SEDL / STP / STP1170-EB / STP24782S

Influence of Phosphorus on Thermal and Neutron Embrittlement of Pressure Vessel Steels

Soulat, PE
Commissariat à lEnergie Atomique (CEA), Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Matériaux (CERAM)Service de Recherches Métallurgiques Appliquées (SRMA). Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette,

Miannay, D
Institut de Protection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (ISPN)Service d'Analyse des Matériels et des Systèmes (SAMS), Centre D'Etudes Nucléaires de Fontenay, Fontenary aux Roses,

Horowitz, H
Institut de Protection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (ISPN)Service d'Analyse des Matériels et des Systèmes (SAMS), Centre D'Etudes Nucléaires de Fontenay, Fontenary aux Roses,

Pages: 17    Published: Jan 1993

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Abstract

In conjunction with an international study coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a review was made of three Japanese model steels with different phosphorus and copper contents irradiated at 5.10¹⁹ n ∙ cm^-2 (E > 1 MeV) to explain the influence of phosphorus on the thermal and neutron embrittlement of steels.

The results obtained show an important phosphorus effect on radiation hardening and embrittlement in the low-copper steels, an appreciable embrittlement after thermal segregation of phosphorus due to a change in fracture mode from cleavage to intergranular, and a radiation hardening and embrittlement of the same order of magnitude on the segregated steel for irradiation effect.