• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2004.08a
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• pp.11-18
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• 2004

Asymmetric rolling, in which the circumferential velocities of the upper and lower rolls are different, can give rise to intense plastic shear strains and in turn shear deformation textures through the sheet thickness. The ideal shear deformation texture of fcc metals can be approximated by the <111> // ND and $\{001\}<110>$ orientations, among which the former improves the deep drawability. The ideal shear deformation texture for bcc metals can be approximated by the Goss $\{110\}<001>\;and\;\{112\}<111>$ orientations, among which the former improves the magnetic permeability along the <100> directions and is the prime orientation in grain oriented silicon steels. The intense shear strains can result in the grain refinement and hence improve mechanical properties. Steel sheets, especially ferritic stainless steel sheets, and aluminum alloy sheets may exhibit an undesirable surface roughening known as ridging or roping, when elongated along RD and TD, respectively. The ridging or roping is caused by differently oriented colonies, which are resulted from the <100> oriented columnar structure in ingots or billets, especially for ferritic stainless steels, that is not easily destroyed by the conventional rolling. The breakdown of columnar structure and the grain refinement can be achieved by asymmetric rolling, resulting in a decrease in the ridging problem.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1096-1108
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• 2016

Metal fuel is being developed for the prototype generation-IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) to be built by 2028. U-Zr fuel is a driver for the initial core of the PGSFR, and U-transuranics (TRU)-Zr fuel will gradually replace U-Zr fuel through its qualification in the PGSFR. Based on the vast worldwide experiences of U-Zr fuel, work on U-Zr fuel is focused on fuel design, fabrication of fuel components, and fuel verification tests. U-TRU-Zr fuel uses TRU recovered through pyroelectrochemical processing of spent PWR (pressurized water reactor) fuels, which contains highly radioactive minor actinides and chemically active lanthanide or rare earth elements as carryover impurities. An advanced fuel slug casting system, which can prevent vaporization of volatile elements through a control of the atmospheric pressure of the casting chamber and also deal with chemically active lanthanide elements using protective coatings in the casting crucible, was developed. Fuel cladding of the ferritic-martensitic steel FC92, which has higher mechanical strength at a high temperature than conventional HT9 cladding, was developed and fabricated, and is being irradiated in the fast reactor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.555-565
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• 2023

Despite many advantages as structural materials, austenitic stainless steels (SSs) have been avoided in many next generation nuclear systems due to poor void swelling resistance. In this paper, we report the results of heavy ion irradiation to the recently developed advanced radiation resistant austenitic SS (ARES-6P) with nanosized NbC precipitates. Heavy ion irradiation was performed at high temperatures (500 ℃ and 575 ℃) to the damage level of ~200 displacement per atom (dpa). The measured void swelling of ARES-6P was 2-3%, which was considerably less compared to commercial 316 SS and comparable to ferritic martensitic steels. In addition, increment of hardness measured by nano-indentation was much smaller for ARES-6P compared to 316 SS. Though some nanosized NbC precipitates were dissociated under relatively high dose rate (~5.0 × 10^-4 dpa/s), sufficient number of NbC precipitates remained to act as sink sites for the point defects, resulting in such superior radiation resistance.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.373-383
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• 2021

The effect of Cr addition to high Mn steel on flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) behavior in a neutral aqueous environment was evaluated. For comparison, two types of conventional ferritic steels (API X70 steel and 9% Ni steel) were used. A range of experiments (electrochemical polarization and impedance tests, weight loss measurement, and metallographic observation of corrosion scale) were conducted. This study showed that high Mn steel with 3% Cr exhibited the highest resistance to FAC presumably due to the formation of a bi-layer scale structure composed of an inner Cr enriched Fe oxide and an outer Mn substituted partially with Fe oxide on the surface. Although the high Mn steels had the lowest corrosion resistance at the initial corrosion stage due to rapid dissolution kinetics of Mn elements on their surface, the kinetics of inner scale (i.e. Cr enriched Fe oxide) formation on Cr-bearing high Mn steel was faster in dynamic flowing condition compared to stagnant condition. On the other hand, the corrosion scales formed on API X70 and 9% Ni steels did not provide sufficient anti-corrosion function during the prolonged exposure to dynamic flowing conditions.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.20-23
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• 2014

Dual phase steels have a microstructure comprising of a polygonal ferrite matrix together with dispersed islands of martensite. There are clear differences between the image quality (IQ) map of the dual phase and the corresponding ferritic/pearlitic structures, both in the as-heat treated and cold rolled conditions. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques were used to study the evolution substructure of steel due to plastic deformation. The martensite-ferrite and ferrite-pearlite interfaces were observed. The interface can be a source of mobile dislocations which the bands seem to originate from the martensite islands. In particular, the use of image quality is highlighted.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2017

