Mechanisms of radiation strengthening in Fe–Cr alloys as revealed by atomistic studies

Radiation tolerance of neutron-irradiated model Fe–Cr–Al alloys

“…Below ~8 wt % Cr, the hardening response is dominated by dislocation loop formation, as the alloys with lower chromium content lie outside the α -α' miscibility gap (see Ref. [36] and those within).…”

“…Under irradiation, the formation of Cr-rich α' has been observed at and below the peak thermal aging temperature (475°C) and has been attributed to accelerated formation due to the production of mobile point defects after the damage cascade and quench [26,31,32]. For the Fe-Cr alloy systems, the formation of the Cr-rich α' phase and dislocation loops has been indicated as leading microstructural features causing significant radiation-induced hardening and embrittlement [33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. The severity of the radiation-induced hardening and embrittlement, under typical LWR conditions, is dependent on chromium composition.…”

Multiscale modeling of precipitation hardening: Application to the Fe–Cr alloys

“…The case of Cr precipitates will be considered as a case study for specific applications. These precipitates appear after neutron irradiation of FeCr ferritic alloys [35,36], which are of technological importance in future nuclear reactors [37].…”

In situ high-energy X-ray diffraction study of tensile deformation of neutron-irradiated polycrystalline Fe-9%Cr alloy

“…The effect of irradiation on the mechanical properties of ferritic Fe-Cr alloys has been investigated extensively through experiments [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] and modelling [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. It is found that the irradiation-induced hardening and the reduction of ductility are significant even at low doses.…”