Kinetics of annealing of irradiated surveillance pressure vessel steel

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982 · Am. Soc. Test. Mater., Spec. Tech. Publ.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5616825

Harvey, D J ^[1]; Wechsler, M S

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1. Boston Edison Co., MA

Indentation hardness measurements as a function of annealing were made on broken halves of Charpy impact surveillance samples. The samples had been irradiated in commercial power reactors to a neutron fluence of approximately 1 x 10/sup 18/ neutrons per cm/sup 2/, E > 1 MeV, at a temperature of about 300/sup 0/C (570/sup 0/F). Results are reported for the weld metal, which showed greater radiation hardening than the base plate or heat-affected zone material. Isochronal and isothermal anneals were conducted on the irradiated surveillance samples and on unirradiated control samples. No hardness changes upon annealing occurred for the control samples. The recovery in hardness for the irradiated samples took place mostly between 400 and 500/sup 0/C. Based on the Meechan-Brinkman method of analysis, the activation energy for annealing was found to be 0.60 +- 0.06 eV. According to computer simulation calculations of Beeler, the activation energy for migration of vacancies in alpha iron is about 0.67 eV. Therefore, the results of this preliminary study appear to be consistent with a mechanism of annealing of radiation damage in pressure vessel steels based on the migration of radiation-produced lattice vacancies.

• OSTI ID: 5616825
• Report Number(s): CONF-820628-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Soc. Test. Mater., Spec. Tech. Publ.; (United States) Journal Volume: 782
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360106* -- Metals & Alloys-- Radiation Effects
ALLOYS
ANNEALING
BARYONS
CHARPY TEST
CONTAINERS
DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EMBRITTLEMENT
FAST NEUTRONS
FERMIONS
HADRONS
HARDNESS
HEAT AFFECTED ZONE
HEAT TREATMENTS
IMPACT TESTS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
JOINTS
KINETICS
MATERIALS TESTING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MECHANICAL TESTS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEONS
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
PRESSURE VESSELS
RADIATION EFFECTS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
STEELS
TESTING
WELDED JOINTS
ZONES