Reduced activation Fe-Cr-Mn austenitic steels for nuclear power plants

New low-activation austenitic steel for nuclear power engineering

“…The weight of the experimental ingot is 2.5 kg. A significant difference from the previously studied compositions [5,[11][12][13][14][15] is a higher content of manganese and an increased content of strong carbide-forming elements (with a high tendency to carbide formation): Ta, Ti, V, Zr, W. In accordance with the concept of low-activation materials, the content of such highly activated elements as Ni, Cu, Nb, Mo, Co, Al in the new steel, also N and O is reduced to the minimum level.…”

“…3 this case, similarly to the numerous dispersion strengthened steels, nanosized particles pin the dislocation substructure. In the process of TEM studies, no bcc phase (α-ferrite), σ-phase, or carbides of the M 23 C 6 type, which can be formed in chromium-manganese austenitic steels [11,12], were found. Element mapping of the region near one of the dispersed particles is shown in Fig.…”

“…Despite the fact that new low-activation alloys and steels have been developed by now and are being actively investigated, higher operating temperatures and degrees of the nuclear fuel burnout and a planned reduction in the environmental load from the nuclear waste structural materials necessitate the search for new compositions and the development of new alloys that would meet these conditions. The design of new low-activation austenitic steels as a new research avenue was initiated in [5,11,12] -Russia, [13] -USA and [14,15] -Japan in the 90s of the XX century and in early 2000s. In these works on the Fe-12Cr-(20 -25) Mn alloys, it is shown that such steels with a carbon content of 0.1-0.25 wt.% have an austenitic structure with coarse particles of M 23 C 6 carbides along the grain boundaries and MC particles in the grain interior.…”

“…Despite the high interest in low-activation austenitic steels and a significant number of relevant publications within the above-mentioned period [5,[11][12][13][14][15], the research of low-activation ferritic-martensitic steels has become even more extensive [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. In recent years, there have been only few publications on the study of microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of low-activation austenitic steels [16,17].…”

Low Activation-Modified High Manganese-Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel for Fast Reactor Pressure Vessel Cladding

“…In this regard, low activation austenitic manganese-nitrogen stainless steels have raised interest as an alternative to austenitic nickel stainless steels and Inconel alloys. [6] The high manganese-nitrogen stainless steels have attracted interest because they are potentially less expensive and less activity than nickel stainless steels. Manganese is an important element in stabilizing the austenite structure.…”