The Role of silicon on solute clustering and embrittlement in highly neutron-irradiated pressurized water reactor surveillance test specimens

Takamizawa, Hisashi ; Hata, Kuniki ; Nishiyama, Yutaka ; Toyama, Takeshi*; Nagai, Yasuyoshi*

Solute clusters (SCs) formed in pressurized water reactor surveillance test specimens neutron-irradiated to a fluence of 1 10 n/cm were analyzed via atom probe tomography to understand the effect of silicon on solute clustering and irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel steels. In high-Cu bearing materials, Cu atoms were aggregated at the center of cluster surrounded by the Ni, Mn, and Si atoms like a core-shell structure. In low-Cu bearing materials, Ni, Mn, and Si atoms formed cluster and these solutes were not comprised core-shell structure in SCs. While the number of Cu atoms in clusters was decreased with decreasing nominal Cu content, the number of Si atoms had clearly increased. The cluster radius () and number density () decreased and increased, respectively, with increasing nominal Si content. The shift in the reference temperature for nil-ductility transition (RT) showed a good correlation with the square root of volume fraction () multiplied by r (). This suggested that the dislocation cutting through the particles mechanism dominates the precipitation hardening responsible for irradiation embrittlement. The negative relation between the nominal Si content and RT indicated that increasing of nominal Si content reduces the degree of embrittlement.