Ultrastrong nanocrystalline steel with exceptional thermal stability and radiation tolerance

Du, Congcong; Jin, Shenbao; Fang, Yuan; Li, Jin; Hu, Shenyang; Yang, Tingting; Zhang, Ying; Huang, Jianyu; Sha, Gang; Wang, Yugang; Shang, Zhongxia; Zhang, Xinghang; Sun, Baoru; Xin, Shengwei; Shen, Tongde

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-07712-x

Ultrastrong nanocrystalline steel with exceptional thermal stability and radiation tolerance

Journal Article · Wed Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07712-x· OSTI ID:1489222

Du, Congcong ^[1]; Jin, Shenbao ^[2]; Fang, Yuan ^[3]; Li, Jin ^[4]; Hu, Shenyang ^[5]; Yang, Tingting ^[1]; Zhang, Ying ^[1]; Huang, Jianyu ^[1]; Sha, Gang ^[2]; Wang, Yugang ^[3]; Shang, Zhongxia ^[4]; ^[4]; Sun, Baoru ^[1]; Xin, Shengwei ^[1]; ^[1]

Yanshan Univ., Qinhuangdao (China)
Nanjing Univ. of Science and Technology (China)
Peking Univ., Beijing (China)
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Nanocrystalline (NC) metals are stronger and more radiation-tolerant than their coarse-grained (CG) counterparts, but they often suffer from poor thermal stability, i.e., nanograins coarsen significantly when heated to 0.3 to 0.5 of their melting temperature (T_m). Here we report an NC austenitic stainless steel (NC-SS) containing 1 at% lanthanum with an average grain size of 45 nm and an ultrahigh yield strength of ~ 2.5 GPa that exhibits exceptional thermal stability up to 1000 oC (0.75 Tm). In-situ irradiation to 40 dpa at 450 oC and ex-situ irradiation to 108 dpa at 600 oC produce neither significant grain growth nor void swelling, in contrast to significant void swelling of CG-SS at similar doses. This thermal stability is due to segregation of elemental lanthanum and (La, O, Si)-rich nanoprecipitates at grain boundaries. Microstructure dependent cluster dynamics show grain boundary sinks effectively reduce steady-state vacancy concentrations to suppress void swelling upon irradiation.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1489222

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--139907

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 9; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Response of solidification cellular structures in additively manufactured 316 stainless steel to heavy ion irradiation: an in situ study Shang, Z.; Fan, C.; Xue, S. Materials Research Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2019.1604442	journal	April 2019

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