Intergranular cracking of irradiated thermally sensitized type 304 stainless steel in high-temperature water and inert gas

Journal Article · Sun Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · Corrosion

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5006/1.3293553· OSTI ID:131408

Hide, K; Onchi, T; Mayuzumi, M; Dohi, K ^[1]; Futamura, Y ^[2]

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1. Central Research Inst. of the Electric Power Industry, Komae, Tokyo (Japan). Komae Research Lab.
2. Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Ibaraki (Japan)

Specimens of solution-annealed (SA), commercial-purity type 304 (UNS S30400) stainless steel (SS) with a high carbon content were thermally sensitized by heat treatment in a two-step process: a high-temperature sensitization at 1,023 K followed by a low-temperature sensitization at 773 K. The specimens then were irradiated to 3 {degree} 10{sup 23} n/m{sup 2} (E > 1 MeV) at 563 K in boiling pure water. After irradiation, the materials were tensile tested at room temperature (RT) and at 563 K in inert gas and then tensile tested by the slow strain rate (SSR) method in 563 K water with different dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and in inert gas. Results were compared with those for unirradiated sensitized materials. The irradiated thermally sensitized SS revealed intergranular cracking (IGC) when tensile tested at RT and at 563 K in argon gas. Intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) susceptibility of thermally sensitized specimens in high-temperature water of different DO concentrations was enhanced by neutron irradiation. A hypothetical model was proposed to interpret the enhanced IGC susceptibility. The model consisted of three cracking mechanisms: IGSCC (conventional SCC), irradiation-assisted SCC (IASCC, or enhanced SCC), and IGC (mechanical IGC).

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 131408
• Journal Information: Corrosion, Journal Name: Corrosion Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 51; ISSN 0010-9312; ISSN CORRAK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ARGON
BWR TYPE REACTORS
CRACK PROPAGATION
FRACTURE PROPERTIES
HEAT TREATMENTS
INTERGRANULAR CORROSION
IRRADIATION
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
STAINLESS STEEL-304
STRAIN RATE
STRESS CORROSION
TENSILE PROPERTIES
WATER