December 15, 2019
Journal Article

Influence of welding and neutron irradiation on dislocation loop formation and alpha' precipitation in a FeCrAl alloy

Abstract

An advanced accident-tolerant FeCrAl alloy, C35M (Fe-13Cr-10Al-1Mo, at %), and its laser-fusion weldments were studied after neutron irradiation up to 1.8 dpa at 357 C to evaluate the radiation damage and a'-precipitation kinetics. Results show that the densities of a' in the fusion zone (FZ) and the heat-affected zone (HAZ) were only a third of that in the base material, i.e., 2.3*10-24 m-3. Density of dislocation loops in the FZ and HAZ were less than half of that in base material. The size of a' precipitates and the dislocation loops were found to be smaller in base material, compared to FZ and HAZ. The variances in microstructural response within the different regions were attributed to initial as-welded states of each region, indicating the impact of the pre-irradiation condition on radiation response in FeCrAl alloys.

Revised: April 17, 2020 | Published: December 15, 2019

Citation

Zhang D., S.A. Briggs, P.D. Edmondson, M.N. Gussev, R.H. Howard, and K.G. Field. 2019. Influence of welding and neutron irradiation on dislocation loop formation and alpha' precipitation in a FeCrAl alloy. Journal of Nuclear Materials 2019, no. 527:151784. PNNL-SA-146678. doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151784