Helium 3 precipitation in AISI 316L stainless steel induced by radioactive decay of tritium: Microstructural study of helium bubble precipitation

This article deals with the study of the influence of thermomechanical heat treatments, aging conditions (temperature and time), and helium concentration on helium bubble precipitation in a 316L austenitic steel. Helium was generated by the radioactive decay of tritium (tritium trick). Helium bubbles impede the grain growth in 316L steel aged at 1373 K and also the recrystal-lization reaction at this temperature if cold working is performed prior to aging. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations indicated a weak helium precipitation at 1073 and 1223 K, presumably due to the presence of trapping sites for tritium, and no bubble growth after aging up to 100 hours. Precipitation sites are mainly dislocations in the matrix at 1073 K and grain boundaries and individual dislocations in the matrix at 1223 K. The large bubble size (50 nm) observed at 1373 K, even for short aging times (0.083 hour), can partly be attributed to bubble dragging by dislocations toward the grain boundaries. Cold deformation prior to aging leads to a larger bubble size due to growth enhancement during recrystallization. Decreasing the helium content leads to a smaller helium bubble size and density. Tritium trapping at helium bubbles may favor helium 3 accumulation on defects such as grain boundaries, as observed by tritium autoradiography.