Postirradiation deformation behavior in ferritic Fe-Cr alloys

摘要

It has been demonstrated that fast-neutron irradiation produces significant hardening in simple Fe-(3-18)Cr binary alloys irradiated to about 35 dpa in the temperature range 365 to 420(degrees)C, whereas irradiation at 574(degrees)C produces hardening only for 15% or more chromium. The irradiation-induced changes in tensile properties are discussed in terms of changes in the power law work-hardening exponent. The work-hardening exponent of the lower chromium alloys decreased significantly after low-temperature irradiation ((le) 420(degrees)C) but increased after irradiation at 574(degrees)C. The higher chromium alloys failed either in cleavage or in a mixed ductile/brittle fashion. Deformation microstructures are presented to support the tensile behavior.