Fabrication and characterization of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) 14Cr steels consolidated by means of hot isostatic pressing, hot extrusion and spark plasma sintering

Ferritic ODS 14Cr steels are one of the options for future nuclear and non-nuclear energy applications, in particular for components exposed to higher operation temperatures. In order to better exploit the potential advantages of ODS ferritic steels, such as improved creep strength and damage tolerance (with respect to non-ODS high-chromium steels) along with excellent oxidation resistance, a broader scientific and technical background is required. The present collaborative approach aimed to contribute to this background with respect to both fabrication issues and nano-/microstructurally based understanding of the resulting properties. In particular, the feasibility of ODS steel fabrication by means of spark plasma sintering on a semi-industrial scale was to be demonstrated. Parameter variations related to mechanical alloying, consolidation and thermal/mechanical treatments were covered. Hot extrusion was successfully applied to produce a 2.5 kg batch of ODS steel. Spark plasma sintering was scaled up towards semi-industrial 0.5 kg batches. A set of characterization techniques including Small-Angle Neutron Scattering, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Atom-Probe Tomography, Electron Probe Micro-Analysis, Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction and Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction as well as mechanical testing were applied to characterize the materials at different scales and stages of the fabrication process and to underpin the findings, such as a pronounced bimodality of grain size distributions, by observation-based understanding.