Orientation dependency of mechanical properties of 1950`s vintage Type 304 stainless steel weldment components before and after low temperature neutron irradiation
Databases of mechanical properties for both the piping and reactor vessels at the Savannah River Site (SRS) were developed from weldment components (base, weld, and weld heat-affected-zone (HAZ)) of archival piping specimens in the unirradiated and irradiated conditions. Tensile, Charpy V-notch (CVN), and Compact Tension C(T) specimens were tested at 25 and 125C before and after irradiation at low temperatures (90 to 150C) to levels of 0.065 to 2.1 dpa. irradiation hardened the weldment components and reduced the absorbed energy and toughness properties from the unirradiated values. A marked difference in the Charpy V-notch absorbed energy and the elastic-plastic fracture toughness (J{sub IC}) was observed for both the base and HAZ components with the C-L orientation being lower in toughness than the L-C orientation in both the unirradiated and irradiated conditions. Fracture surface examination of the base and HAZ components of unirradiated C(T) specimens showed a ``channel`` morphology in the fracture surfaces of the C-L specimens, whereas equiaxed ductile rupture occurred in the L-C specimens. Chromium carbide precipitation in the HAZ component reduced the fracture toughness of the C-L and L-C specimens compared to the respective base component C-L and L-C specimens. Optical metallography of the piping materials showed stringers of second phase particles parallel to the rolling direction along with a banding or modulation in the microchemistry perpendicular to the pipe axis or rolling direction of the plate material
