ISSN: 1546-962X
CODEN: JAIOAD
Published Online: 28 February 2005
Page Count: 12

Behavior of Irradiated Type 316 Stainless Steels under Low-Strain-Rate Tensile Conditions

Yoshitake, T
Assistant Senior Engineer, Engineer, Assistant Senior Engineer, and Section Manager, Fuels and Materials Division, Oarai Engineering Center, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, Oaraimachi, Ibaraki,

Yamagata, I
Assistant Senior Engineer, Engineer, Assistant Senior Engineer, and Section Manager, Fuels and Materials Division, Oarai Engineering Center, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, Oaraimachi, Ibaraki,

Akasaka, N
Assistant Senior Engineer, Engineer, Assistant Senior Engineer, and Section Manager, Fuels and Materials Division, Oarai Engineering Center, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, Oaraimachi, Ibaraki,

Nakamura, Y
Assistant Senior Engineer, Engineer, Assistant Senior Engineer, and Section Manager, Fuels and Materials Division, Oarai Engineering Center, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, Oaraimachi, Ibaraki,

Tsai, H
Principal Investigator, Energy Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL

Cole, J
Materials Scientist, Nuclear Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory-West, Idaho Falls, ID

Allen, T
Assistant Professor, Engineering Physics, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

(Received 19 April 2004; accepted 4 November 2004)

Abstract

The effects of lower strain rate on the tensile behavior of 12 % cold-worked type 316 stainless steels irradiated in the EBR-II reactor under low-dose-rate and moderate temperature conditions were investigated. Tensile tests were carried out at a strain rate of 1 × 10⁻⁷/s. Post-test fractography and microstructural characterization were also performed. Irradiation temperature and dose appeared to have the greatest effect on hardening and ductility loss, whereas dose rate appeared to have less apparent effects. In conjunction with earlier work performed on the same material at a strain rate of 1 × 10⁻³/s, there was no significant effect of strain rate on tensile behavior under the irradiation conditions examined. For fracture behavior, the material after irradiation exhibited typical ductile fracture during both high and low-strain-rate tests.

Keywords:
irradiation hardening, ductility, embrittlement, type 316 stainless steels, tensile properties, low-strain-rate, lower dose rate irradiation, EBR-II reflector duct, fast reactor core materials

Paper ID: JAI12346
DOI: 10.1520/JAI12346
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