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Influence of Neutron Irradiation on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Coarse- and Ultrafine-Grained Titanium Grade 2

Publication at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
2022

Abstract

The influence of neutron irradiation on the microstructure and related mechanical properties of Ti Grade 2 in coarse- and ultrafine-grained conditions was investigated. It was found that mechanical properties of the coarse-grained (CG) state were significantly affected by neutron irradiation.

At room temperature (RT), the yield stress increased by more than 30%, whereas the ductility decreased by more than 50%. An even bigger difference in the mechanical properties between irradiated and non-irradiated states was observed at a temperature of 300 degrees C.

Changes in the mechanical properties can be attributed to the high density of defect clusters/dislocation loops induced by neutron irradiation. On the other hand, the ultrafine-grained (UFG) state is more resistant to radiation damage.

The mechanical properties at RT did not change upon neutron radiation, while at a temperature of 300 degrees C, the yield stress increased only by about 10%. Enhanced radiation resistance of the UFG state can be attributed to the presence of a high density of dislocations and dense network of high-angle grain boundaries, which act as traps for radiation-induced defects and, thus, prevent the accumulation of these defects in the microstructure.