SEDL / STP / STP1170-EB / STP24773S

Radiation Embrittlement and Annealing Recovery of CrNiMoV Pressure Vessel Steels with Different Copper and Phosphorus Content

Vacek, M
Senior scientist and research scientists, Nuclear Research Institute, Řež,

Novosad, P
Senior scientist and research scientists, Nuclear Research Institute, Řež,

Havel, R
Senior scientist and research scientists, Nuclear Research Institute, Řež,

Pages: 11    Published: Jan 1993

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Abstract

The influence of copper and phosphorus content on Charpy-V-notch impact energy, on dynamic fracture toughness, and on radiation hardening recovery of tensile and hardness properties by postirradiation annealing at different temperatures was explored for one commercial heat and six laboratory melts of CrNiMoV pressure vessel steels irradiated to 0.9 to 1.3 × 10²³ n/m² (E > 1 MeV) at 280°C.

Practically linear proportionality between Charpy-V impact energy and dynamic fracture toughness transition curve shifts for all melts was found.

The effect of phosphorus content on radiation embrittlement of laboratory melts considered in this study was very weak in comparison to the significant effect of copper. However, percentage of recovery of radiation-affected hardness was in all laboratory melts permanently slightly lower for melts with higher content of phosphorus with the same copper content.

Copper content had no significant effect on percentage recovery of all laboratory melts as measured by hardness after annealing of irradiated specimens.

The annealing recovery behavior of radiation-affected yield stress (Rp0.2IA) was expressed by an experimental relationship that includes yield stress after irradiation (Rp0.2I), temperature of irradiation (TI), and temperature of annealing (TA).