Change in magnetic properties of a cold rolled and thermally aged Fe-Cu alloy

The variation in magnetic properties of a Fe-1% Cu model alloy due to a cold rolling and a thermal aging has been evaluated to simulate the radiation damage of reactor pressure vessel of nuclear power plant. The thermal aging was conducted at 500 degrees C with different aging times in series. The hysteresis loops, magnetic Barkhausen noise (BN) and Vickers microhardness were measured for prestrained, strained, and thermal aged samples. The coercivity increased by a plastic strain and decreased by thermal aging, The BN decreased in the prestrained and strained samples but large changes were observed in the strained sample. These results were interpreted in terms of the domain wall motion signified by a change in the mean free path associated with microinternal stress and copper rich precipitates. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3356227]