Microstructure and mechanical properties of neutron irradiated OFHC-copper before and after post-irradiation annealing

Tensile specimens of OFHC-copper were irradiated with fission neutrons in the DR-3 reactor at Risoe National Laboratory at 100 deg. C to different displacement dose levels in the range of 0.01 to 0.3 dpa (NRT). Some of the specimens were tensile tested in the as-irradiated condition at 100 deg. C whereas other were given a post-irradiation annealing at 300 deg. C for 50 h and subsequently tested at 100 deg. C. Transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the microstructure of specimens in the as-irradiation as well as irradiation and annealed conditions both before and after tensile deformation. The results show that while the interstitial loop microstructure coarsens with irradiation dose, no significant changes are observed in the population of stacking fault tetrahedra. The results also illustrates that the post-irradiation annealing leads to only a partial recovery and that the level of recovery depends on the irradiation dose level. However, the post-irradiation annealing eliminates the problem of yield drop and reinstates enough uniform elongation to render the material useful again. These results are discussed in terms of the cascade induced source hardening (CISH) and the dispersed barrier hardening (DBH) models. Both technological and scientific implications of these results are considered. (au)