Title: The increase of irradiation-induced yield strength in model alloys and its correlation with transition temperature shifts and similitude to reactor pressure vessel materials

Authors: L. Debarberis, B. Acosta, E. Lucon, M. Horvath, F. Gillemot, M. Kytka, M. Brumovsky

Addresses: Institute for Energy, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Westerduinweg 3, 1755 LE Petten, The Netherlands. ' Institute for Energy, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Westerduinweg 3, 1755 LE Petten, The Netherlands. ' Institute of Nuclear Material Science, SCK•CEN, Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium. ' Atomic Energy Research Institute, AEKI, Konkoly Thege M. ut 29–33, 1121 Budapest, Hungary. ' Atomic Energy Research Institute, AEKI, Konkoly Thege M. ut 29–33, 1121 Budapest, Hungary. ' NRI, Nuclear Research Institute, Husinec – Rez 130, 25068 Rez, Czech Republic. ' NRI, Nuclear Research Institute, Husinec – Rez 130, 25068 Rez, Czech Republic

Abstract: A series of model alloys are studied to understand irradiation embrittlement phenomena and similitude in behaviours with commercial Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) materials. Important results and prediction models for a Ductile-to-Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT) shift are drawn from the data. Some of the issues have always been the lack of tensile properties and the impossibility to establish a correlation between the transition temperature and the hardening of the alloys. Recently, within the FRAME project, tensile properties have been measured on both fresh and irradiated specimens. It is these new data that are analysed in this paper to investigate the irradiation-induced yield strength increases of the model alloys and compare them with existing data from RPV steels.

Keywords: reactor pressure vessels; pressure vessel steel; ductile-to-brittle transition temperature; DBTT; tensile testing; mechanical properties; irradiation embrittlement; yield strength; model alloys.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMP.2008.022037

International Journal of Microstructure and Materials Properties, 2008 Vol.3 No.4/5, pp.576 - 590

Published online: 17 Dec 2008 *

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