NSUF 15-561: Correlating mechanical properties and plastic deformation microstructure in irradiated steels
Superior properties of ferritic/martensitic steels in radiation environment such as low swelling, low activation under irradiation, and good corrosion resistance, make them good candidates for structural components in nuclear reactors. Qualification of these steels for future nuclear applications requires experimental characterization of material exposed to prototypic environments. The aim of this work is to contribute to the understanding of irradiation hardening while implementing a novel approach that has not been previously used in analysis of irradiated materials – FIB tomography of nanoindentation sites. This proposal requests access to nanoindenter, focused ion beam (FIB), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) instruments for thorough characterization of irradiation hardening in neutron irradiated ferritic/martensitic steels. The proposed work will lead to enhancement of the understanding hardness changes with irradiation, crack morphologies under indentation sites, lattice defects, distribution of shear rates of deformation zones, and other features associated with subsurface crack distribution.
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Superior properties of ferritic/martensitic steels in radiation environment such as low swelling, low activation under irradiation, and good corrosion resistance, make them good candidates for structural components in nuclear reactors. Qualification of these steels for future nuclear applications requires experimental characterization of material exposed to prototypic environments. The aim of this work is to contribute to the understanding of irradiation hardening while implementing a novel approach that has not been previously used in analysis of irradiated materials – FIB tomography of nanoindentation sites. This proposal requests access to nanoindenter, focused ion beam (FIB), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) instruments for thorough characterization of irradiation hardening in neutron irradiated ferritic/martensitic steels. The proposed work will lead to enhancement of the understanding hardness changes with irradiation, crack morphologies under indentation sites, lattice defects, distribution of shear rates of deformation zones, and other features associated with subsurface crack distribution. |
| Award Announced Date | 2015-04-22T00:00:00 |
| Awarded Institution | None |
| Facility | None |
| Facility Tech Lead | Yaqiao Wu |
| Irradiation Facility | None |
| PI | Assel Aitkaliyeva |
| PI Email | [email protected] |
| Project Type | RTE |
| RTE Number | 561 |