Hardness distribution and effect of irradiation in FSW-ODS ferritic steels

Oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels (ODS-FS) have been considered as one of the most promising structural materials for advanced nuclear systems such as fusion reactors and next generation fission reactors, because of its excellent elevated temperature strength, corrosion and radiation resistance. Especially, irradiation resistance is a critical issue for the high performance of ODS-FS. In this study, effects of the irradiation on hardness properties of friction stri processed (FSP) ODS-FS were investigated. FSP technique was employed on ODS-FS. A plate specimen was cut out from the cross section and irradiated to 1.2 dpa at 573K in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). To investigate the effect of neutron irradiation on processed area, the hardness distributions were evaluated on the cross section. Hardness of FSP ODS-FS was various with each microstructure after irradiation to 1.2 dpa at 573K. The increase of Vickers hardness was significant in the stirred zone and heat affected zone. Base material exhibited the lowest hardening about 38HV. Since nano-oxide particles in stirred zone showed identical mean diameter and number density, it is considered that hardening differences between stirred zone and base material is due to differences in initial dislocation density. (author)