Microstructural Characterisation of Nanometre Scale Irradiation Damage in High-Ni Welds

During service, Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) steels harden as a result of the formation of irradiation-induced nanometre-scale microstructural features which act as obstacles to dislocation movement. The hardening may lead to embrittlement and limit the reactor operating life. Microstructural obser...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIP conference proceedings 2012-03
Main Authors: Hyde, Jonathan, Styman, Paul, English, Colin, Smith, George, Wilford, Keith, Williams, Tim, Boothby, Robin, Thompson, Helen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Grains
Hardening
Microstructure
Obstacles
Radiation damage
Reactors
Steels
Styrene acrylonitrile resins
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Summary:During service, Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) steels harden as a result of the formation of irradiation-induced nanometre-scale microstructural features which act as obstacles to dislocation movement. The hardening may lead to embrittlement and limit the reactor operating life. Microstructural observations of the irradiation-induced features have provided an important contribution to the mechanistic understanding of this degradation phenomenon and to the development of dose-damage relationships. Information from Atom Probe Tomography (APT), which provides information on the spatial distribution of solute atoms within individual grains, and Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), which provides information averaged over many grains, have proved especially informative for characterising well defined solute clusters. In this paper we examine the ability of APT and SANS to characterise the earliest stages of irradiation damage in several neutron-irradiated and thermallyaged RPV steels and discuss the consequences for longer term evolution. The results will be compared with Monte Carlo models.
ISSN:0094-243X