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Volume 15
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10.3390/met15121297
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Exploring Complex Patterns: How Cold Work Modulates Defect Evolution and Radiation Resistance in CLF-1 Steels Under Multi-Beam Ion Irradiations

by
Zhihao Xu
1,2,
Sizhe Diao
1,
Hongtai Luo
3,
Hongbin Liao
4,
Guoping Yang
4,
Fangqian Zhao
1,2,
Shang Xu
1,2,
Yiheng Chen
5,
Yaqi Wu
6,
Chenxu Wang
5,
Liping Guo
3,
Yong Zhang
6,* and
Qian Zhan
1,2,*
1
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Technology and Equipment, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
3
Hubei Nuclear Solid Physics Key Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-Structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
4
Southwestern Institute of Physics, Huangjing Road Number 5, Chengdu 610041, China
5
State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
6
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center of Materials Genome Engineering, State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Metals 2025, 15(12), 1297; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15121297
Submission received: 22 September 2025 / Revised: 19 November 2025 / Accepted: 24 November 2025 / Published: 25 November 2025
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

China Low-Activation Ferrite (CLF-1) steel, renowned for its excellent thermomechanical properties and irradiation resistance, plays a key role in the development of the R&D of the Chinese Helium-Cooled Ceramic Breeding Test Blanket Module. Cold-worked CLF-1 steels were irradiated with sequential dual ion beams of (Fe2+ and H+), followed by single He+ irradiation at 723 K, with a dose rate of 1.09 dpa/h, to explore the complex relationship between cold work, defect evolution, and irradiation hardening. Samples with cold-working deformations of 0%, 10%, and 50% (denoted as CW 0%, CW 10%, and CW 50%, respectively) were examined. The results based on nanoindentation, TEM, and EBSD reveal that moderate cold work (10%) introduces dense dislocations, acting as effective sinks to suppress irradiation-induced defect accumulation and hardening, while excessive cold work (50%) triggers partial recrystallization under relatively long-time multi-beam irradiation, reducing dislocation density, which leads to the comparable hardening with CW 10%. In contrast, non-deformed samples (0% cold work) exhibit severe irradiation hardening (38.46%). He bubbles and dislocation loops follow non-monotonic trends in number density (CW 50% < CW 0% < CW 10%) and size (CW 50% > CW 0% > CW 10%), governed by the interplay of sink efficiency, thermal diffusion, and recrystallization. These findings highlight that a moderate level of cold-working deformation contributes to enhancing the sink strength, thereby offering a viable approach for designing radiation-tolerant RAFM steels.
Keywords: multi-beam ion irradiations; sink density; irradiation-induced dislocation loops; irradiation hardening; cold work; China Low-Activation Ferrite (CLF-1) steel multi-beam ion irradiations; sink density; irradiation-induced dislocation loops; irradiation hardening; cold work; China Low-Activation Ferrite (CLF-1) steel

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MDPI and ACS Style

Xu, Z.; Diao, S.; Luo, H.; Liao, H.; Yang, G.; Zhao, F.; Xu, S.; Chen, Y.; Wu, Y.; Wang, C.; et al. Exploring Complex Patterns: How Cold Work Modulates Defect Evolution and Radiation Resistance in CLF-1 Steels Under Multi-Beam Ion Irradiations. Metals 2025, 15, 1297. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15121297

AMA Style

Xu Z, Diao S, Luo H, Liao H, Yang G, Zhao F, Xu S, Chen Y, Wu Y, Wang C, et al. Exploring Complex Patterns: How Cold Work Modulates Defect Evolution and Radiation Resistance in CLF-1 Steels Under Multi-Beam Ion Irradiations. Metals. 2025; 15(12):1297. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15121297

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xu, Zhihao, Sizhe Diao, Hongtai Luo, Hongbin Liao, Guoping Yang, Fangqian Zhao, Shang Xu, Yiheng Chen, Yaqi Wu, Chenxu Wang, and et al. 2025. "Exploring Complex Patterns: How Cold Work Modulates Defect Evolution and Radiation Resistance in CLF-1 Steels Under Multi-Beam Ion Irradiations" Metals 15, no. 12: 1297. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15121297

APA Style

Xu, Z., Diao, S., Luo, H., Liao, H., Yang, G., Zhao, F., Xu, S., Chen, Y., Wu, Y., Wang, C., Guo, L., Zhang, Y., & Zhan, Q. (2025). Exploring Complex Patterns: How Cold Work Modulates Defect Evolution and Radiation Resistance in CLF-1 Steels Under Multi-Beam Ion Irradiations. Metals, 15(12), 1297. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15121297

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