Neutron irradiation effects on the microstructural development of tungsten and tungsten alloys

Data on the microstructural development of tungsten (W) and tungsten rhenium (Re) alloys were obtained after neutron irradiation at 400-800 °C in the Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR), the experimental fast test reactor Joyo, and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) for irradiation damage levels in the range of 0.09-1.54 displacement per atom (dpa). Microstructural observations showed that a small amount of Re (3-5%) in W-Re alloys is effective in suppressing void formation. In W-Re alloys with Re concentrations greater than 10%, acicular precipitates are the primary structural defects. In the HFIR-irradiated specimen, in which a large amount of Re was expected to be produced by the nuclear transmutation of W to Re because of the reactor's high thermal neutron flux, voids were not observed even in pure W. The synergistic effects of displacement damage and solid transmutation elements on microstructural development are discussed, and the microstructural development of tungsten materials utilized in fusion reactors is predicted.