Abstract:Under irradiation, high-energy particles introduce dense defects inside metallic materials, leading to severe degradation of mechanical properties and reducing the service life of irradiated materials. Since irradiation-induced defects are mostly at the nanoscale, molecular dynamics method is a powerful tool for simulating the defects, and has been widely used in recent years to study the evolution of irradiation-induced defects. In this paper, we introduced the progress of molecular dynamics research on irradiation-induced defects in metallic materials, including collision cascade, point defects, voids, helium bubbles, Frank loops, stacking fault tetrahedrons, as well as their interactions with dislocations and grain boundaries. The mechanisms and models revealed by molecular dynamics method deepen the understanding of irradiation effects, and help to improve the mechanical properties of irradiated materials and design irradiation-resistant materials.