Hydrogen retention in ion irradiated steels

Abstract

In the future 1--5 MW Spallation Neutron Source, target radiation damage will be accompanied by high levels of hydrogen and helium transmutation products. The authors have recently carried out investigations using simultaneous Fe/He,H multiple-ion implantations into 316 LN stainless steel between 50 and 350 C to simulate the type of radiation damage expected in spallation neutron sources. Hydrogen and helium were injected at appropriate energy and rate, while displacement damage was introduced by nuclear stopping of 3.5 MeV Fe{sup +}, 1 {micro}m below the surface. Nanoindentation measurements showed a cumulative increase in hardness as a result of hydrogen and helium injection over and above the hardness increase due to the displacement damage alone. TEM investigation indicated the presence of small bubbles of the injected gases in the irradiated area. In the current experiment, the retention of hydrogen in irradiated steel was studied in order to better understand its contribution to the observed hardening. To achieve this, the deuterium isotope ({sup 2}H) was injected in place of natural hydrogen ({sup 1}H) during the implantation. Trapped deuterium was then profiled, at room temperature, using the high cross-section nuclear resonance reaction with {sup 3}He. Results showed a surprisingly high concentration of deuterium to be retained in the irradiated steel at low temperature, especially in the presence of helium. There is indication that hydrogen retention at spallation neutron source relevant target temperatures may reach as high as 10%