Grain boundary segregation in neutron-irradiated 304 stainless steel studied by atom probe tomography

Radiation-induced segregation (RIS) of solute atoms at a grain boundary (GB) in 304 stainless steel (SS), neutron-irradiated to a dose of 24 dpa at 300 °C in the fuel wrapper plates of a commercial pressurized water reactor, was investigated using laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT). Ni, Si, and P enrichment and Cr and Fe depletion at the GB were evident. The full-width at half-maximum of the RIS region was ∼3 nm for the concentration profile peaks of Ni and Si. The atomic percentages of Ni, Si, and Cr at the GB were ∼19%, ∼7%, and ∼14%, respectively, in agreement with previously-reported values for neutron-irradiated SS. A high number density of intra-granular Ni–Si rich precipitates formed in the matrix. A precipitate-denuded zone with a width of ∼10 nm appeared on both sides of the GB.