Abstract
While ion-irradiation studies are a critical first step in studying compositionally complex alloys (CCAs) for nuclear applications, they do not capture all the microstructural changes occurring under the low irradiation dose rates and different particles' scattering patterns experienced in a nuclear reactor setting. To explore these phenomena in reactor-relevant conditions for the first time in CCA, the single-phase solid-solution Cr10Fe30Mn30Ni30 was neutron irradiated up to 6.61 displacements per atom at 395 and 579 °C. Irradiation-enhanced local chemical ordering (LCO) well beyond the range of short range ordering was observed, and is predicted to be the precursor to the precipitation of a coherent Ni-Mn L10 phase and a Cr-rich α' phase, though TEM analysis did not indicate the presence of either in any irradiation condition. The line density of faulted dislocation loops decreased from 6.47 to 1.69 ∙ 1015 m−2 from 3.43 to 6.61 dpa at 579 °C despite no appreciable faulted loop content in the unirradiated material. LCO is expected to increase the complexity of the energy landscape within this alloy, restricting interstitial point defect mobility and creating local regions of greater stacking fault energy. These contribute to the negative correlation between irradiation dose and faulted dislocation loop density in this study, as well as the lack of void swelling observed.
Recommended Citation
N. Curtis et al., "Local Chemical Ordering of a Neutron-irradiated CrFeMnNi Compositionally Complex Alloy," Acta Materialia, vol. 286, article no. 120752, Elsevier; Acta Materialia, Mar 2025.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2025.120752
Department(s)
Materials Science and Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Compositionally complex alloys; High entropy alloys; Irradiation effects; Microstructural evolution; Neutron irradiation
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1359-6454
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 Elsevier; Acta Materialia, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Mar 2025
