Plastic deformation processes accompanying stress corrosion crack propagation in irradiated austenitic steels

M. N. Gussev, G. S. Was, J. T. Busby, K. J. Leonard

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

During stress corrosion crack propagation, stress values in the crack tip vicinity often exceed material yield stress limit. Plastic deformation processes may accompany and influence cracking. Here, stress corrosion crack propagation and deformation mechanisms were investigated using EBSD analysis. The investigated material was 304L Ti-enriched austenitic stainless steel irradiated to 10.4 dpa at 320°C in the BOR-60 fast reactor. Crack growth tests were conducted in a simulated Normal Water Chemistry (NWC) environment in the temperature range 288–320 °C using compact tension specimens. By analyzing crack trajectory and grain structure in the crack vicinity, it was established that grain orientation with respect to the acting stress direction was not a key factor controlling crack propagation. No crystallographic orientation susceptible to cracking was identified. Also, EBSD analysis revealed strong inhomogeneity in plastic strain distribution along the crack path. Most crack-adjacent grains remained virtually strain-free whereas few grains experienced strong plastic strain. These areas were presumed to be “plastic bridges” or “ductile ligaments.”.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems – Water Reactors
EditorsMichael Wright, Denise Paraventi, John H. Jackson
PublisherSpringer International Publishing
Pages1073-1084
Number of pages12
ISBN (Print)9783319684536
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
Event18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems - Water Reactors, 2017 - Portland, United States
Duration: Aug 13 2017Aug 17 2017

Publication series

NameMinerals, Metals and Materials Series
VolumePart F11
ISSN (Print)2367-1181
ISSN (Electronic)2367-1696

Conference

Conference18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems - Water Reactors, 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPortland
Period08/13/1708/17/17

Funding

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/ downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

FundersFunder number
U.S. Department of Energy

    Keywords

    • Austenitic steel
    • Deformation localization
    • EBSD
    • Neutron irradiation
    • Stress corrosion cracking

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