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The effect of helium on cavity swelling in dual-ion irradiated Fe and Fe-10Cr ferritic alloys

Journal Article · · Journal of Nuclear Materials
 [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

We report Ferritic-martensitic (FM) steels for in-vessel components in proposed fusion reactors are expected to suffer from high levels of displacement damage and helium (He) generation by neutron transmutation. However, a thorough understanding of the He synergistic effects on the cavity swelling in FM steels is still not well established. To gain fundamental insights into the He effect on cavity swelling, high purity Fe and Fe-10 wt.% Cr ferritic model alloys were irradiated with 8 MeV Ni ions and co-implanted He ions at 400 to 550 °C up to 30 displacements per atom (dpa) with He implantation rates of 0.1, 10 and 50 appm He/dpa. The current study focuses on the 50 appm He/dpa, 500 °C behavior vs. 0.1 and 10 appm He/dpa. Irradiation-induced defects, including cavities, dislocation loops, and dislocation networks were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the grain interior, a bimodal cavity size distribution was observed in the 10 and 50 appm He/dpa samples, but not for 0.1 appm He/dpa. Cavity swelling was maximized at intermediate He implantation rates of ~10 appm He/dpa for both ion-irradiated Fe and Fe-10Cr alloys. The cavity swelling behavior as a function of He implantation rate appears to be controlled by the He/dpa-dependent variation of cavity sink strengths. Treating small bubbles as biased sinks for interstitial absorption can significantly increase the ratio of biased to unbiased sink strengths (Q) and results in maximized cavity swelling for a Q ratio close to one.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); Euratom Research and Training Program; State of Tennessee; Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; SC0006661
OSTI ID:
1876306
Journal Information:
Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Journal Issue: n/a Vol. 569; ISSN 0022-3115
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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