Tensile properties and damage microstructures in ORR/HFIR-irradiated austenitic stainless steels

The synergistic effect of displacement damage and helium generation under neutron irradiation on tensile behavior and microstructures of austenitic stainless steels was investigated. The steels were irradiated at 400°C in the spectrally-tailored (ST) Oak Ridge research reactor/high flux isotope reactor (ORR/HFIR) capsule to 17 dpa with a helium production of about 200 appm and in the HFIR target capsule to 21 and 34 dpa with 1590 and 2500 appm He, respectively. The increase of yield strength in the target irradiation was larger than that in the ST irradiation because of the high-number density of Frank loops, bubbles, voids, and carbides. Based on the theory of dispersed barrier hardening, the strengths evaluated from these clusters coincide with the measured increase of yield strengths. This analysis suggests that the main factors of radiation hardening in the ST and the target irradiation at 400°C are Frank-type loops and cavities, respectively.