Xenon ion irradiation induced hardening in inconel 617 containing experiment and numerical calculation

The nickel based alloy Inconel 617 is a leading candidate for use in Generation IV fission reactors due to its superior high-temperature properties. The hardening and microstructural evolution in this alloy under irradiation with 4 MeV Xe20+ ions up to 10 dpa were characterized herein to reveal the irradiation resistance of Inconel 617. The relationship between irradiation induced microstructural evolution and the changes to the nanohardness calculated by the volume fraction model (VFM) was established. The results revealed dislocation loops are the major hardening source. A comparative analysis with GH3535 alloy revealed that the much higher number density of dislocation loops in Inconel 617 led to inferior hardening resistance than that of GH3535 alloy after irradiation at room temperature at doses below 10 dpa. However, the hardening degree of both alloys is nearly equivalent when the irradiation dose increases over 10 dpa. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.