Ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels are being considered for application in fusion reactors, intense neutron sources, and accelerator-driven systems. While EP-450 is traditionally used with sodium coolants in Russia, EP-823 and EI-852 steels with higher silicon levels have been developed for reactor facilities using lead-bismuth coolant. To determine the influence of silicon additions on short-term mechanical properties and microstructure, ring specimens cut from cladding tubes of these three steels were irradiated in sodium at 490? in the BN-350 reactor to 50 dpa. Post-irradiation tensile testing and microstructural examination show that EI-852 steel (1.9 wt% Si) undergoes severe irradiation embrittlement. Microstructural investigation showed that the formation of near-continuous -phase precipitates on grain boundaries is the main cause of the embrittlement.
Revised: October 10, 2007 |
Published: August 1, 2007
Citation
Dvoriashin A.M., S.I. Porollo, Y.V. Konobeev, N.I. Budylkin, E.G. Mironova, A.G. Ioltukhovsky, and M.V. Leonteva-Smirnova, et al. 2007.Mechanical properties and microstructure of three Russian ferritic/martensitic steels irradiated in BN-350 reactor to 50 dpa at 490C. In Journal of Nuclear Materials, 367-370, 92-96. New York:Elsevier.PNNL-SA-53769.doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2007.03.161