Abstract
The degradation of reactor pressure vessel steels under irradiation, which results from the hardening and embrittlement caused by a high number density of nanometer scale damage, is of increasingly crucial concern for safe nuclear power plant operation and possible reactor lifetime prolongation. In this paper, the radiation damage in model alloys with increasing chemical complexity (Fe, Fe-Cu, Fe-Cu-Si, Fe-Cu-Ni and Fe-Cu-Ni-Mn) has been studied by Positron Annihilation Doppler Broadening spectroscopy after 1.5 MeV Fe-ion implantation at room temperature or high temperature (290 oC). It is found that the room temperature irradiation generally leads to the formation of vacancy-type defects in the Fe matrix. The high temperature irradiation exhibits an additional annealing effect for the radiation damage. Besides the Cu-rich clusters observed by the positron probe, the results show formation of vacancy-Mn complexes for implantation at low temperatures.
Highlights
The irradiation-induced embrittlement of nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels is of great concern for the safety of the nuclear power plant (NPP) operation and possible lifetime prolongation since the first-generation reactors are approaching their initially designed operation lifetimes [1]
The results of the Positron Annihilation Doppler Broadening (PADB) experiments conducted in this study are used to characterize the positronsensitive nano features produced in the RPV model alloys (Fe, Fe-Cu, Fe-Cu-Si, Fe-Cu-Ni and Fe-CuNi-Mn) subjected to 1.5 MeV Fe-ion irradiation
It is observed that vacancy-type defects are formed in room temperature (RT) and HT irradiated Fe and that the higher temperature leads to an additional annealing effect
Summary
The irradiation-induced embrittlement of nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels is of great concern for the safety of the nuclear power plant (NPP) operation and possible lifetime prolongation since the first-generation reactors are approaching their initially designed operation lifetimes [1]. The Positron Annihilation Doppler Broadening (PADB) spectroscopy experiments were conducted to characterize the radiation damage in Fe-ion irradiated RPV model alloys, including Fe, Fe-Cu, Fe-Cu-Si, Fe-Cu-Ni and Fe-Cu-Ni-Mn. The results provide information on the formation of vacancy-type defects, Cu-rich clusters and vacancy-Mn complexes.
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