Effects of Irradiation Fluence and Creep on Fracture Toughness of Type 347/348 Stainless Steel
SourceThe postirradiation fracture toughness of Type 347/348 stainless steel was investigated using 5.08-mm thick three-point bend specimens tested at 427°C. The JIc values were determined using the single-specimen unloading compliance technique in accordance with ASTM Test Method for JIc, A Measure of Fracture Toughness (E 813-81). Equivalent values of plane strain fracture toughness, KIc, were computed from experimentally determined values for several fluence levels ranging from 2.3 to 4.8 × 1022 neutrons (n)/cm2 (E >1.0 MeV) and for irradiation creep of 0.0, 0.6, 1.1, and 1.85%. The test matrix involved four variables: fluence, creep, helium content, and heat-to-heat variation. Hence, separation of the individual effects of these variables on the KIc values was not possible due to limited irradiated material. However, the results show that an interpolated trend exists, that is, KIc decreases with increasing combinations of fluence, creep, and helium content. These results also suggest that irradiation creep has less effect on reducing KIc than has been suggested previously.