Mechanical and microstructural analysis of an EM10 wrapper tube after neutron irradiation in Phénix

Olivier Tissot (1) , Pierre Gavoille (2) , Benedicte Verhaeghe (3) , Jean Henry (1)

1 LA2M - Laboratoire d'Analyse Microstructurale des Matériaux
2 SEMI - Service d'Etudes des Matériaux Irradiés
3 LM2E - Laboratoire de Microscopie et d'Etudes de l'Endommagement

The 9Cr-1Mo tempered martensitic steel was irradiated with fast neutrons in the French Phénix reactor. Mechanical tests, density measurement as well as microstructural investigations were carried out following irradiation up to 155 dpa in the temperature range 386°C – 525°C. Tensile, elongation and impact properties were only slightly modified by irradiation. Microstructural investigations revealed the presence of cavities, however the resulting swelling was low (0.1%). In most cases, the dislocation microstructure was arranged in a network. Nevertheless, some large loops were observed after irradiation at 398°C to 112 dpa. Overall, the EM10 steel showed excellent radiation resistance, which confirmed that this steel is an attractive wrapper candidate material for future sodium-cooled GENIV fast reactors.

Mots clés: Ferritic/Martensitic; Neutron irradiation; EM10; Hexagonal duct; Mechanical tests; Microstructural characterization

Domaines: Matériaux

Olivier Tissot, Pierre Gavoille, Benedicte Verhaeghe, Jean Henry. Mechanical and microstructural analysis of an EM10 wrapper tube after neutron irradiation in Phénix. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2021, 543, pp.152575. ⟨10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152575⟩. ⟨cea-03167157⟩