Defect dynamics studies during heat treatments in plastically deformed metals predicted for nuclear applications

Abstract

We report on defects dynamics during heat treatment in plastically deformed metallic materials using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy carried out on the intense pulsed positron beam. The conducted experiment allowed us to observe the changes in the concentration and sizes of vacancy-like defects observed during in situ annealing. We monitored heat treatments up to 300 °C in hydrostatic extruded Ti and cavitation peened V–4Cr–4Ti alloy. We were able to track the recovery processes in Ti and redistribution of large voids at the surface of cavitation peened V–4Cr–4Ti alloy. The relaxation time during recovery was about 20 min. Performed experiments show that in cold-worked metallic materials significant changes in vacancy clusters concentrations occur at mildly elevated temperatures. The presented results give opportunity to the application of in situ observation of defects dynamic to similar problems related to thermomechanical processing of metallic materials. Graphical abstract