journal article·2022-08-04Open access

Microstructure Evolution of Reactor Pressure Vessel A508-3 Steel under High-Dose Heavy Ion Irradiation

Xianfeng Ma, Qiang Zhang, Ligang Song, Wenqing Zhang, Meng She, Fei Zhu

Crystals· Volume 12· Issue 8

Abstract

The microstructure evolution of nuclear reactor pressure vessel A508-3 steel irradiated by heavy ions up to 1.5 dpa was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). According to the TEM analysis, black dots were widely distributed in the irradiated A508-3 steel, with a high density of 1.782 × 1022/m3. A large number of dislocations with Burgers vectors <100> were formed in the irradiated A508-3 steel and tangled together, leading to the formation of dislocation networks. The number density of black dots at 1.5 dpa was 3.5 times higher than that at 0.08 dpa, and the corresponding average size showed an 8% increase. The higher density of dislocation defects led to a significant increase in hardness from 3.0 GPa at 0.08 dpa to 4.2 GPa at 1.5 dpa. The elastic modulus showed a slight increase and less dependence on the irradiation dose.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Fusion materials and technologies · Ion-surface interactions and analysis · Microstructure and mechanical properties

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China

Funding

Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research · National Natural Science Foundation of China · International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of Guangdong Province · Zhuhai–Hong Kong–Macao Science and Technology Cooperation Program of Zhuhai City, China · Key Research Project of Guangdong Province · Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Sun Yat-sen University · Science and Technology on Reactor Fuel and Materials Laboratory, Nuclear Power Institute of China

References (26)

Show source-provided references
1. A comparison of western and eastern nuclear reactor pressure vessel steels10.1016/S0308-0161(97)00075-6 ↗
2. World outlook for nuclear power10.1016/j.esr.2012.12.001 ↗
3. German and Russian Irradiated Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels from PAS Point of View10.12693/APhysPolA.125.726 ↗
4. Annealing as a Technique for Estimating the Structural Elements Contribution to NPP Materials Service Properties10.1134/S0031918X19080106 ↗
5. Plasticity Correction on Stress Intensity Factor Evaluation for Underclad Cracks in Reactor Pressure Vessels10.1115/1.4046977 ↗
6. Mechanisms of radiation embrittlement of VVER-1000 RPV steel at irradiation temperatures of (50-400) degrees C10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.04.035 ↗
7. Charpy impact test on A508-3 steel after neutron irradiation10.1016/j.engfailanal.2017.06.032 ↗
8. Positron Annihilation Investigation of Embrittlement Behavior in Chinese RPV Steels after Fe-Ion Irradiation
9. Irradiation Embrittlement10.1016/B978-0-12-341825-8.50016-7 ↗
10. Gillemot, F. (2021). Review on Steel Enhancement for Nuclear RPVs. Metals, 11.10.3390/met11122008 ↗
11. Irradiation tensile property and fracture toughness evaluation study of A508-3 steel based on multi-scale approach10.1016/j.anucene.2019.107157 ↗
12. Role of displacement cascades in Ni clustering in a ferritic Fe-3.3 at%Ni model alloy: Comparison of heavy and light particle irradiations10.1016/j.scriptamat.2020.07.031 ↗
13. Contributions of Cu-rich clusters, dislocation loops and nanovoids to the irradiation-induced hardening of Cu-bearing low-Ni reactor pressure vessel steels10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.02.031 ↗
14. SRIM—The stopping and range of ions in matter10.1016/j.nimb.2010.02.091 ↗
15. Opportunities and limitations for ion beams in radiation effects studies: Bridging critical gaps between charged particle and neutron irradiations10.1016/j.scriptamat.2017.06.041 ↗
16. Microstructure characterization of reactor pressure vessel steel A508-3 irradiated by heavy ion10.1088/1742-6596/2133/1/012015 ↗
17. Characterization of microstructures and mechanical property of Fe-ion-irradiated China A508-3 steel10.1016/j.nimb.2021.06.021 ↗
18. Insights from atomistic models on loop nucleation and growth in alpha-Fe thin films under Fe+ 100 keV irradiation10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.04.030 ↗
19. On the origin of primary 1/2 a(0) <111> and a(0) <100> loops in irradiated Fe(Cr) alloys10.1016/j.actamat.2017.02.041 ↗
20. Heavy-ion irradiations of Fe and Fe-Cr model alloys Part 1: Damage evolution in thin-foils at lower doses10.1080/14786430802380469 ↗
21. Effects of temperature on structure and mobility of the < 1 0 0 > edge dislocation in body-centred cubic iron10.1016/j.actamat.2009.12.033 ↗
22. (100)-loop characterization in alpha-Fe: Comparison between experiments and modeling10.1016/S0022-3115(02)01158-3 ↗
23. Solving the Puzzle of <100> Interstitial Loop Formation in bcc Iron10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.265503 ↗
24. Microstructure-informed prediction and measurement of nanoindentation hardness of an Fe-9Cr alloy irradiated with Fe-ions of 1 and 5 MeV energy10.1016/j.nme.2021.101105 ↗
25. A study of microindentation hardness tests by mechanism-based strain gradient plasticity10.1557/JMR.2000.0258 ↗
26. Effect of radiation defects on the early stages of nanoindentation tests in bcc Fe and Fe-Cr alloys10.1016/j.commatsci.2021.111151 ↗