Simulation of stainless ferritic-martensitic and austenitic steel hardening after irradiation in ion accelerator. Part 2. Development of a methodology for determiningthe ion mode irradiation of austenitic steels

A methodology for determining the irradiation mode for ferritic-martensitic steels at ion accelerator has been developed and experimentally substantiated, providing radiation hardening of these steels, identical to that realized under neutron irradiation. The change in Vickers microhardness is used as a measure of radiation hardening. The paper presents the results of a study of radiation-induced changes in the microhardness of austenitic steels 08Kh18Н10Т and 08Kh16Н20М2Т irradiated in reactors SM-3, VVER-440, BOR-60, SM-3 + BOR-60 to damaging doses of 10.2–33.7 dpa in the interval of temperatures 60–500°C. A study of radiation-induced changes in microhardness in a wider range of irradiation temperatures, post-irradiation annealing of irradiated steels was carried out in the range from 400 to 600°C, simulating irradiation at temperatures equal to annealing temperatures. Data are presented on radiation-induced changes in microhardness after irradiation in the ion accelerator of the State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation – Institute for Physics and Power Engineering named after A.I. Leypunsky (IPPE) with Ni +4 ions and He + ions up to concentrations of 0–7 appm/dpa at damaging doses of 13–30 dpa and temperatures of 300–650°. A transition function has been established that connects the irradiation of temperatures during neutron and ion irradiation at a given damaging dose, ensuring the same radiation hardening of austenitic steels.