The influence of pre-irradiation heat treatments on thermal non-equilibrium and radiation-induced segregation behavior in model austenitic stainless steel alloys

The effect of pre-irradiation heat treatments on thermal non-equilibrium grain boundary segregation (TNES) and subsequent radiation-induced grain boundary segregation (RIS) is studied in a series of model austenitic stainless steels. The alloys used for this study are based on AISI 316 stainless steel and have the following nominal compositions: Fe-16Cr-13Ni-1.25Mn (base 316), Fe-16Cr-13Ni-1.25Mn-2.0Mo (316 + Mo) and Fe-16Cr-13Ni-1.25Mn-2.0Mo-0.07P (316 + Mo + P). Samples were heat treated at temperatures ranging from I 100 to 1300 degrees C and cooled at four different rates (salt brine quench, water quench, air cool and furnace cool) to evaluate the effect of annealing temperature and quench rate on TNES. The alloys were then processed with the treatment (temperature and cooling rate) that resulted in the maximum Cr enrichment. Alloys with and without the heat treatment to enrich the grain boundaries with Cr were characterized following irradiation to 1 dpa at 400 degrees C with high-energy protons in order to understand the influence of alloying additions and pre-irradiation grain boundary chemistry on irradiation-induced elemental enrichment and depletion profiles. Various mechanistic models will be examined to explain the observed behavior.