Radiation embrittlement of PWR reactor vessel weld metals: nickel and copper synergism effects

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

OSTI ID:5709760

Guionnet, C ^[1]; Houssin, B; Brasseur, D; Lefort, A; Gros, D; Perdreau, R

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1. Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

In general, PWR reactor vessels are made of low alloy nickel manganese molybdenum steel. The behavior of this material under neutron irradiation is now relatively well known. On the other hand, the weld metals used for these vessels, which are also irradiated, exhibit a wide range of metallurgical structures and trace element contents, and further studies are necessary to gain a better understanding of their behavior under irradiation. Fourteen weld deposits were irradiated with a fluence of 5 x 10/sup 19/ n/cm/sup 2/ (E > 1 MeV) at 288/sup 0/C. The results of the corresponding Charpy V-notch impact tests are presented. Emphasis is given to the roles of copper and nickel. The effects of the different welding processes (shielded metal arc and submerged arc welding) are also studied. The consumable products used were either of commercial origin or made specially in order to obtain copper contents between 0.02 and 0.18% and nickel contents between 0.07 and 1.85%. The results indicate that nickel strongly enhances irradiation damage in the same way as copper, but the effects of the nickel contents seem to be very dependent on the copper contents. The roles of these two elements (and also that of phosphorus) in the brittle-ductile transition temperature shift is quantitatively expressed in a formula which takes the irradiation damage of these 14 welds into account, together with that of 16 further base metal samples irradiated under identical conditions in the same laboratory. Meanwhile irradiation damage did not appear to be related to the particular welding process used.

• OSTI ID: 5709760
• 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

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360106* -- Metals & Alloys-- Radiation Effects
ALLOYS
BARYONS
BRITTLE-DUCTILE TRANSITIONS
CHARPY TEST
CONTAINERS
COPPER ADDITIONS
COPPER ALLOYS
DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EMBRITTLEMENT
FAST NEUTRONS
FERMIONS
HADRONS
IMPACT TESTS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
JOINTS
MATERIALS TESTING
MECHANICAL TESTS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEONS
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
PRESSURE VESSELS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RADIATION EFFECTS
REACTORS
STEELS
TESTING
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
WELDED JOINTS