Diffusivity and solubility of Cu in a reactor pressure vessel steel studied by atom probe tomography

The diffusivity and solubility limit of Cu in A533B steel, which is used in reactor pressure vessels, were studied by atom probe tomography (APT). Cu-A533B steel diffusion couples were annealed at temperatures of 550, 600, and 700°C, and the resulting Cu concentration profiles were measured. At the temperature of 700°C, the diffusivity of Cu in A533B steel was about 3 times higher than that in pure Fe, whereas at the temperature of 550°C, the diffusivity of Cu in A533B steel is almost closer to that in pure Fe. The solubility limit of Cu in A533B steel was similar to pure Fe. APT was also used to study the effect of the grain boundary (GB) diffusion. The results indicated that no Cu segregation occurred at GB near the Cu/A533B steel interface, which may imply that GB diffusion of Cu was not effective in A533B steel. (author)