Irradiation response of ODS ferritic steels to high-energy Ne ions at HIRFL

Two kinds of ODS high-Cr ferritic steels (commercial MA956 and an Al-free 16Cr-0.1Ti ODS ferritic steel) and one conventional ferritic/martensitic steel (T122) were irradiated at about 440 °C with high-energy 20Ne-ions in HIRFL. Successively increasing doses from 350 to 900 appm of Ne concentration, corresponding to atomic displacement levels from 0.7 to 1.8 dpa, were approached. A nearly uniform distribution of Ne concentration and atomic displacement damage was produced through the thickness of 60 μm of the specimens by using an energy degrader. Mechanical properties of the specimens were tested with the small-ball punch technique. The test at room temperature shows a less significant ductility loss in the ODS ferritic steel MA956 than in the T122 irradiated to the same dose of 350 appm Ne/0.7 dpa. The test at 500 °C shows that the Al-free 16Cr-0.1Ti ODS ferritic steel does not exhibit observable loss of ductility even to the highest dose level (900 appm Ne/1.8 dpa). An investigation with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that voids with a diameter up to 70 nm were formed at grain boundaries in the conventional ferritic/martensitic steel T122 while only smaller bubbles were formed at the oxides/substrate interfaces in the ODS ferritic steel MA956. Mechanisms underlying the difference of irradiation response of the steels are discussed.