Grain boundary oxidation of proton-irradiated nuclear grade stainless steel in simulated primary water of pressurized water reactor

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 1371
• Main Authors: Deng, Ping, Peng, Qunjia, Han, En-Hou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 14-01-2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/1023; 639/925/930; Electron microscopes; Grain boundaries; Humanities and Social Sciences; Irradiation; multidisciplinary; Oxidation; Pressurized water reactors; Radiation; Reactors; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stainless steel
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80600-x

Grain boundary (GB) oxidation of proton-irradiated 304 nuclear grade stainless steel in primary water of pressurized water reactor was investigated. The investigation was conducted by studying microstructure of the oxide and oxide precursor formed at GB on an "atom-by-atom" basis by a combination of atom-probe tomography and transmission electron microscope. The results revealed that increasing irradiation dose promoted the GB oxidation, in correspondence with a different oxide and oxide precursor formed at the GB. Correlation of the oxide and oxide precursor with the GB oxidation behavior has been discussed in detail.