Abstract
The effects of radiation interaction with materials have been studied over the years
on metals, semiconductors, and other alloys. The result of these interactions constitutes microstructural
effects, like point defects, dislocation loops, and void swellings. The accumulation
of these defects results to damage on the macroscopic scale. This study is aimed to predict
the magnitude of radiation damage in gold sample due to neutron irradiation. Neutron flux,
displacement-per-atom rate, as well as heat deposition, were calculated in MCNP6.2, using the
SAFARI-1 reactor model. The total neutron flux and dpa rate in the gold sample were determined
to be 2.262 × 1011 n.cm−2.s−1 and 5.209 × 10−7 s−1 respectively. Also, the total heat
deposition due to neutrons and photons was 2.515×10−6 W.g−1 and 0.513 W.g−1, respectively.
Hence, the predicted neutron dpa and flux for the gold sample in this study suggest a heavy
damage regime.