Calculation of the threshold displacement energies in UO2 using ionic potentials

A set of ionic potentials matching exactly the crystallographic, elastic and dielectric properties of the uranium dioxide is established. It is further validated upon some basic thermodynamic properties as well as upon the Frenkel pairs formation energies and the activation energies for lattice migration in UO2. The threshold displacement energies, useful to characterise the radiation resistance of the materials, are calculated for the uranium dioxide along various crystallographic directions applying the optimised force field within the sudden approximation approach.