Evaluation of the effect of B and N on the microstructure of 9Cr-2W steel during an aging treatment for SFR fuel cladding tubes

In this study, the microstructure of sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) fuel cladding steel with different B and N contents after aging is compared. The addition of nitrogen produces a large quantity of MX precipitates with sizes of 0.1 μm or smaller during the initial thermal treatment process and this contributes to help such precipitates maintain stability without being excessively affected by aging. B is primarily distributed in the grain boundary precipitates and grain interior precipitates in the initial stage. The B distribution is believed to move to the Cr precipitates after 7000 h and to contribute to suppressing the growth of M23C6.