Strain-Rate Effects on Microstructural Deformation in Irradiated 316 SS

A series of studies have been performed to investigate the post-irradiation deformation and failure behavior of 12% cold-worked 316 stainless steel following irradiation to variety of doses and temperatures in the outer rows of the experimental breeder reactor II (EBR-II). In the current phase of these studies, three sets of samples with different radiation induced microstructures have been characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) following tensile testing to failure at a ‘fast’ strain-rate (1 x 10-3 s-1) and a ‘slow’ strain-rate (1 x 10-7 s-1). The samples were irradiated to doses between 9 and 41 dpa at temperatures between 383 and 443 degrees C. Tensile tests were conducted at a temperature of 430 degrees C and only regions outside of the necked region were examined. Over the parameters tested, strain-rate had a negligible effect on the deformation microstructure. In addition, there was no clear evidence of localized deformation behavior and the deformation appeared relatively homogeneous, characterized by unfaulting and incorporation of faulted dislocation loops into the general dislocation network structure. The influence of the defect microstructures and strain-rate on deformation behavior is discussed.