A Search for Channel Deformation in Irradiated Vanadium Tensile Specimens

A miniature tensile specimen of V-4Cr-4Ti which had be irradiated in the 17J test at 425°C to 3.7 dpa was mechanically polished, deformed to 3.9% strain at room temperature, and examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy in order to look for evidence of channel deformation. It was found that uniform deformation can occur without channel deformation, but evidence for channeling was found with channels appearing most prominently after the onset of necking. The channeling occurs on wavy planes with large variations in localized deformation from channel to channel.