Mechanical characterization of Fe-10Cr-4Al micro-samples for ion irradiation testing application

One of the most promising structural materials for lead-cooled fast reactors is ferritic Fe- CrAl steel due to the high temperature oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance and also radiation-induced swelling resistance. FeCrAl steels have also shown very good resistance to liquid metal embrittlement but what effect irradiation have on this phenomenon is still not well-known. The use of proton irradiation in nuclear materials science to simulate the damage of neutron irradiation has been widely explained Despite the use of proton irradiation in nuclear materials science to simulate the damage of neutron irradiation on materials has been encouraged by numerous studies, ions have the disadvantages to present a very limited penetration depth resulting in radiation damage limited to the surface layer in standard size FeCrAl samples. This thesis analyses an alternative option by focusing on the micro-sizing of the samples so that they are not subjected to radiation damage only on the surface. The aim of this work is to test a possible minimal dimension of samples in order to find a comparable mechanical response to the standard metallic behaviour. The samples were tested with a slow strain rate testing rig at room tempera- ture, 250¿ C, 350¿ C, 400¿ C and 450¿ C in air, in a gas mixture of Ar-5 % H2 and in liquid lead. The results showed that FeCrAl micro-sample mechanical representation could be compared to standard samples values already present in literature for what concerned lower temperature, while high temperature test showed lack of consistency