The strong influence of temper annealing conditions on the neutron-induced swelling of cold-worked austenitic steels

Although cold-working is known to strongly influence neutron-induced swelling of austenitic stainless steels, it also appears that the annealing temperature employed before cold-working has an equally large effect. Two irradiation studies conducted on AISI 316 stainless steel indicate that increasing the temperature of the intermediate temper anneal leads in general to a shortening of the transient regime of swelling. The evidence is consistent with the influence of both annealing temperature and irradiation temperature on carbide formation and its subsequent influence on the microchemical evolution and swelling of the steel. (orig.)