Synergistic effects of helium and hydrogen on self-ion-induced swelling of austenitic 18Cr10NiTi stainless steel

Annealed 18Cr10NiTi steel is known to swell relatively easily under neutron irradiation, and in this study, was shown to swell rather easily under ion irradiation over a relatively small range of temperature. However, the addition of either helium or hydrogen increased the temperature range of swelling, especially toward the lower temperature range. Co-injection of both gases did not significantly produce more swelling than that produced by hydrogen alone. The differences in void distribution between gases appears to reflect the greater mobility of hydrogen compared to that of helium.