About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Interrelated Extremes in Materials Degradation for Fission and Fusion Environments
|
| Presentation Title |
Detailed post-irradiation examination of harvested PWR baffle-former bolts |
| Author(s) |
Timothy G. Lach, Maxim Gussev, Chad Parish, Tim Graening, Tianyi Chen, Xiang (Frank) Chen |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Timothy G. Lach |
| Abstract Scope |
Over the long operation of nuclear power plants, internal component materials are exposed to neutron irradiation, thermal gradients, mechanical stresses, and high temperature primary water, which can lead to potential degradation and reduced load-carrying capacity of these bolts. Post irradiation examination (PIE) via mechanical testing and microstructural characterization of harvested materials from commercial reactors provides unique opportunities for understanding the mechanisms for performance and property degradation more fully, enabling comparison with experimental irradiation campaigns, and predicting operational lifetime performance of structural materials used for internal components. In this work, two high fluence 316 stainless steel baffle-former bolts were retrieved from a commercial PWR and then sectioned for detailed analysis. This presentation will detail the extensive characterization performed on these bolts showcasing gradients in radiation-induced precipitation and segregation, dislocation loops, and cavities resulting in similar gradients in hardness and fracture toughness, as well as surface corrosion and irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, Iron and Steel |