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Specimens of martensitic steel F82H were irradiated to doses ranging from 10.7 dpa/850 appm He to 19.6 dpa/1740 appm He at temperatures between 165 and 305 °C in the second experiment of SINQ Target Irradiation Program (STIP-II). Tensile tests were conducted at different temperatures and various fracture modes were observed. Microstructural changes including irradiation-induced defect clusters, dislocation loops and helium bubbles under different irradiation conditions were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The deformation microstructures of tensile tested specimens were carefully examined to understand the underlying deformation mechanisms. Deformation twinning was for the first time observed in irradiated martensitic steels. A change of deformation mechanism from dislocation channeling to deformation twinning was observed when the fracture mode changed from rather ductile (quasi-cleavage) to brittle (intergranular or cleavage and intergranular mixed). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recently developed interatomic potential for He-Fe interactions includes a three-body term to stabilize the interstitial He defect in the tetrahedral position in the Fe bcc matrix and provides simultaneous agreement with the forces and energies of different atomic configurations as computed by first principles. This term makes a significant contribution to the static and dynamic properties of He in Fe. The implementation of this potential for atomistic simulations using molecular dynamics (MD) presented certain challenges which are discussed here to facilitate its further use in materials research, particularly to investigate the behavior of iron-based alloys that may be employed in fusion energy systems. Detailed results of an MD study comparing the new potential and alternate He-Fe pair potentials with different iron matrix potentials have been presented elsewhere to illustrate the impact of the He-Fe potential on He diffusion, helium clustering and the dynamics of He-vacancy clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A dual-ion irradiation method is one of the most popular techniques for the research of microstructural evolution of materials under fusion environmental conditions. The application of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steels is anticipated for realization of high temperature operation of fusion reactors above 600°C. In this research, the investigation of the microstructural evolution of high corrosion resistant ODS steels was performed using the ion irradiation methods. Dual ion-irradiation experiments were performed at the DuET facility, Kyoto University using 6.4MeV Fe self-ion and 1MeV helium ion. The irradiation temperatures were 300 and 500°C. The dose, dose rate, and helium over dpa ratio were 20dpa, 5×10−4 dpa/s, and 15appm/dpa, respectively. The post-irradiation experiments were performed using SEM, TEM and the nano-indentation methods. Significant microstructural evolution of grains and oxides were not observed after the single-ion irradiation at 20dpa, 500°C. Fine helium cavities were observed in the dual-ion irradiated 19Cr–2W–4Al ODS steel. Fine cavities of approximately several nanometers diameter were densely and uniformly formed in dual-ion irradiated range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Helium (He) effect on the microstructure of nanocrystalline body-centered cubic iron (BCC-Fe) was studied through Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation and simulated X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The crack generation and the change of lattice constant were investigated under a uniaxial tensile strain at room temperature to explore the roles of He concentration and distribution played in the degradation of mechanical properties. The simulation results show that the expansion of the lattice constant decreases and the swelling rate increases while the He in the BCC region diffuses into the grain boundary (GB) region. The mechanical property of nanocrystalline BCC-Fe shows He concentration and distribution dependence, and the existence of He in GB is found to benefit the generation and growth of cracks and to affect the strength of GB during loading. It is observed that the reduction of tensile stress contributed by GB He is more obvious than that contributed by grain interior He. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]