The Irradiation-Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (IASCC) Issue: some Examples of Studies Carried out at CEA

Irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) is a problem of growing importance in pressurized water reactors (PWR). An understanding of the mechanism(s) of IASCC is required in order to provide guidance for the development of mitigation strategies. One of the principal reasons why the IAS...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:EPJ Web of conferences 2013-01, Vol.51, p.4002-25
Main Authors: Tanguy, Benoît, Sauzay, Maxime, Robertson, Christian, Perrin, Stéphane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Flux
Grain boundaries
Irradiation
Microstructure
Neutron irradiation
Pressurized water reactors
Segregations
Stress corrosion cracking
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Summary:Irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) is a problem of growing importance in pressurized water reactors (PWR). An understanding of the mechanism(s) of IASCC is required in order to provide guidance for the development of mitigation strategies. One of the principal reasons why the IASCC mechanism(s) has been so difficult to understand is the inseparability of the different IASCC potential contributors (radiation induced segregation (RIS) at grain boundaries, radiation induced microstructure (dislocations loops, voids, bubbles, phases), localized deformation under loading, irradiation creep and transmutations) evolutions due to neutron irradiation. While the development of some of the contributors (RIS, microstructure) with increasing doses are at least qualitatively well understood, the role of these changes on IASCC remains unclear. Fundamental studies related to the IASCC mechanisms can be divided on two main parts: (i) How the irradiation modifies the austenitic stainless steels (ASS) microstructure (and so the ASS mechanical behavior) as a function of dose, temperature, stress, spectrum and flux and how it affects the resistance of the ASS to SCC sensitivity and (ii) How the irradiation flux modifies the corrosion process themselves (oxidation) and how it may affect the SCC kinetics. For this last topic, both a modification of water chemistry (radiolysis) and a change of oxide are probably involved.
ISSN:2100-014X
2100-014X
DOI:10.1051/epjconf/20135104002