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MATERIALS ENGINEERING

SEMINAR

“Irradiation Induced Microstructural Evolutions in FeCrAl Alloys”

By

Tianyi Sun

Purdue MSE Preliminary Exam

Advisor: Professor Xinghang Zhang

ABSTRACT

Development of advanced nuclear reactors poses significant challenges for structural materials that need to operate under high temperatures, higher pressure, higher irradiation dose, and often corrosive environments. FeCrAl alloy, one class of ferritic steel with high Cr and Al content, is deemed as one of the most promising candidates for accident tolerant applications. Two orders of magnitude lower steam oxidation rate at high temperature (< 1500 °C) than currently used Zirconium based alloys in commercial light water reactors gives FeCrAl alloys a clear edge over many other candidates under accident scenarios. However, long time exposure to radiation generates defect clusters and causes phase separation in FeCrAl alloys accompanied by degradation of mechanical properties, such as radiation-induced hardening and embrittlement. This report examines recent studies on microstructural evolutions in irradiated FeCrAl alloys and point out some future studies that are needed to better understand the mechanisms of radiation damage in FeCrAl alloys and further improve their radiation tolerance.

Keywords: FeCrAl alloys, high temperature oxidation, dislocation loop formation, α’ phase separation, irradiation hardening

Date: Monday, October 7, 2019

Time: 8:30 A.M.

Place: ARMS 3115