Abstract
Radiation-induced segregation (RIS) of major alloying elements to grain boundaries in austenitic stainless steels has emerged as a critical aspect of irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC). Discriminating interactions between individual solute species and vacancy and interstitial defects as they migrate to grain boundaries result in redistribution of solute. Measurements of grain boundary Ni enrichment and Cr depletion indicate that RIS of major alloying elements is in reasonable agreement with the inverse-Kirkendall mechanism. The discriminating interactions for inverse-Kirkendal segregation are the relative rates of solute diffusion by vacancy exchange. Mechanistically, the ternary composition path, defined by change in Cr relative to Ni, depends on relative diffusivities. The absolute change in the composition, that is, extent along the composition path, depends on the kinetics of vacancy formation and migration. The composition path approach is used to quantify diffusional characteristics at low temperatures. Lastly, model predictions suggest a significant influence of grain boundary defect characteristics in addition to matrix defect characteristics. These grain-boundary sensitive characteristics may influence IASCC.
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