NSUF 21-4325: In-situ mechanical testing of neutron-irradiated 304SS exhibiting unusual deformation and fracture behavior with respect to temperature

This RTE proposal assesses micro-tensile testing as a cost-effective methodology to conduct future systematic research on observations of brittle IG fracture at room-temperature of highly neutron-irradiated stainless steel under aggressive straining conditions. Within the proposed scope of work, micro-tensile testing will be conducted on a neutron-irradiated stainless steel that exhibits this behaviour. 304SS retrieved from a PWR component and irradiated to ~21 dpa during service at operating temperatures (nominally 320oC) will be investigated in this project. This material has previously shown indications that it may have responded with significant embrittlement due to irradiation.

The proposers aim to produce micro-tensile test specimens of this material for testing within the FEI Quanta FEG Focused Ion Beam/Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB/SEM) equipped with Electron Back-Scatter Detector (EBSD) and Hysitron PI85 in-situ nanoindenter at the NSUF facilities at the University of California Berkeley. The irradiated material is currently stored at the Westinghouse Churchill Labs’ Hot Cell. Westinghouse will be responsible for preparing and shipping a block of material with a suitably prepared (metallographic polished) surface to Berkeley. On receipt of the block, UCB will identify regions of interest on the polished surface of the block, will fabricate micro-tensile specimens from these regions and will determine stress-strain curves for these specimens over a range of temperatures

Additional Info

Field	Value
Abstract	This RTE proposal assesses micro-tensile testing as a cost-effective methodology to conduct future systematic research on observations of brittle IG fracture at room-temperature of highly neutron-irradiated stainless steel under aggressive straining conditions. Within the proposed scope of work, micro-tensile testing will be conducted on a neutron-irradiated stainless steel that exhibits this behaviour. 304SS retrieved from a PWR component and irradiated to ~21 dpa during service at operating temperatures (nominally 320oC) will be investigated in this project. This material has previously shown indications that it may have responded with significant embrittlement due to irradiation. The proposers aim to produce micro-tensile test specimens of this material for testing within the FEI Quanta FEG Focused Ion Beam/Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB/SEM) equipped with Electron Back-Scatter Detector (EBSD) and Hysitron PI85 in-situ nanoindenter at the NSUF facilities at the University of California Berkeley. The irradiated material is currently stored at the Westinghouse Churchill Labs’ Hot Cell. Westinghouse will be responsible for preparing and shipping a block of material with a suitably prepared (metallographic polished) surface to Berkeley. On receipt of the block, UCB will identify regions of interest on the polished surface of the block, will fabricate micro-tensile specimens from these regions and will determine stress-strain curves for these specimens over a range of temperatures
Award Announced Date	2021-06-07T16:09:37.43
Awarded Institution	Idaho National Laboratory
Facility	Advanced Test Reactor
Facility Tech Lead	Alina Zackrone, Catou Cmar, Peter Hosemann
Irradiation Facility	None
PI	Mike Burke
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	RTE
RTE Number	4325