The blistering of 316L stainless steel irradiated with energetic alpha particles at 500°C

Abstract

Abstract The physical process of blistering is investigated in the 316L stainless steel in both the solid solution and 20% cold-worked states. The material was irradiated with 1.8 MeV alpha particles to various fluences at 500°C. There is a threshold fluence for blistering in the range of (0.869–1.346)×1018 α/cm2. the microstructure, determined by TEM observation in the cross-section of irradiated samples, shows that the bubbles are accumulated at the surface layer. There is a bubble size and density distribution along the direction of depth. The bubble size and swelling increase progressively from the edge of the specimen to the damage peak region (DPR), then decrease. After 3 μm there are no bubbles. Due to bubble formation the thermal conductivity of the surface layer becomes lower and the temperature increases due to the irradiation energy deposited. Beyond the threshold fluence, the temperature of the surface layer is high, bubble coalescence at DPR becomes more serious and the bubble pressure becomes high enough that blistering occurs.