Lead-bismuth eutectic corrosion behavior of 9Cr ferritic/martensitic steel with different Si contents after Au-ion irradiation

Abstract Ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels are considered optimal candidates for utilization as structural materials in Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) due to their excellent mechanical properties at high temperatures and outstanding resistance to irradiation swelling. However, the combined effect of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) corrosion and irradiation damage degrades the performance of structural materials and reduces their safe service life limits. Accordingly, this study investigated the LBE corrosion behavior of 9Cr F/M steels with different Si contents, which had been irradiated with 6 MeV Au ions. Furthermore, the influence of Si content on the irradiation damage and corrosion behavior of 9Cr F/M steel was discussed. With increasing irradiation dose, both the size and density of dislocation loops increased, leading to irradiation hardening. Irradiation-accelerated LBE corrosion was observed in samples with different Si contents, and the sample with 0.7 wt% Si content exhibited superior LBE corrosion resistance under irradiation-corrosion synergy.