Radiation swelling of modified austenitic steels

Problems of synthesis of radiation-resistant austenitic steels for nuclear reactors now in operation and those of new generations to be used in future are considered. An analysis of the state-of-the-art and prospect for solving this problem demonstrates that, despite significant efforts of researchers all over the world, the economically required levels of operation of nuclear reactors have not yet been achieved. This is determined to a large extent by the insufficient radiation resistance of the main structural materials, namely, of corrosion-resistant austenitic steels. The main problem of supplying materials for modern nuclear power engineering and that to be used in future is a study of microstructural evolution and its influence on degradation of the initial physical-mechanical characteristics. The influence of the structural state of alloyed steels on the radiation resistance is examined.