Investigation of hardening mechanisms and size effects in proton-irradiated HT-9 steels

Ajantiwalay, Tanvi; Nagel, Lauren; Maloy, Stuart; Hattar, Khalid; Mecholsky, John J.; Aitkaliyeva, Assel

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.152866

Investigation of hardening mechanisms and size effects in proton-irradiated HT-9 steels

Journal Article · Tue Feb 09 23:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.152866· OSTI ID:1769911

^[1]; Nagel, Lauren ^[1]; Maloy, Stuart ^[2]; Hattar, Khalid ^[3]; ^[1]; ^[1]

Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Ferritic/martensitic steels, such as HT-9, are known for their complex microstructural features and mechanical properties. Here in this paper, in-situ micro-tensile tests and traditional fractography methods were utilized to study the fracture behavior of proton-irradiated HT-9 steels. First, to evaluate the viability of micro-tensile tests for nuclear material qualification process, meso-tensile tests on as-received HT-9 steels were performed. Fracture mechanisms of unirradiated HT-9 steels at both length scales were compared and underlying mechanisms discussed. The direct comparison of micro- and meso-scale data shows a distinctive size effect demonstrated by the increase in yield stress (YS). Upon completion of initial assessment, specimens were irradiated with 4 MeV⁺ protons to three fluences, all of which were lower than 0.01 displacements per atom (dpa). As expected, the YS increases with irradiation. However, at 7 × 10^-3 dpa, the reversal of the trend was observed, and the YS exhibited sharp decline. We demonstrate that at lower length scales, grain structure has a more profound impact on the mechanical properties of irradiated materials, which provides information needed to fill in the gap in current understanding of the HT-9 fracture at different length scales.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC04-94AL85000

OSTI ID:: 1769911

Report Number(s):: SAND--2021-2046J; 693974

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 548; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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