Investigator: Ing. Hynek Hadraba, Ph.D.
Number of Project: GA106/08/1397
Agency: Czech Science Foundation
Duration: 01. 01. 2008 - 31. 12. 2010

Ferritic/martensitic steels of (9-12)Cr-X type and especially their oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) versions became candidate structural material for reactor vessels of IV. generation fission reactors and intensively developed fusion reactors. In both cases the component service lifetime is determinated by synergy of a heat and radiation damage. While the radiation embrittlement of every candidate alloy is investigated, adequate attention is not paid to a quantitative characterization of microstructural changes and fracture behaviour of these materials connected with the thermal exposition. Precipitate originated during thermal ageing may in combination with dispersion of oxide particles lead to change of cleavage fracture mechanism and to critical embrittlement of steels. The project is aimed to quantification of these changes and finding of cleavage nucleation for microstructures with dispersion of oxide particles and precipitates. The solution of project will in first phase consist

Hadraba, H., Dlouhý, I.: Fracture Behaviour of RAFM stee Eurofer´97 after Thermal Ageing; New Methods of Damage and Failure Analysis of Structural Parts, Ostrava, 2008, pp. 225-233.

Hadraba, H., Dlouhý, I.: Zkřehnutí oceli EUROFER´97 v důsledku tepelné expozice (Embrittlement of EUROFER´97 steel due to thermal exposition); 22nd International conference on Heat Treatment, Brno, 2008, s. 65-72.

Hadraba, H., Dlouhý, I.: Effect of thermal ageing on the impact fracture behaviour of Eurofer’97 steel. Journal of Nuclear Materials 386-388, 2009, p. 564-568.