An Experimental and Rate Theory Model for Understanding the Radiation Effects in Friction Stir Welded MA956 Ion Irradiation
Description
One outstanding challenge in the manufacturing and joining of oxide dispersion strengthened steels is retaining the nanofeatures in the alloy throughout the fabrication and welding process. MA956 was friction stir welded with two different sets of welding parameters, resulting in a medium and high heat input. After welding, 5 MeV Fe++ ion irradiations were performed at doses ranging from 50 to 200 dpa in the temperature range of 400 to 500°C. Post-irradiation characterization was performed primarily with scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy to investigate the Y-Al-O dispersoids, voids, and dislocations. After welding, the dispersoid microstructure coarsened, resulting in fewer and larger dispersoids regardless of heat input. After irradiation, the dispersoid behavior in the welded material was sensitive to temperature, exhibiting growth behavior attributed to Ostwald coarsening at 500°C—but a mixture of nucleation and more muted growth at 400 and 450°C— attributed to competing mechanisms of radiation-enhanced diffusion and Ostwald coarsening. Void swelling correlated to heat input; it was much more prevalent in the welded conditions occurring at lower doses and in higher values relative to the base material. The low values of swelling despite microstructure coarsening caused by welding demonstrate the excellent swelling resistance of MA956, even after welding with the highest swelling values of 0.5% noted in the stir zone high heat input condition at 450°C, 200 dpa. The dislocation behavior was inconsistent: the strongest trend was that network density is higher for welded versus base material, and an increase in loop diameter with temperature was observed.