Deformation and fracture properties in neutron irradiated pure Mo and Mo alloys

Abstract The effect of neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties of select molybdenum materials, unalloyed low carbon arc-cast (LCAC) Mo, Mo–0.5% Ti–0.1% Zr (TZM) alloy, and oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) Mo alloy, was characterized by analyzing the temperature dependence of mechanical properties. This study assembles the tensile test data obtained through multiple irradiation and post-irradiation experiments, in which tensile specimens were irradiated up to 13.1 dpa at 80–1000 °C and tested at −194 to 1000 °C. Irradiation at 80–609 °C increased yield stress significantly, up to 170%, while the increase of yield stress after irradiation at 784–936 °C was not significant. The plastic instability stress was strongly dependent on test temperature but was nearly independent of irradiation dose and temperature. The true fracture stress showed weak dependences on test temperature, irradiation dose and temperature when ductile failure occurred. Among the test materials the stress-relieved ODS material in the longitudinal direction (ODS-LSR) displayed the highest resistance to irradiation embrittlement due to its relatively high fracture stress. The critical temperature for shear failure (CTSF) was defined and evaluated for the test materials and the CTSF values were compared with the ductile-to-brittle transition temperatures (DBTT) based on ductility data.