NSUF 22-4406: Irradiation behavior of nanostructured ferritic/martensitic Grade 91 steel at high dose
The proposed project will involve ion irradiation and post-irradiation examination of bulk nanostructured ferritic/martensitic (F/M) Grade 91 steel that is anticipated to have improved properties and enhanced irradiation tolerance and is produced by two innovative, low-cost manufacturing techniques, equal-channel angular pressing(ECAP) and high-pressure torsion (HPT). The objectives of our proposed research are to enhance our fundamental understanding of irradiation effects in ultrafine-grained (UFG, 100 nm < grain diameter < 1 μm) or nanocrystalline (NC, grain diameter < 100 nm) steels produced by ECAP or HPT, and to assess their potential applications in light water reactors (LWRs) and advanced fast reactors as structural materials or fuel cladding. Nanostructured steels have been indicated or proposed to possess significantly improved mechanical properties and enhanced irradiation tolerance over conventional steels. Hence, these materials could be new candidate materials for use as structural materials or fuel cladding in LWRs and advanced fast reactors. However, radiation damage studies of these materials are very limited and their irradiation behavior remains largely unknown, especially at high dose. This proposed work will systematically study the irradiation performance of Grade 91steel with different grain size ranges at high dose, assess their potential applications in LWRs and advanced fast reactors as structural materials or fuel cladding, and enhance our fundamental understanding of irradiation effects in these materials. The establishment of irradiation performance of nanostructured F/M steels with appealing properties will impact the life extension of current reactors and the development of advanced reactors. Hence, the proposed research is highly relevant toDOE-NE’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability program and Advanced Fast Reactor program. In addition, this project will be leveraged to benefit an ongoing NEUP project led by Dr. Haiming Wen where Grade 91 steel samples with different grain sizes have been neutron irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor; comparisons will be made between ion irradiation and neutron irradiation of the same materials.
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Abstract | The proposed project will involve ion irradiation and post-irradiation examination of bulk nanostructured ferritic/martensitic (F/M) Grade 91 steel that is anticipated to have improved properties and enhanced irradiation tolerance and is produced by two innovative, low-cost manufacturing techniques, equal-channel angular pressing(ECAP) and high-pressure torsion (HPT). The objectives of our proposed research are to enhance our fundamental understanding of irradiation effects in ultrafine-grained (UFG, 100 nm < grain diameter < 1 μm) or nanocrystalline (NC, grain diameter < 100 nm) steels produced by ECAP or HPT, and to assess their potential applications in light water reactors (LWRs) and advanced fast reactors as structural materials or fuel cladding. Nanostructured steels have been indicated or proposed to possess significantly improved mechanical properties and enhanced irradiation tolerance over conventional steels. Hence, these materials could be new candidate materials for use as structural materials or fuel cladding in LWRs and advanced fast reactors. However, radiation damage studies of these materials are very limited and their irradiation behavior remains largely unknown, especially at high dose. This proposed work will systematically study the irradiation performance of Grade 91steel with different grain size ranges at high dose, assess their potential applications in LWRs and advanced fast reactors as structural materials or fuel cladding, and enhance our fundamental understanding of irradiation effects in these materials. The establishment of irradiation performance of nanostructured F/M steels with appealing properties will impact the life extension of current reactors and the development of advanced reactors. Hence, the proposed research is highly relevant toDOE-NE’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability program and Advanced Fast Reactor program. In addition, this project will be leveraged to benefit an ongoing NEUP project led by Dr. Haiming Wen where Grade 91 steel samples with different grain sizes have been neutron irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor; comparisons will be made between ion irradiation and neutron irradiation of the same materials. |
| Award Announced Date | 2022-06-14T07:28:43.483 |
| Awarded Institution | None |
| Facility | None |
| Facility Tech Lead | Kevin Field, Yaqiao Wu |
| Irradiation Facility | Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory |
| PI | Haiming Wen |
| PI Email | [email protected] |
| Project Type | RTE |
| RTE Number | 4406 |