About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Symposium
|
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Presentation Title |
Microstructural Evolution of Neutron-Irradiated Additively Manufactured 316L and 316H Stainless Steel |
| Author(s) |
Timothy G. Lach, Stephen Taller, Caleb Massey |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Timothy G. Lach |
| Abstract Scope |
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has enabled efficient manufacturing of complex parts with unique microstructures for use in current light water reactor (LWR) and advanced reactor applications. The rapid solidification processes of AM lead to initial microstructures distinct from their wrought counterparts for the same composition, which could be either beneficial or detrimental to the resultant properties. As such, neutron irradiation and post-irradiation examination (PIE) campaigns are necessary to understand how AM materials behave under irradiation compared to conventionally processed counterparts. This work sought to study the evolution of cavities, dislocation structure, and elemental segregation and precipitation in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 316L and 316H stainless steels under neutron irradiation and to correlate the microstructure with mechanical property changes. Importantly, the microstructures of AM-316L and AM-316H stainless steels tend to evolve into different microstructures based on the carbon distribution within the steel, and the response to irradiation is therefore different. As-printed material before and after stress-relieving or solution-annealing heat treatments were irradiated at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor to neutron fluences corresponding to doses up to 10 dpa at target temperatures between 300°C and 600°C. Analytical electron microscopy and atom probe tomography examined the microstructural evolution as a function of irradiation temperature, dose, and initial microstructure. This work provided insights into the use of AM steels in LWR and advanced reactor environments. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |