Effects of fluence and dissolved oxygen on IASCC in austenitic stainless steels

Abstract

Slow strain rate tests (SSRTs) of Type 304 and 316 stainless steels (SS) irradiated to high fluence (about 10{sup 26}n/m{sup 2}) were conducted in 561K pure water with dissolved oxygen concentrations of 0.02-32 ppm to evaluate the irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) susceptibility of austenitic stainless steels. In the case of 32 ppm dissolved oxygen (DO), the neutron fluence dependence of IASCC susceptibility in Types 304 and 316 SS was almost the same and increased markedly when the fluence exceeded 10{sup 25}n/m{sup 2}. With a decrease of dissolved oxygen, IASCC susceptibility of Types 304 and 316 SS decreased.