On the dominant mechanism of irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel steels

The circumstances under which steels exhibit intergranular fracture can be classified into four general categories: (1) owing to the presence of certain secondary phases at the grain boundaries; (2) owing to thermal treatments which cause impurity segregation to the grain boundaries without the precipitation of an observable second phase; (3) owing to the action of certain environments; and (4) owing to a combination of stress and high temperatures. In this paper each of these categories and their effects on material properties are reviewed. How the chemical composition of the grain boundary influences and induces intergranular cracking is discussed in detail for all four cases.

Intergranularfailure in steel: the role of grain-boundary composition

Hardening mechanisms and impact toughening of a high-strength steel containing low Ni and Cu additions

Solute interaction effects on grain boundary segregation in ternary alloys

Effects of increased alloying element content on NiAl-type precipitate formation, loading rate sensitivity, and ductility of Cu- and NiAl-precipitation-strengthened ferritic steels

Kazuhiro Suzuki

Papers

Effects of Copper and Phosphorus on Temper Embrittlement of Mn–Mo–Ni Low Alloy Steel (ASTM A533–B)