| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
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| Symposium
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Special Topics in Nuclear Materials: Lessons Learned; Non-Energy Systems; and Coupled Extremes
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| Presentation Title |
Effect of Tensile Stress Gradients on the Multi-Length-Scale Microstructure in Thermal and Irradiation Creep of 316L Stainless Steel |
| Author(s) |
Mackenzie Warwick, Wyatt Peterson, Ben Arms, Charles Hirst, Kevin Field |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Mackenzie Warwick |
| Abstract Scope |
Ion-irradiation-thin stress-gradient tensile specimens were developed for accelerated creep testing. The effect of this stress gradient on the multi-length-scale microstructural evolution in 316SS was investigated under thermal and proton irradiation creep conditions. A series of experiments (79-158 MPa, 158-316 MPa) at (400℃, 550℃) were performed to 0 and 0.2 dpa over 150 hours. Initial characterization of the irradiated microstructures shows preferential alignment of dislocation lines and loops suggesting stress-induced preferential absorption mechanisms, cellular dislocation network formation and evolution, and formation of Ni3Si clusters along dislocation lines. The observation of small (<15 nm) loops and defect clusters from irradiation suggests there are previously unevaluated microstructure length-scale interactions, particularly how these small clusters contribute to pinning of mobile dislocations. These preliminary results demonstrate the value of performing stress-gradient experiments to probe the microstructural and microchemical behavior during irradiation creep for informing engineering component designs in nuclear energy systems. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Characterization, Nuclear Materials, Mechanical Properties |