured 1 day after exposure released a higher total amount of deuterium than the ones measured after 25 days. The effect of waiting time is explained by the release of deuterium, at 300 K, from sites with low activation energy for detrapping, E_d. In the as-received condition, part of the deuterium detrapped at 300 K was re-trapped by high-E_d sites. For the samples in the annealed condition, the redistribution of deuterium from low-E_d to high-E_d sites was not observed, but the total amount of deuterium released was higher.

Results are presented of large-scale Molecular Dynamics simulations of low-energy He bombardment of W nanorods, or so-called 'fuzz' structures. The goal of these simulations is to see if ballistic He penetration through W fuzz offers a more realistic scenario for how He moves through fuzz layers than He diffusion through fuzz nanorods. Instead of trying to grow a fuzz layer starting from a flat piece of bulk W, a new approach of creating a fully formed fuzz structure 0.43 μm thick out of ellipsoidal pieces of W is employed. Lack of detailed experimental knowledge of the 3D structure of fuzz is dealt with by simulating He bombardment on five different structures of 15 vol% W and determining the variation in He penetration for each case. The results show that by far the most important factor determining He penetration is the amount of open channels through which He ions can travel unimpeded. For a more or less even W density distribution He penetration into fuzz falls off exponentially with distance and can thus be described by a 'half depth'. In a 15 vol% fuzz structure, the half depth can reach 0.18 μm. In the far sparser fuzz structures that were recently reported, the half depth might be 1 μm or more. This means that ballistic He penetration offers a more likely scenario than He diffusion through nanorods for how He moves through fuzz and may provide an adequate explanation for how He penetrates through the thickest fuzz layers reported so far. Furthermore, the exponential decrease in penetration with depth would follow a logarithmic dependence on fluence which is compatible with experiments. A comparison of these results and molecular dynamics calculations carried out in the recoil interaction approximation shows that results for W fuzz are qualitatively very different from conventional stopping power calculations on W with a similarly low but homogeneous density distribution.