A study of the neutron irradiation effects on the susceptibility to embrittlement of A316L and T91 steels in lead–bismuth eutectic

Abstract The effects of neutron irradiation on the susceptibility to liquid metal embrittlement of two primary selected materials for MYRRHA project an accelerator driven system (ADS), was investigated by means of slow strain rate tests (SSRT). The latter were carried out at 200 °C in nitrogen and in liquid Pb–Bi at a strain rate of 5 × 10−6 s−1. The small tensile specimens were irradiated at the BR-2 reactor in the MISTRAL irradiation rig at 200 °C for 3 reactor cycles to reach a dose of about 1.50 dpa. The SSR tests were carried out under poor and under dissolved oxygen conditions (∼1.5 × 10−12 wt% dissolved oxygen) which at this temperature will favour formation of iron and chromium oxides. Although both materials differ in structure (fcc for A316L against bcc for T91), their flow behaviour in contact with liquid lead bismuth eutectic before and after irradiation is very similar. Under these testing conditions none of them was found susceptible to liquid metal embrittlement (LME).