In-reactor investigations of the creep of structural materials

Abstract

1. A series of in-reactor tests was performed on a sample used to study radiation creep in 00X16H15M3B steel, XHM1 chrome-nickel alloy, the zirconium based alloys E110 and E635, and the vanadium-based alloy BTX8. The radiation creep modulus (in units of Pa−1·(displacements/atom)−1 equals 1.7·10−11 for 00X16H15M3B steel, 4.6·10−11 for XHM alloy with fluence up to 2.3·1020 cm−2 and 1.6·10−11 for a fluence above 1·1021 cm−2, (4.6–4.9)·10−11 for E110 alloy, and 1.8·10−11 for E635 alloy. For the alloy BTX8, at stresses below half the yield point and t=450°C, the modulus equals 3.3·10−12 Pa−1·(displacements/atom)−1. At a higher stress, the deformation rate of the alloy increases progressively. 2. In the investigation of the temperature dependence of in-reactor creep of the alloy E110, it was found that at 350–370°C and higher, the thermal creep makes the predominant contribution to deformation. In the experimental range 370–455°C, the thermal activation energy of in-reactor creep was determined to be 36 ± 8 kcal/(g·atom). At temperatures below 350°C the creep of the alloy E110 is a temperature-independent radiation-stimulated process. 3. In the case of tests of zirconium alloys, a previously unobserved phenomenon of periodic rapid deformation of the material against the background of creep at stresses even well below the yield point of the irradiated material was discovered. The effect was manifested at a temperature of about 230°C. As the temperature increases up to 290°C and higher, no plastic movements are observed.