Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:15:31.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Nanoindentation investigation of ion-irradiated Fe–Cr alloys using spherical indenters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2011

Andrew J. Bushby*
Affiliation:
Centre for Materials Research, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
Steve G. Roberts
Affiliation:
Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, United Kingdom
Christopher D. Hardie
Affiliation:
Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, United Kingdom
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The performance of materials exposed to high doses of neutron radiation is currently of great interest for the development of nuclear fusion energy production. An Fe12%Cr alloy was subjected to high-dose (6 dpa) radiation with 2MeV Fe+ ions to simulate the damage structures caused by neutron radiation, resulting in a damage layer ∼0.7 μm in depth from the surface. Spherical nanoindentation, using indenters with radii of 5, 10, and 20 μm, was used to determine reliable values for the initial yield pressure, the evolution of plastic deformation and the elastic modulus of this material, in the irradiated and unirradiated condition. The results showed that the initial yield pressure within the damage layer can be determined and was approximately a factor of two higher than that of the same material in the unirradiated condition. The irradiated material appeared to display strain softening following yield.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Schiller, P.: Review of materials selection for fusion reactors. J. Nucl. Mater. 206, 113 (1993).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Bloom, E.E., Zinkle, S.J., and Wiffen, F.W.: Materials to deliver the promise of fusion power—progress and challenges. J. Nucl. Mater. 329333, 12 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Yao, Z., Hernandez-Mayoral, M., Jenkins, M.L., and Kirk, M.A.: Heavy-ion irradiations of Fe and Fe-Cr model alloys. Part 1: Damage evolution in thin-foils at lower doses. Philos. Mag. 88, 2851 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Mansur, L.K.: Theory and experimental background on dimensional changes in irradiated alloys. J. Nucl. Mater. 216, 97 (1994).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Suganuma, K. and Kayano, H.: Irradiation hardening of Fe-Cr alloys. J. Nucl. Mater. 118, 234 (1983).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Heintze, C., Bergner, F., and Hernandez-Mayoral, M.: Ion-irradiation-induced damage in Fe-Cr alloys characterised by nanoindentation. J. Nucl. Mater. (2011, in press). doi: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2010.12.196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Boudoukha, L., Halitim, F., Paletto, S., and Fantozzi, G.: Mechanical properties of titanium implanted polycrystalline alumina and sapphire determined by nanoindentation. Ceram. Int. 24, 189 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Bauer, M., Kapsa, P., Loubet, J.L., Ramos, S.M.M., Canut, B., Gea, L., and Thevenard, P.: Tribological properties of niobium ion-implanted alumina. Tribol. Int. 25, 319 (1992).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Murphy, M.E., Laugier, M.T., Beake, B.D., Sutton, D., and Newcomb, S.B.: The effects of C ion implantation on the near surface microstructure and properties of alpha alumina. J. Mater. Sci. 37, 2053 (2002).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Roberts, S.G. and Page, T.F.: The effects of N2(+) and B+ ion-implantation on the hardness behaviour and near surface structure of SiC. J. Mater. Sci. 21, 457 (1986).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Farrell, K. and Byun, T.S.: Tensile properties of ferritic/martensitic steels irradiated in HFIR, and comparison with spallation irradiation data. J. Nucl. Mater. 318, 274 (2003).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Shan, Z.W., Mishra, R.K., Syed Asif, S.A., Warren, O.L., and Minor, A.: Mechanical annealing and source-limited deformation in submicrometre-diameter Ni crystals. Nat. Mater. 7, 115 (2008).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Bull, S.J.: Nanoindentation of coatings. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 38, R393 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Bushby, A.J., Zhu, T.T., and Dunstan, D.J.: Slip distance model for the indentation size effect at the initiation of plasticity in ceramics and metals. J. Mater. Res. 24, 966 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Johnson, K.L.: Contact Mechanics (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, England, 1985).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Samuels, L.E. and Mulhearn, T.O.: An experimental investigation of the deformed zone associated with indentation hardness impressions. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 5, 125 (1957).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Lim, Y.Y. and Chaudhri, M.M.: The effect of the indenter load on the nanohardness of ductile metals: An experimental study on polycrystalline work-hardened and annealed oxygen-free copper. Philos. Mag. A 79, 2879 (1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Zhu, T.T., Bushby, A.J., and Dunstan, D.J.: Size effect in the initiation of plasticity for ceramics in nanoindentation. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 56, 1170 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Field, J.S. and Swain, M.V.: A simple predictive model for spherical indentation. J. Mater. Res. 8, 297 (1993).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Swadener, J.G. and Pharr, G.M.: Indentation of elastically anisotropic half-spaces by cones and parabolae of revolution. Philos. Mag. A 81, 447 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Dunstan, D.J., Zhu, T.T., Hopkinson, M., Bushby, A.J.: Mapping the initiation of plastic deformation in nanoindentation. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lon. (2011, submitted).Google Scholar
22.Feng, G., Qu, S., Huang, Y., and Nix, W.D.: A quantitative analysis for the stress field around an elastoplastic indentation/contact. J. Mater. Res. 24, 704 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23.Hou, X.D., Bushby, A.J., and Jennett, N.M.: Direct measurement of surface shape for validation of indentation deformation and plasticity length-scale effects: A comparison of methods. Meas. Sci. Technol. 21, 115105 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar