Characteristics of microscopic strain localization in irradiated 316 stainless steels and pure vanadium

Characteristics of localized dislocation glide were investigated for 316 and 316LN stainless steels and pure vanadium after ion or neutron irradiation near room temperature and deformation by a uniaxial tensile load or by a multiaxial bending load. In the irradiated 316 stainless steels, both the uniaxial tensile loading and the multiaxial bend loading produced straight localized bands in the form of channels and twins. In vanadium specimens, on the other hand, curved channels were observed after tensile deformation, and these became a common feature after multiaxial bend deformation. No twin was observed in vanadium. A river pattern of channels was observed in the bent samples after irradiation to a high dose of 0.69 dpa. A highly curved channel can be formed by successive cross slip of screw dislocations. Also, the channel width was not constant along the channels; channel widening occurred when weak defect clusters were removed by the gliding screw dislocations changing their paths by cross slip. It is believed that the dissociation of dislocations into partials and high angles between easy glide planes suppresses the formation of curved channels, while a multiaxial stress state, or a higher stress constraint, increases the tendency for channel bending and widening.