Abstract
Low and free nickel austenitic stainless steel alloys were developed successfully and proposed to be used as a liquid sodium coolant fast reactor pressure vessel cladding. A standard austenitic stainless steel SS316L (AISI 316L) was produced as a reference sample. The nickel content was partially or totally replaced by manganese and nitrogen. The microstructure of the produced stainless steel alloys was investigated using Schaeffler diagram, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD). Mechanical properties of the developed stainless steel grads were investigated using Vickers hardness, impact and tensile tests at room temperature. Sodium chloride was used to study the corrosion rate of the investigated alloys by open circuit potential technique. Slow and total slow neutrons removal cross sections were measured using 241 Am-Be neutron source and highly calibrated He-3 detector. Eight gamma ray lines which emitted from 60 Co and 232 Th radioactive sources and HPGe detector were used to study the attenuation parameters of the produced alloys. Metallography, Schaeffler diagram and XRD results showed that all the produced stainless steels are mainly of austenite phase with a small ferrite phase. The developed manganese-nitrogen stainless steels showed higher hardness, yield and ultimate tensile strength than SS316L. The elongation of developed stainless steels is relatively lower than the standard SS316L. The impact toughness was reduced with replacement of Ni by Mn. The developed manganese stainless steels have a higher total slow removal cross section than SS316L. On the other hand, the slow neutron and gamma rays have nearly the same behavior for all studied stainless steels.
Highlights
The thorny issue in the nuclear power reactor operating is the continuously keeping of the desired safety and reliability level
Low activation high manganese-nitrogen austenitic stainless steel grads were produced to be used as a fast reactor pressure cladding
The modified high manganesenitrogen stainless steel SSMn6N-Ni showed mainly austenite microstructure while there is a little portion of ferrite phase in SSMn7N-Ni, SSMn4N and SS316L stainless steel grades
Summary
The thorny issue in the nuclear power reactor operating is the continuously keeping of the desired safety and reliability level. [4,5] the alloys containing nickel should be minimized or eliminated from the reactor core In this regard, low activation austenitic manganese-nitrogen stainless steels have raised interest as an alternative to austenitic nickel stainless steels and Inconel alloys. [6] The high manganese-nitrogen stainless steels have attracted interest because they are potentially less expensive and less activity than nickel stainless steels. The previous works report on the favorable influence of nitrogen on the strength and corrosion behavior, low-temperature properties and creep behavior of austenitic steels. On the basis of the aforementioned aspects, the present study is focused on developing a new high manganesenitrogen stainless steel alloy for fast reactor pressure vessel cladding.
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