Helium bubble nucleation at 6000C in a ferritic stainless steel

Ferritic stainless steels are serious contenders for first wall materials at least in near term fusion reactors. The major advantage of these chromium steels over other materials lies in their resistance to void swelling and although much work has been carried out in this area, the behaviour of helium within the material has received little attention. To provide a more extensive database, the kinetics of the bubble formation and growth at elevated temperatures are currently being studied. (orig./RK)