Influence Of Severe Plastic Deformation Processing On Grain Refinement And Neutron Irradiation Response In FeCrAl Alloys

Author

• Joshua Rittenhouse
• Mukesh Bachhav
• Laura Hawkins
• Sohail Shah
• Matthew Luebbe
• Lingfeng He
• Cameron Howard
• David Frazer
• Nedim Cinbiz
• Tiankai Yao
• Haiming Wen, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

Grain boundary engineering enables radiation-tolerant structural materials by using refined grain size to absorb irradiation-induced defects. In this study, we explore this concept in FeCrAl alloys, promising candidates for accident-tolerant fuel cladding in light-water reactors due to their exceptional high-temperature oxidation resistance. However, a comprehensive understanding of their behavior under neutron irradiation, especially the effect of grain size on radiation tolerance, is still lacking. Here, the commercial FeCrAl alloy Kanthal D was subjected to severe plastic deformation via equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) and high-pressure torsion (HPT) to produce ultrafine-grained (UFG, 100 nm–1 μm) and nanocrystalline (NC, <100 nm) microstructures, respectively. These processed materials, along with coarse-grained (CG) counterparts, were neutron irradiated to 2.6 to 3.2 displacements per atom (dpa) at approximately 358 °C and 554 °C. Post-irradiation mechanical testing revealed that the UFG and NC samples retained a more favorable combination of strength and ductility compared to the irradiated CG material, particularly after irradiation at 554 °C. The improved post-irradiation mechanical response of the UFG and NC conditions is attributed to the combined influence of SPD-induced grain refinement and associated microstructural features, rather than grain size alone. Increased grain-boundary density, deformation-induced dislocation structures, grain-boundary character, and recovery processes likely contribute to altered defect accumulation and reduced embrittlement relative to the CG condition. These findings highlight the potential of SPD-based microstructural engineering as a pathway for improving the neutron irradiation response of FeCrAl alloys.

Recommended Citation

J. Rittenhouse and M. Bachhav and L. Hawkins and S. Shah and M. Luebbe and L. He and C. Howard and D. Frazer and N. Cinbiz and T. Yao and H. Wen, "Influence Of Severe Plastic Deformation Processing On Grain Refinement And Neutron Irradiation Response In FeCrAl Alloys," Materials Science and Engineering A, vol. 976, article no. 151018, Elsevier, Nov 2026.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2026.151018

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Comments

Idaho Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Grant DE-NE0008524

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0921-5093

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Nov 2026