This study investigates the oxidation properties of Fe-14Cr ferritic oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel at various high temperatures (900, 1000, and $1100^{\circ}C$ for 24 h). The initial microstructure shows that no clear structural change occurs even under high-temperature heat treatment, and the average measured grain size is 0.4 and $1.1{\mu}m$ for the as-fabricated and heat-treated specimens, respectively. Y-Ti-O nanoclusters 10-50 nm in size are observed. High-temperature oxidation results show that the weight increases by 0.27 and $0.29mg/cm^2$ for the as-fabricated and heat-treated ($900^{\circ}C$) specimens, and by 0.47 and $0.50mg/cm^2$ for the as-fabricated and heat-treated ($1000^{\circ}C$) specimens, respectively. Further, after 24 h oxidation tests, the weight increases by 56.50 and $100.60mg/cm^2$ for the as-fabricated and heat-treated ($1100^{\circ}C$) specimens, respectively; the latter increase is approximately 100 times higher than that at $1000^{\circ}C$. Observation of the surface after the oxidation test shows that $Cr_2O_3$ is the main oxide on a specimen tested at $1000^{\circ}C$, whereas $Fe_2O_3$ and $Fe_3O_4$ phases also form on a specimen tested at $1100^{\circ}C$, where the weight increases rapidly. The high-temperature oxidation behavior of Fe-14Cr ODS steel is confirmed to be dominated by changes in the $Cr_2O_3$ layer and generation of Fe-based oxides through evaporation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.607-611
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• 2015

The microstructural evolution of Grade 91 tempered martensite ferritic steels heat treated at $760{\sim}1000^{\circ}C$ for two hours was investigated using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy(EDS), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy(TEM); a microhardness tester was also employed, with a focus on the grain and precipitate evolution process as well as on the main hardening element. It was found that an evolution of tempered martensite to ferrite($760{\sim}850^{\circ}C$), and to fresh martensite($900{\sim}1000^{\circ}C$), occurred with the increase of temperature. Simultaneously, the parabolic evolution characteristics of the low angle grain boundary(LAGB) increased with the increase of the heating temperature(highest fraction of LAGB at $925^{\circ}C$), indicating grain recovery upon intercritical heating. The main precipitate, $M_{23}C_6$, was found to be coarsened slightly at $760{\sim}850^{\circ}C$; it then dissolved at $850{\sim}1000^{\circ}C$. Besides this, $M_3C$ cementite was formed at $900{\sim}1000^{\circ}C$. Finally, the experimental results show that the hardness of the steel depended largely on the matrix structure, rather than on the precipitates, with the fresh martensite showing the highest hardness value.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2582-2590
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• 2021

The high-energy milling is one of the most extended techniques to produce Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) powder steels for nuclear applications. The consequences of the high energy mill process on the final powders can be measured by means of deformation level, size, morphology and alloying degree. In this work, an ODS ferritic steel, Fe-14Cr-5Al-3W-0.4Ti-0.25Y₂O₃-0.6Zr, was fabricated using two different mechanical alloying (MA) conditions (M_std and M_act) and subsequently consolidated by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). Milling conditions were set to evidence the effectivity of milling by changing the revolutions per minute (rpm) and dwell milling time. Differences on the particle size distribution as well as on the stored plastic deformation were observed, determining the consolidation ability of the material and the achieved microstructure. Since recrystallization depends on the plastic deformation degree, the composition of each particle and the promoted oxide dispersion, a dual grain size distribution was attained after SPS consolidation. M_act showed the highest areas of ultrafine regions when the material is consolidated at 1100 ℃. Microhardness and small punch tests were used to evaluate the material under room temperature and up to 500 ℃. The produced materials have attained remarkable mechanical properties under high temperature conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2584-2594
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• 2024

A novel approach to incorporating oxide formers into ferritic ODS production has been developed using the co-precipitation technique. This method enables the tailored design of complex nano-oxides, integrated during Mechanical Alloying (MA) and precipitated during Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) consolidation. Findings illustrate that co-precipitation effectively produces nano-powders with customised compositions, enriching Y, Ti, and Zr in the ferritic grade to condition subsequent oxide precipitation. While the addition of Y-Ti-Zr-O nano-oxides did not prevent the formation of Y-Al-O and Al-containing nano-oxides, these were refined thanks to the presence of well-dispersed Zr. Additionally, the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) parameters were optimised to tailor the bimodal grain size distribution of the ODS steels, aiming for favourable strength-to-ductility ratios. Comprehensive microstructural analyses were performed using SEM, EDS, EBSD, and TEM techniques, alongside mechanical assessments involving microtensile tests conducted at room temperature and small punch tests carried out at room temperature, 300 ℃, and 500 ℃. The outcomes yielded promising findings, showcasing similar or better performance with conventionally manufactured ODS steels. This reinforces the effectiveness and success of this innovative approach.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.240-246
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• 2016

In order to improve the high-temperature oxidation stability, sintered 434L stainless steel is studied, focusing on the effect of the addition of metallic oxides to form stable oxide films on the inner particle surface. The green compacts of Fecralloy powder or amorphous silica are added on STS434L and oxidized at $950^{\circ}C$ up to 210 h. The weight change ratio of 434L with amorphous silica is higher than that of 434L mixed with Fecralloy, and the weight increase follows a parabolic law, which implies that the oxide film grows according to oxide diffusion through the densely formed oxide film. In the case of 434L mixed with Fecralloy, the elements in the matrix diffuse through the grain boundaries and form $Al_2O_3$ and Fe-Cr oxides. Stable high temperature corrosion resistance and electrical resistivity are obtained for STS434L mixed with Fecralloy.