0000000001133444
AUTHOR
Aurélie Clair
Early-stage detection of surface stress corrosion cracking at the subgranular level
The strain field at the interface between an alloy and its oxide layer has been mapped using nanopatterned gauges resistant to the environment of the primary nuclear medium. It was found that oxidation has decreased the alloy ductility, thereby enabling some grain boundary opening to be detectable from 1.8 % strain. It is shown that statistics of extreme rare events of hotspots quantify the occurrence of the local opening of intergranular cracks, and thereby the ageing process.
A Methodology to Deduce the Microstructural Spatial Deformation of Polycrystalline Structures: Application to the Alloy 600
Studying the corrosion of the alloy 600, under water pressure, is of high importance to understand the ageing process of pressurized water reactors. Today, the impact of the oxide growth on the mechanical properties of nickel alloys is a challenge. The surface analysis and the quantification of the local deformation are key factors to deduce the surface damage of the substrate produced by corrosion. Here, we introduce a new methodology to determine the deformation distribution of the alloy 600 by using polycrystalline samples. The method is based on nanopads disposed on the surface samples, which allow a mapping, at the microscopic scale, of the spatial deformation. We applied to the sample…
Experimental characterization of micromechanical and microphological properties of nickel base alloys strained by the growth of an ovide payer made in the primary water of a nuclear power plant
The loss of the corrosion resistance of the alloy 600, a nickel base alloy, during the oxidation in pressurized water reactor (PWR) has been demonstrated by many studies. It induces the intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). If the chemical composition and the structure of the growing oxide are well-known, the mechanical influence of the oxide on the alloy has not been fully studied, yet. This study aims at bringing new knowledge of the oxidation impact on the mechanical response of the alloy. A new methodology is introduced for determining the local nanodeformation of the alloy 600 induced either by an oxidation or by a tensile loading. This method is based on nanodots disposed a…