Abstract
About 30kg of 7mm-thick plates (grade CEA-J57) were fabricated to support development of vanadium alloys for applications as structural components in future fast neutron fission reactors. After a stress relieve annealing at 973K, the material exhibited elongated grains and large Ti-rich precipitates oriented in the rolling direction. After final heat-treatment of 2h at 1273K, the microstructure was fully recrystallised with remaining aligned large precipitates. Charpy V-notch and tensile specimens were machined in various directions of stress-relieved and recrystallised plates. The fracture energy and the lateral expansion were determined between 113K and 598K. Stress-relieved specimens clearly highlighted an anisotropic behavior with both ductile and brittle features while the recrystallized specimens are all ductile: a DBTT of 113K is suggested. The fracture mode and morphology were related to the microstructure and especially to the Ti-rich precipitate distribution. Additionally, tensile tests were performed at room temperature and between 873K and 1223K. The results were consistent with previous results: after a plateau around 400MPa, a significant decrease in tensile strength is observed above 1023K. The fracture surfaces always exhibited ductile fracture mode. The present work suggests the good quality of this vanadium alloy.
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