Fatigue crack growth characteristics of nitrogen-alloyed type 347 stainless steel under operating conditions of a pressurized water reactor
Abstract The fatigue crack growth behavior of Type 347 (S347) and Type 347N (S347N) stainless steel was evaluated under the operating conditions of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). These two materials showed different fatigue crack growth rates (FCGRs) according to the changes in dissolved oxygen content and frequency. Under the simulated PWR conditions for normal operation, the FCGR of S347N was lower than that of S347 and insensitive to the changes in PWR water conditions. The higher yield strength and better corrosion resistance of the nitrogen-alloyed Type 347 stainless steel might be a main cause of slower FCGR and more stable properties against changes in environmental conditions.
Distinct properties of tungsten austenitic stainless alloy as a potential nuclear engineering material
Abstract In the present study, a series of tungsten austenitic stainless steel alloys have been developed by interchanging the molybdenum in standard SS316 by tungsten. This was done to minimize the long-life residual activation occurred in molybdenum and nickel after decommissioning of the power plant. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the prepared alloys are determined. For the sake of increasing multifunction property of such series of tungsten-based austenitic stainless steel alloys, gamma shielding properties were studied experimentally by means of NaI(Tl) detector and theoretically calculated by using the XCOM program. Moreover, fast neutrons macroscopic removal cross-section been calculated. The obtained combined mechanical, structural and shielding properties indicated that the modified austenitic stainless steel sample containing 1.79% tungsten and 0.64% molybdenum has preferable properties among all other investigated samples in comparison with the standard SS316. These properties nominate this new composition in several nuclear application domains such as, nuclear shielding domain.
ROOM- AND HIGH-TEMPERATURE MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF Sm(CobalFexCu0.088Zr0.025)7.5 (x=0.30) SINTERED MAGNETS
The effect of Fe content on room- and high-temperature magnetic properties of Sm(CobalFexCu0.088Zr0.025)7.5 (x=0-0.30) sintered magnets, prepared by the conventional powder metallurgy method, has been systematically studied. With increasing Fe content, the remanences BT and maximum energy products (BH)max at room temperature gradually increase and reach optimal values of 1.055 T with x=0.27 for BT, and 205 kJ/m3 with x=0.21 for (BH)max, respectively, and then drop sharply with further Fe increase. An excessive addition of Fe (x≥0.24) results in rapid deterioration of permanent magnetic properties due to the formation of a considerable amount of FeCo soft magnetic phase. It was found that the effect of Fe content on high temperature stability is huge. The lower the Fe content, the smaller the temperature coefficient of coercivity. When x=0.07, a temperature coefficient of coercivity of -0.14%/K (293-723 K) can be achieved, as compared with -0.23%/K for x=0.21. BT of 0.725 T, bHc of 517 kA/m, iHc of 764 kA/m, and (BH)max of 95 kJ/m3 at 723 K were obtained, and the B-H demagnetization curve remains a straight line.