Effect of mechanical alloying parameters on irradiation damage in oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels

Issues for developing oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel are anisotropic mechanical properties due to the bamboo-like structure, impurity pick up during the mechanical alloying (MA) process, stability of oxide particles, heat-treatment condition and chemical composition. Several ODS steels were fabricated with a changing gas environment during MA, heat-treatment condition and chemical composition, and were electron-irradiated to 12 dpa at 673-748 K in a high-voltage electron microscope. An ODS martensitic steel (M-Ar) with high dislocation density showed very good swelling resistance. Swelling levels of ODS ferritic steels depended on the gas environment during MA and the recrystallization condition. These indicated that a helium gas environment during MA was more effective to suppress swelling than an argon gas environment and that cold working after recrystallization reduced void formation and swelling. The effect of MA parameters, such as the gas environment, heat-treat condition and cold working on the swelling behavior was evaluated. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.