The influence of Fe-ion irradiation on the microstructure of reduced activation ferritic-martensitic steel Eurofer 97

Abstract

Reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steels for in-vessel components of a fusion reactor have shown a decrease in plasticity and radiation hardening at low irradiation temperatures. The formation of dislocation loops and embryos of α′ phase is considered the main reason for these effects. In this work, Eurofer 97 steel was irradiated with 5.6 MeV Fe2+ ions up to 1020 m−2 at 250, 300 and 400 °C. Transmission electron microscopy study of ion irradiated samples revealed nucleation of dislocation loops. The pair-correlation analysis of atom probe tomography data detected an initial stage of solid solution decomposition. The hardening of ion-irradiated Eurofer 97 was calculated with the dispersed barrier hardening model, taking into account radiation-induced dislocation loops to compare it with the change of yield stress in neutron-irradiated Eurofer 97. According to the obtained results, it can be supposed that the formation of dislocation loops plays the main role in the low-temperature radiation hardening of Eurofer 97 at a dose level up to ~10 dpa.