Tomographic atom probe characterization of the microstructure of a cold worked 316 austenitic stainless steel after neutron irradiation

Auriane Etienne (1) , Bertrand Radiguet (1) , Philippe Pareige (1) , P. Massoud (2) , C. Pokor (2)

1 GPM - Groupe de physique des matériaux
2 EDF - EDF

For the first time, chemical analyses using Atom Probe Tomography were performed on a bolt made of cold worked 316 austenitic stainless steel, extracted from the internal structures of a pressurized water reactor after 17 years of reactor service. The irradiation temperature of these samples was 633 K and the irradiation dose was estimated to 12 dpa (7.81 × 1025 neutrons.m−2, E > 1 MeV). The samples were analysed with a laser assisted tomographic atom probe. These analyses have shown that neutron irradiation has a strong effect on the intragranular distribution of solute atoms. A high number density (6 × 1023 m−3) of Ni–Si enriched and Cr–Fe depleted clusters was detected after irradiation. Mo and P segregations at the interfaces of these clusters were also observed. Finally, Si enriched atmospheres were seen.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Auriane Etienne, Bertrand Radiguet, Philippe Pareige, P. Massoud, C. Pokor. Tomographic atom probe characterization of the microstructure of a cold worked 316 austenitic stainless steel after neutron irradiation. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2008, 382 (1), pp.64-69. ⟨10.1016/j.jnucmat.2008.09.015⟩. ⟨hal-02107657⟩