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Title: Microstructural Characterization of A709 Commercial Heats with Precipitation Treatment

Program Document ·
OSTI ID:1906443

This report discusses work conducted at Idaho National Laboratory in fiscal year 2022 associated with the precipitates in Alloy 709 (A709). The purpose of this work is to support the development of the A709 Code Cases to qualify A709 in Section III, Division 5 of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. This would permit the use of A709 for elevated-temperature nuclear construction. This work encompassed two broad goals. The first goal was to understand the microstructure of the second commercial heat of plate A709 purchased through the Advanced Reactors Technologies Program in both the solution-annealed and precipitation-treated conditions. Transmission electron microscopy was utilized to characterize these microstructures. Direct comparisons were then made between the solution-annealed and precipitation-treated conditions as well as between the first and second commercial heats of plate A709. The second goal was to understand the impact of variations in the time and temperature of the precipitation treatment on the properties of A709. The precipitation treatment temperature was varied from 750°C to 800°C for times ranging from 3 hours to 30 hours. The hardness of each precipitation treatment variation was measured. All of the precipitation treatment variations investigated besides a specimen from the second commercial heat of plate A709 precipitation treated at 800? for 9 hours met the room-temperature hardness requirement specified in ASTM A213 and SA-213 for UNS S31025. The hardness measured for the specimen from the second commercial heat of plate A709 that was precipitation treated at 800? for 9 hours is considered an outlier. The next step is to look at the extremes of the precipitation treatment variations investigated and conduct elevated-temperature mechanical testing. The purpose of this testing would be to assess if these time and temperature variations have any impact on the mechanical performance.

Research Organization:
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC07-05ID14517
OSTI ID:
1906443
Report Number(s):
INL/RPT-22-68666-Rev000
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English