About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Accelerated Qualification Methods for Nuclear Reactor Structural Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
Long-term Thermal Aging Behavior and Strength Reduction in a Laser Powder Bed Fusion 316H Stainless Steel |
| Author(s) |
Xuan Zhang, Lin Gao, Mark Christian Messner, Srinivas Aditya Mantri, Victoria Cooley, Jun-Sang Park |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Xuan Zhang |
| Abstract Scope |
The long-term thermal stability of structural alloys is essential for ensuring safe and reliable operation of nuclear reactors. This study examines the thermal aging of a laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 316H stainless steel (SS) at 550°C to 750°C for up to 10,000 hours. Electron microscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction were employed to analyze dislocation recovery and phase evolution, leading to the construction of the first time-temperature-precipitation (TTP) diagram for LPBF 316H SS, revealing accelerated precipitation. A physics-informed model was calibrated using such short-term experimental data to predict microstructural evolution for aging up to 1x106 hours. These microstructural insights were further utilized to estimate yield strength and extrapolate strength reduction factors to long-term. It was found that despite accelerated aging, LPBF 316H SS retained much higher yield strength compared to wrought. This study establishes a framework for evaluating long-term performance using short-term data and supports accelerated qualification of AM materials. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Additive Manufacturing, Mechanical Properties, Modeling and Simulation |