Temperature-dependent mechanism on hardening mitigation in thermomechanically processed 800H alloys under neutron irradiation

Irradiation induced hardening is commonly observed in structural materials, and is often associated with the degraded ductility. This study explores the role of thermomechanical processing (TMP) in mitigating irradiation-induced hardening in Incoloy 800H. The radiation response of solution-annealed and TMP-treated samples was systematically investigated to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of hardening reduction. Neutron irradiation was performed on solution-annealed and TMP-treated samples at 359, 431, and 580 °C, revealing consistently lower hardening in TMP samples. Microstructural characterization compared dislocation loops, cavities, clusters, and precipitates to assess their contributions to hardening. The strengthening contributions from individual microstructural features were estimated, and the microstructure-derived yield strength is consistent with the hardness-converted yield strength. The microstructure–properties correlation revealed the temperature-dependent primary hardening mechanism: dislocation loops dominated at lower temperature, whereas Ni₃(Al,Ti) γ′ precipitates were predominant at higher temperature. TMP reduced radiation-induced hardening through two mechanisms: (1) increased sink strength from dislocations and Ti(C,N) precipitates limited dislocation loop formation at lower temperatures, and (2) reduced Ti solute within the matrix in TMP samples suppressed γ′ precipitate formation at higher temperatures. These findings identify the mechanisms governing radiation-induced hardening across different temperatures, which lays the foundation for TMP optimization for the development of advanced radiation-tolerant materials.