Evaluation of the effect of B and N on the microstructure of 9Cr-2W steel during an aging treatment for SFR fuel cladding tubes

Abstract

In this study, the microstructure of sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) fuel cladding steel with different B and N contents after aging is compared. The addition of nitrogen produces a large quantity of MX precipitates with sizes of 0.1 mu m or smaller during the initial thermal treatment process and this contributes to help such precipitates maintain stability without being excessively affected by aging. B is primarily distributed in the grain boundary precipitates and grain interior precipitates in the initial stage. The B distribution is believed to move to the Cr precipitates after 7000 h and to contribute to suppressing the growth of M23C6.