Modeling copper precipitation hardening and embrittlement in a dilute Fe-0.3at.%Cu alloy under neutron irradiation

JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS

卷:495

Article

Bai, Xian-Ming^1,3  Ke, Huibin²  Zhang, Yongfeng³  Spencer, Benjamin W.³ 

[1] Virginia Polytech Inst & State Univ, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA

[2] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, 1509 Univ Ave, Madison, WI 53706 USA

[3] Idaho Natl Lab, Fuel Modeling & Simulat Dept, Idaho Falls, ID 83415 USA

关键词: Radiation hardening and embrittlement;    Reactor pressure vessel steels;    Cu precipitation in FeCu alloys;    Cluster dynamics modeling;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.08.042

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Neutron irradiation in light water reactors can induce precipitation of nanometer sized Cu clusters in reactor pressure vessel steels. The Cu precipitates impede dislocation gliding, leading to an increase in yield strength (hardening) and an upward shift of ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (embrittlement). In this work, cluster dynamics modeling is used to model the entire Cu precipitation process (nucleation, growth, and coarsening) in a Fe-0.3at.% Cu alloy under neutron irradiation at 300 degrees C based on the homogenous nucleation mechanism. The evolution of the Cu cluster number density and mean radius predicted by the modeling agrees well with experimental data reported in literature for the same alloy under the same irradiation conditions. The predicted precipitation kinetics is used as input for a dispersed barrier hardening model to correlate the microstructural evolution with the radiation hardening and embrittlement in this alloy. The predicted radiation hardening agrees well with the mechanical test results in the literature. Limitations of the model and areas for future improvement are also discussed in this work. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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