Development on preparation technique of small-sized irradiation test specimens by a remote-handling for EBSD and TEM observations

Taguchi, Taketoshi ; Kato, Yoshiaki; Sozawa, Shizuo

This report is concerned with the preparation of test-specimens for the post irradiation examination to contribute to the research on the aged deterioration and damage of the structure material of the light-water reactor, that consists of cutting, grinding, and the surface treatment of the irradiated material in the hot-cell at the JMTR Hot Laboratory. Two types of test-specimen preparation methods were developed for the electron beam backscatter diffraction (EBSD) observation and for the TEM observation. The specimens for those observations were sampled from fractions of the CT and the SSRT test specimens which were used in the irradiation-associated stress-corrosion cracking (IASCC) test. The technical difficulty in remote handling of the minimized specimens and of the fragile part where the crack progresses was overcome by a trial and error approach, and the adequate preparation technique for those tests was established.