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Castable alumina forming austenitic (AFA) alloys have demonstrated superior creep life and oxidation resistance at temperatures exceeding 800⁰C. Despite the success in the applicability of these alloys in extreme environments, there is a limited understanding of the deformation modes and the influence of each alloying element guiding the alloy design strategies that could further enhance the creep strength of these AFA alloys, particularly at temperatures at and above 900⁰C. In this study, we reveal the mechanism underpinning the superior creep performance of castable AFA alloys that involves suppressing primary carbide formation through minor compositional modification. This approach results in a three-fold increase in creep strength at 900⁰C and 50 MPa. By employing integrated characterization techniques, we analyzed the microstructures of two AFA alloys, both before and after the creep process. We discovered that the suppression of primary carbides permits the in-situ clustering of now-available interstitial elements such as C, Si, and O during high-temperature creep. This improved solid solution strengthening and reduced stacking fault energy of the alloy. Moreover, it also enabled controlled secondary carbide formation during testing, further improving the creep resistance. These findings underline the important interplay between alloy composition, microstructure, and creep properties, and offer a promising design strategy for developing economical high-temperature Fe-based alloys suitable for advanced applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FeCrAl alloys with varying compositions and microstructures are under consideration for accident-tolerant fuel cladding, but limited details exist on dislocation loop formation and growth for this class of alloys under neutron irradiation. Four model FeCrAl alloys with chromium contents ranging from 10.01 to 17.51 wt % and aluminum contents of 4.78 to 2.93 wt % were neutron irradiated to doses of 0.3–0.8 displacements per atom (dpa) at temperatures of 335–355 °C. On-zone STEM imaging revealed a mixed population of black dots and larger dislocation loops with either a / 2 〈 111 〉 or a 〈 100 〉 Burgers vectors. Weak composition dependencies were observed and varied depending on whether the defect size, number density, or ratio of defect types was of interest. Results were found to mirror those of previous studies on FeCrAl and FeCr alloys irradiated under similar conditions, although distinct differences exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FeCrAl alloys are an attractive class of materials for nuclear power applications because of their increased environmental compatibility compared with more traditional nuclear materials. Preliminary studies into the radiation tolerance of FeCrAl alloys under accelerated neutron testing between 300 and 400 °C have shown post-irradiation microstructures containing dislocation loops and a Cr-rich α′ phase. Although these initial studies established the post-irradiation microstructures, there was little to no focus on understanding the influence of pre-irradiation microstructures on this response. In this study, a well-annealed commercial FeCrAl alloy, Alkrothal 720, was neutron irradiated to 1.8 displacements per atom (dpa) at 382 °C and then the effect of random high-angle grain boundaries on the spatial distribution and size of a 〈100〉 dislocation loops, a /2〈111〉 dislocation loops, and black dot damage was analyzed using on-zone scanning transmission electron microscopy. Results showed a clear heterogeneous dislocation loop formation with a /2〈111〉 dislocation loops showing an increased number density and size, black dot damage showing a significant number density decrease, and a 〈100〉 dislocation loops exhibiting an increased size in the vicinity of the grain boundary. These results suggest the importance of the pre-irradiation microstructure and, specifically, defect sink density spacing to the radiation tolerance of FeCrAl alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fe–Cr–Al alloy system has the potential to form an important class of enhanced accident-tolerant cladding materials in the nuclear power industry owing to the alloy system's higher oxidation resistance in high-temperature steam environments compared with traditional zirconium-based alloys. However, radiation tolerance of Fe–Cr–Al alloys has not been fully established. In this study, a series of Fe–Cr–Al alloys with 10–18 wt % Cr and 2.9–4.9 wt % Al were neutron irradiated at 382 °C to 1.8 dpa to investigate the irradiation-induced microstructural and mechanical property evolution as a function of alloy composition. Dislocation loops with Burgers vector of a/2〈111〉 and a〈100〉 were detected and quantified. Results indicate precipitation of Cr-rich α′ is primarily dependent on the bulk chromium composition. Mechanical testing of sub-size-irradiated tensile specimens indicates the hardening response seen after irradiation is dependent on the bulk chromium composition. A structure–property relationship was developed; it indicated that the change in yield strength after irradiation is caused by the formation of these radiation-induced defects and is dominated by the large number density of Cr-rich α′ precipitates at sufficiently high chromium contents after irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]