Intergranular Fracture in Neutron Irradiated Vanadium-20 Wt.% Titanium Alloys Undoped and Doped with Phosphorus

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the effect of neutron irradiation (9.8 × 1024 n/m2 at 438 °C) on the mechanical properties in V-20 wt.% Ti alloys undoped and doped with P using a small punch testing method. The same amount of neutron irradiation-induced hardening, that is almost temperature independent, was observed in undoped and P doped alloys. Neutron irradiation facilitated heterogeneous formation of grain boundary microcracks, not leading to specimen failure, in the undoped alloy. An irradiated undoped alloy showed ductility loss, that is not as much as expected from the easy microcrack formation due to a mixed mode of intergranular and transgranular cracking. Conversely, in the P doped alloy, intergranular microcracking was suppressed and low temperature ductility was improved by the irradiation. The intergranular fracture behavior controlling the ductility change is discussed in terms of the grain boundary composition and yield strength affected by the neutron irradiation.