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Role of Localized Deformation in Irradiation-Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking Initiation

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Abstract

Intergranular cracking of irradiated austenitic alloys depended on localized grain boundary stress and deformation in both high-temperature aqueous and argon environments. Tensile specimens were irradiated with protons to doses of 1 to 7 dpa and then strained in high-temperature argon, simulated boiling water reactor normal water chemistry, and supercritical water environments. Quantitative measurements confirmed that the initiation of intergranular cracks was promoted by (1) the formation of coarse dislocation channels, (2) discontinuous slip across grain boundaries, (3) a high inclination of the grain boundary to the tensile axis, and (4) low-deformation propensity of grains as characterized by their Schmid and Taylor factors. The first two correlations, as well as the formation of intergranular cracks at the precise locations of dislocation channel–grain boundary intersections are evidence that localized deformation drives crack initiation. The latter two correlations are evidence that intergranular cracking is promoted at grain boundaries experiencing elevated levels of normal stress.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Alexander Flick for his assistance conducting the CERT tests in the Irradiated Materials Testing Laboratory at the University of Michigan. The staff of the Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory, Ovidiu Toader and Fabian Naab, are also gratefully acknowledged for their assistance in performing the proton irradiations. Support of the EBSD analysis was provided by the University of Michigan Electron Microbeam Analysis Laboratory staff. This research was supported by NERI award #DE-FC07-05ID14664 for Project Number 05-151, the Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under grant DE-FG02-08ER46525 and the Electric Power Research Institute, under agreements EP-P35203/C15971 and EP-P20763/C10134.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Elaine A. West (Graduate Students, Research Assistants), Michael D. McMurtrey (Graduate Students), Zhijie Jiao (Assistant Research Scientist) & Gary S. Was (Professor)

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  1. Elaine A. West
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  2. Michael D. McMurtrey
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  3. Zhijie Jiao
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Correspondence to Elaine A. West.

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Manuscript submitted March 15, 2011.

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West, E.A., McMurtrey, M.D., Jiao, Z. et al. Role of Localized Deformation in Irradiation-Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking Initiation. Metall Mater Trans A 43, 136–146 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-0826-5

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