Transmission electron microscopy study on neutron irradiated pure iron and RPV model alloys

The radiation induced microstructure was examined by Transmission Electron Microscopy in Fe, FeCu, FeMnCuNi, FeMnNi and a Reactor Pressure Vessel steel that were neutron irradiated to 0.026, 0.051, 0.10 and 0.19 dpa at 300 °C. The effect of dose and composition on defect accumulation and microstructure evolution was investigated. The damaged microstructure consisted in the presence of dislocation loops of interstitial type. The presence of voids was also studied in pure iron. Results on density, size and Burgers vector of radiation induced dislocation loops showed that the evolution of the interstitial component of the neutron irradiation induced microstructure was strongly affected by the presence of solutes such as Cu, Mn and Ni. Density and size increased with increasing dose in all the materials, while the effect of solutes is clearly to decrease the size of defects compared to pure iron. It has been observed that, for the same irradiation dose, the defect size decreases as the material becomes more complex, with the extreme case of the RPV steel where no defects were observed at any of the irradiation doses studied.