Master curve analysis of the SA508 Gr. 4N Ni-Mo-Cr low alloy steels for reactor pressure vessels

Low alloy steels used as Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) materials directly relate to the safety margin and the life span of reactors. Currently, SA508 Gr.3 low alloy steel is generally used for RPV material. But, for larger capacity and long-term durability of RPV, materials that have better properties including strength and toughness are needed. Therefore, tempered martensitic SA508 Gr.4N low alloy steel is considered as a candidate material due to excellent mechanical properties. The fracture toughness loss caused by irradiation embrittlement during reactor operation is one of the important issues for ferritic RPV steels, because the decrease of fracture toughness is directly related to the integrity of RPVs. One reliable and efficient concept to evaluate the fracture toughness of ferritic steels is master curve method. In ASTM E1921, it is clearly mentioned the universal shape of the median toughness-temperature curve for ferritic steels including tempered martensitic steels. However, currently, concerns have arisen regarding the appropriateness of the universal shape in ASTM for the tempered martensitic steels such as Eurofer97. Therefore, it may be necessary to assess the master curve applicability for the tempered martensitic SA508 Gr.4N low alloy steel. In this study, the fracture toughness behavior with temperature of the tempered martensitic SA508 Gr.4N low alloy steels was evaluated using the ASTM E1921 master curve method. And the results were compared with those of the bainitic SA508 Gr.3 low alloy steel. Furthermore, the way to define the fracture toughness behavior of Gr.4N steels well is discussed