Radiation Damage Mitigation in FeCrAl Alloy at Sub-Recrystallization Temperatures

Rahman, Md Hafijur; Rasel, Md Abu Jafar; Smyth, Christopher M.; Waryoba, Daudi; Haque, Aman

doi:10.3390/ma18010124

Open AccessArticle

Radiation Damage Mitigation in FeCrAl Alloy at Sub-Recrystallization Temperatures

by

Md Hafijur Rahman

¹

,

Md Abu Jafar Rasel

¹

,

Christopher M. Smyth

²

,

Daudi Waryoba

³

and

Aman Haque

^1,*

¹

Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16803, USA

²

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA

³

Engineering, Applied Materials, The Pennsylvania State University, College Place, DuBois, PA 15801, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Materials 2025, 18(1), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18010124

Submission received: 19 November 2024 / Revised: 26 December 2024 / Accepted: 27 December 2024 / Published: 31 December 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and Behaviour of Advanced Alloys and Materials for Nuclear Applications)

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Abstract

Traditional defect recovery methods rely on high-temperature annealing, often exceeding 750 °C for FeCrAl. In this study, we introduce electron wind force (EWF)-assisted annealing as an alternative approach to mitigate irradiation-induced defects at significantly lower temperatures. FeCrAl samples irradiated with 5 MeV Zr²⁺ ions at a dose of 10¹⁴ cm⁻² were annealed using EWF at 250 °C for 60 s. We demonstrate a remarkable transformation in the irradiated microstructure, where significant increases in kernel average misorientation (KAM) and low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) typically indicate heightened defect density; the use of EWF annealing reversed these effects. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed these findings, showing substantial reductions in full width at half maximum (FWHM) values and a realignment of peak positions toward their original states, indicative of stress and defect recovery. To compare the effectiveness of EWF, we also conducted traditional thermal annealing at 250 °C for 7 h, which proved less effective in defect recovery as evidenced by less pronounced improvements in XRD FWHM values.

Keywords: radiation damage mitigation; heavy ion irradiation; FeCrAl alloys; electron wind force; X-ray diffraction; electron backscatter diffraction

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MDPI and ACS Style

Rahman, M.H.; Rasel, M.A.J.; Smyth, C.M.; Waryoba, D.; Haque, A. Radiation Damage Mitigation in FeCrAl Alloy at Sub-Recrystallization Temperatures. Materials 2025, 18, 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18010124

AMA Style

Rahman MH, Rasel MAJ, Smyth CM, Waryoba D, Haque A. Radiation Damage Mitigation in FeCrAl Alloy at Sub-Recrystallization Temperatures. Materials. 2025; 18(1):124. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18010124

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rahman, Md Hafijur, Md Abu Jafar Rasel, Christopher M. Smyth, Daudi Waryoba, and Aman Haque. 2025. "Radiation Damage Mitigation in FeCrAl Alloy at Sub-Recrystallization Temperatures" Materials 18, no. 1: 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18010124

APA Style

Rahman, M. H., Rasel, M. A. J., Smyth, C. M., Waryoba, D., & Haque, A. (2025). Radiation Damage Mitigation in FeCrAl Alloy at Sub-Recrystallization Temperatures. Materials, 18(1), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18010124

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Radiation Damage Mitigation in FeCrAl Alloy at Sub-Recrystallization Temperatures

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