Tailoring Microstructure of Austenitic Stainless Steel with Improved Performance for Generation-IV Fast Reactor Application: A Review

Austenitic stainless steels are selected as candidate materials for in-core and out-of-core components of Generation-IV fast reactors due to their excellent operating experience in light-water reactors over several decades. However, the performance of conventional austenitic stainless steels proves to be inadequate through operation feedback in fast reactors. To withstand the demands for material performance exposure to the extreme operating environment of fast reactors, modified austenitic stainless steels for in-core and out-of-core components have been developed from the first-generation 300-series steels. The design of an appropriate microstructure becomes a top priority for improving material performance, and key metallurgical features including delta-ferrite content, grain size and secondary phase precipitation pertinent to austenitic stainless steel are focused on in this paper. delta-ferrite content and grain size are closely correlated with the fabrication program and their effects on mechanical properties, especially creep and fatigue properties are critically assessed. Moreover, the impacts of some major elements including nitrogen, stabilization elements (Nb, Ti, V), phosphorus and boron on secondary phase precipitation behaviors during aging or creep are reviewed in detail. Based on the role of the aforementioned metallurgical features, the recommended specification of nitrogen content, stabilization ratio, phosphorus content, boron content, delta-ferrite content and grain size are put forward to guarantee the best-expected performance, which could provide reactors designers with attractive options to optimize fast reactor systems.