• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.1972-1981
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• 2022

A typical ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steel sheet was subjected to pulsed laser surface remelting (LSR) and corrosion test in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) at 550 ℃. There present two modification zones with distinct microstructures in the LSRed specimen: (1) remelted zone (RZ) consisting of both bulk δ-ferrite grains and martensitic plates and (2) heat-affected zone (HAZ) below the RZ, mainly composed of martensitic plates and high-density precipitates. Martensitic transformation occurs in both the RZ and the HAZ with the Kurdjumov-Sachs and Nishiyama-Wassermann orientation relationships followed concurrently, resulting in scattered orientations and specific misorientation characteristics. Hardnesses of the RZ and the HAZ are 364 ± 7 HV and 451 ± 15 HV, respectively, considerably higher than that of the matrix (267 ± 3 HV). In oxygen-saturated and oxygen-depleted LBE, thicknesses of oxide layers developed on both the as-received and the LSRed specimens increase with prolonging corrosion time (oxide layers always thinner under the oxygen-depleted condition). The corrosion resistance of the LSRed F/M steel in oxygen-saturated LBE is improved, which can be attributed to the grain-refinement accelerated formation of dense Fe-Cr spinel. In oxygen-depleted LBE, the growth of oxide layers is very low with both types of specimens showing similar corrosion resistance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.473-474
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• 2005

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.47-54
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• 2016

Post-Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) cracking susceptibility in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ) of reduced activation ferritic-martensitic (RAFM) steels was evaluated through stress-rupture tests. 9Cr-1W based alloys including different C, Ta and Ti content were prepared. The coarse grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) samples were simulated with welding condition of 30 kJ/cm heat input. CGHAZ samples consisted of martensite matrix. Stress rupture experiments were carried out using a Gleeble simulator at temperatures of $650-750^{\circ}C$ and at stress levels of 125-550 MPa, corresponding to PWHT condition. The results revealed that PWHT cracking resistance was improved by Ti addition, i.e., Ti contributed to the formation of fine and stable MX precipitates and suppression of coarse M23C6 carbides, resulting in improvement of stress rupture ductility. Meanwhile, rupture strength increased with increasing solute C content.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.10
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• pp.621-628
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• 2009

Thermomechanical processes were carried out to evaluate their effects on the mechanical and the microstructural property of a ferritic-martensitic steel. Modified 9Cr-1Mo steels were hot-rolled at a temperature of either $780^{\circ}C$ or $850^{\circ}C$ after normalizing at $1050^{\circ}C$ and then were air-cooled. Continuous annealing at $850^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours immediately after the hot rolling was also performed and they were compared to the specimens without thermomechanical process. The result showed that there were little differences between the hot rolled specimens in terms of the precipitation density and size. However, V content inside the MX precipitates increased in the case of the specimen rolled at $850^{\circ}C$. The application of the continuous annealing induced coarsening of the Nb-rich MX precipitation as well as an increase in the amount of V-rich MX precipitation, which is expected to enhance high temperature mechanical properties of the ferritic-martensitic steel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.487-488
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2012.10a
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• pp.43-44
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• 2012

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.304-309
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• 2002

Fretting wear test in room temperature water was performed to evaluate the wear coefficient of Inconel 600,690 (Pressurized Water Reactor, PWR) and Alloy 800 (CANadian DeuteriumUranium, CANDU) steam generator (SG) tubes against ferritic and martensitic stainless steels. The main focus is to compare the wear behaviors between Alloy 800 and Inconel alloys. Test conditions are $10{\sim}30N$ of normal load, $200{\sim}450{\mu}m$ of sliding amplitude and 30Hz of frequency. The result indicated that the wear rate of Alloy 800 was higher than those of Inconel 690 at various test condition such as normal loads, sliding amplitudes etc. From the results of SEM observation, there was little evidence of plastic deformation layer that were dominantly formed on the worn surfaces of Inconel 690. Also, wear particles in Alloy 800 were released from contacting asperities deformed by severe plastic flow during fretting wear. Main cause of wear rate between Alloy 800 and Inconel 690 may be due to the difference of hardness between martensitic and ferritic stainless steel. The wear rate and wear mechanism of two tubes in room temperature water are discussed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1096-1108
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• 2016

Metal fuel is being developed for the prototype generation-IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) to be built by 2028. U-Zr fuel is a driver for the initial core of the PGSFR, and U-transuranics (TRU)-Zr fuel will gradually replace U-Zr fuel through its qualification in the PGSFR. Based on the vast worldwide experiences of U-Zr fuel, work on U-Zr fuel is focused on fuel design, fabrication of fuel components, and fuel verification tests. U-TRU-Zr fuel uses TRU recovered through pyroelectrochemical processing of spent PWR (pressurized water reactor) fuels, which contains highly radioactive minor actinides and chemically active lanthanide or rare earth elements as carryover impurities. An advanced fuel slug casting system, which can prevent vaporization of volatile elements through a control of the atmospheric pressure of the casting chamber and also deal with chemically active lanthanide elements using protective coatings in the casting crucible, was developed. Fuel cladding of the ferritic-martensitic steel FC92, which has higher mechanical strength at a high temperature than conventional HT9 cladding, was developed and fabricated, and is being irradiated in the fast reactor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.1748-1751
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• 2017

Reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steels are widely applied as structural materials in the nuclear industry. To investigate hydrogen's effect on RAFM steels' elastic properties and the mechanism of that effect, a procedure of first principles simulation combined with experiment was designed. Density functional theory models were established to simulate RAFM steels' elastic status before and after hydrogen's insertion. Also, experiment was designed to measure the Young's modulus of RAFM steel samples with and without hydrogen charging. Both simulation and experiment showed that the solubility of hydrogen in RAFM steels would decrease the Young's modulus. The effect of hydrogen on RAFM steels' Young's modulus was more significant in water-quenched steels than it was in tempering steels. This indicated that defects inside martensite, considered to be hydrogen traps, could decrease the cohesive energy of the matrix and lead to a decrease of the Young's modulus after hydrogen insertion.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.10
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• pp.914-921
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• 2010

Studies were carried out to assess the microstructural and mechanical properties of ferriticmartensitic steel under a flowing sodium environment. HT9 (12Cr-MoVW) and Gr.92 (9Cr-MoVNbW) steel were exposed to liquid sodium at $650^{\circ}C$ containing dissolved oxygen of 20 ppm for 2333 hours and evaluations of the microstructure as well as the mechanical properties of the microhardness and nanoindentation were carried out. The result showed that both HT9 and Gr.92 exhibited macroscopic weight loss caused by general corrosion as well as localized types such as intergranular corrosion and pitting. Decarburization at the steel surface took place as the test proceeded. As the Cr content increased, dissolution and decarburization were suppressed. Assessment of the actual cladding geometry revealed that an aging process rather than decarburization governed the mechanical properties, which resulted in a decrease of the microhardness and yield stress.