Helium effects on creep properties of Fe-14CrWTi ODS steel at 650 °C

In the present paper, the effects of helium on creep properties of Fe-14CrWTi ODS steel were studied by in-beam and post He-implantation creep tests. In-situ creep was performed in an in-beam creep device under uniaxial tensile stresses from 350 to 370 MPa during homogeneous helium implantation. Helium ions of energies varying from 0 to 25 MeV were implanted at a rate of 6 × 10−3 appm/s (corresponding to a displacement dose rate of 1.5 × 10−6 dpa/s). The average temperature was controlled to 650 °C within ±2 °C. In addition, post He-implantation creep tests were conducted at 650 °C as well. Subsequently, fracture surfaces and helium bubble evolution were studied in detail by SEM and TEM observations, respectively. Preliminary creep results show that helium slightly shortens the creep life time of ODS steel at 650 °C. Fracture surfaces of reference as well as implanted specimens, show areas with various grades of deformation. Areas of highest deformation can be interpreted as necking, while areas of low deformation show in helium implanted specimens a more granular structure. The results are discussed in terms of possible embrittlement of ODS steels by helium.