Abstract
Components of reactor core internals suffer from Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking. Here is studied 08Ch18N10T austenitic stainless steel acquired from decommissioned NPP Nord Unit 1, VVER 440-230 type in Greifswald, where had been irradiated to 5.2 dpa. The material was tensile tested at 20 °C in air and slow strain rate tested at 320 °C in air and in water. SEM observations of the fracture surface found ductile fracture for the air tests, but areas of intergranular fracture typical of IASCC in the water. This paper emphasizes the microscopic examination from three samples to determine the underlying physical damage processes. TEM observations close to the fractured surface focused to the interaction of dislocations with local radiation damage defects and grain boundaries owing to different test conditions. Determination of local chemical composition around the grain boundaries indicated radiation induced segregation; as well presence of helium gas in voids. The observation of tensile tests found the presence of twinning and regions of strained martensite transformation. The nano features of tests at elevated temperature were tangled dislocations, similar in air and water. No effect of the water environment on the deformation structures was observed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Z. Jiao, G.S. Was, The role of irradiated microstructure in the localized deformation of austenitic stainless steels. J. Nucl. Mater. 407, 34–43 (2010)
G.S. Was, K.J. Stephenson, Y. Ashida, Insights into the IASCC mechanism in neutron irradiated austenitic alloys with varying microstructure and microchemistry, in Proceedings 16th Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems—Water Reactors (2013)
K.J. Stephenson, G.S. Was, Crack initiation behavior of neutron irradiated model and commercial stainless steels in high temperature water. J. Nucl. Mater. 444, 331–341 (2014)
J.I. Cole et al., Strain-rate effects on microstructural deformation in irradiated 316 SS. J. Nucl. Mater. 351, 316–323 (2006)
T. Miura, K. Fujii, K. Fukuya, Y. Ito, Characterization of deformation structure in ion-irradiated stainless steels. J. Nucl. Mater. 386–388, 210–213 (2009)
K. Fukuya, K. Fujii, Deformation structure in 316 stainless steel irradiated in a PWR, in 12th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems-Water Reactors (2005), pp. 389–393
K. Fukuya, H. Nishioka, K. Fujii, M. Kamaya, T. Miura, T. Torimaru, Fracture behavior of austenitic stainless steels irradiated in PWR. J. Nucl. Mater. 378, 211–219 (2008)
M.N. Gussev, J.T. Busby, Deformation localization in highly irradiated austenitic stainless steels, in 16th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems-Water Reactors (2013)
M.N. Gussev, K.G. Field, J.T. Busby, Strain-induced phase transformation at the surface of an AISI-304 stainless steel irradiated to 4.4 dpa and deformed to 0.8% strain. J. Nucl. Mater. 446, 187–192 (2014)
M.N. Gussev, J.T. Busby, L. Tan, F.A. Garner, Magnetic phase formation in irradiated austenitic alloys. J. Nucl. Mater. 448, 294–300 (2014)
M.N. Gusev, O.P. Maksimkin, I.S. Osipov, F.A. Garner, Anomalously large deformation of 12Cr18Ni10Ti austenitic steel irradiated to 55 dpa at 310 °C in the BN-350 reactor. J. Nucl. Mater. 386–388, 273–276 (2009)
W. Karlsen, J. Pakarinen, A. Toivonen, U. Ehrnstén, Deformation microstructures of 30 dpa AISI 304 stainless steel after monotonic tensile and constant load autoclave testing, in 15th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems-Water Reactors (2011), pp. 1429–1443
J.L. Nelson et al., Critical issues report and roadmap for the advanced radiation-resistant materials program, in TR-1026482 (EPRI, Palo Alto, 2012)
M. Zamboch et al., Influence of radiolysis and hydrogen embrittlement on the in-service cracking of pwr internal structures, in TR-112593 (EPRI, Palo Alto, 1999)
T. Miura, K. Fujii, H. Nishioka, K. Fukuya, Effects of hydrogen on interaction between dislocations and radiation-induced defects in austenitic stainless steels. J. Nucl. Mater. 442, S735–S739 (2013)
L.W. Tsay, S.C. Yu, R.T. Huang, Effect of austenite instability on the hydrogen-enhanced crack growth of austenitic stainless steels. J. Process Control 17, 689–701 (2007)
A. Hojná, M. Ernestová, O. Hietanen, R. Korhonen, L. Hulinová, F. Oszvald, Irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking of austenitic stainless steel WWER reactor core internals,in 15th Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems—Water Reactors (2012), pp. 1257–1272
H.K. Namburi, P. Bublíkova, V. Rosnecky, J. Michalicka, TEM foil preparation from irradiated metallic materials: a practical approach. J. Environ. Sci. Eng. 4B, 432–444 (2015)
R.F. Egerton, Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy in the Electron Microscope, 3rd edn. (Springer, New York, Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London, 2011), pp. 327–328 (ISBN 978-1-4419-9582-7)
U. Ehrnstén, J. Pakarinen, W. Karlsen, H. Keinänen, Investigations on core basket bolts from a VVER 440 power plant. Eng. Fail. Anal. 33, 55–65 (2013)
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to Edita Lecianova and Vit Rosnecky for their support in handling and active sample preparation, especially in the hot-cells.
The presented work was financially supported by the SOTERIA project (EC: No. 661913) and by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport Czech Republic project LQ1603 (Research for SUSEN). The work has been realized within the SUSEN project (established in the framework of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in project CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0108).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
About this paper
Cite this paper
Hojna, A., Duchon, J., Halodova, P., Namburi, H.K. (2019). Effect of Strain Rate and High Temperature Water on Deformation Structure of VVER Neutron Irradiated Core Internals Steel. In: Jackson, J., Paraventi, D., Wright, M. (eds) Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems – Water Reactors. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04639-2_35
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04639-2_35
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04638-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04639-2
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)