Microstructural changes of austenitic steels caused by proton irradiation under various conditions

Abstract In austenitic steels used for light water reactors (LWRs), neutron irradiation induces many kinds of degradation. For example, irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) and swelling are two forms of this degradation. Although there are a great number of studies on radiation induced segregation (RIS) and void swelling at high temperatures (> 400° C ) corresponding to fast and fusion reactor conditions, up to now there have been few irradiation studies at low temperatures. This paper presents microchemical and microstructural changes in type 347 and 310+Nb stainless steels due to light ion irradiation. These samples were implanted with He+ and irradiated with 2 MeV H 2 + at 300°C, 350°C and 400°C. This simulated generation of transmutant He in a fusion environment. In addition, at 300°C test pieces stressed close to the yield stress were also irradiated with the same ions. The irradiation tests were carried out using the Dynamitron accelerator at Tohoku University.