Abstract
Nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) provide exceptional radiation tolerance and high-temperature mechanical properties when compared to traditional ferritic and ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels. Their remarkable properties result from ultrahigh density and ultrafine size of Y-Ti-O nanoclusters within the ferritic matrix. In this work, we applied a high-energy synchrotron radiation X-ray to study the deformation process of two NFAs including 14YWT and MA957, and a 9-Cr ODS steel. Only the relatively large nanoparticles in the 9-Cr ODS were observed in the synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The nanoclusters in both 14 YWT and MA957 were invisible in the measurement due to their non-stoichiometric nature. Due to the different sizes of nanoparticles and nanoclusters in the materials, the Orowan looping was considered to be the major strengthening mechanism in the 9-Cr ODS, while the dispersed-barrier-hardening is dominant strengthening mechanism in both 14YWT and MA957, respectively. This analysis was inferred from the different build-up rates of dislocation density when plastic deformation was initiated. Finally, the dislocation densities interpreted from the X-ray measurements were successfully modeled using the Bergström’s dislocation models.
