Characterisation of irradiation damage in Fe–3Cr and Fe–5Cr: A study on the effects of chromium content and temperature

Yadav, Chandra Bhusan; London, Andrew J.; Tadić, Tonči; Xu, Ruqing; Liu, Wenjun; Fazinić, Stjepko; Das, Suchandrima (2026) Characterisation of irradiation damage in Fe–3Cr and Fe–5Cr: A study on the effects of chromium content and temperature. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 950 . ISSN 0921-5093

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Abstract

Fe-Cr binary alloys serve as simplified model systems to study irradiation damage relevant to fusion structural materials. Here, Fe-3 %Cr and Fe-5 %Cr samples were irradiated with 4 MeV Fe ions under a dose rate of 4 x 10(-5) dpa/s across a linear thermal gradient (120 degrees C-480 degrees C) in a single experiment, enabling direct comparison of temperature and Cr content effects under identical conditions. Depth-resolved Laue micro-diffraction (similar to 10(-4) strain sensitivity), nanoindentation, and AFM reveal non-monotonic evolution of lattice strain and hardness: both decrease with temperature up to similar to 300 degrees C, then increase beyond. This turning point reflects changes defect mobility and solute-defect clustering, which stabilize damage. Fe-3 %Cr shows consistently higher strain and hardening than Fe-5 %Cr, especially at lower temperatures. Minimal change in post-indentation pile-up indicates limited softening or localization. These results highlight how Cr content and temperature jointly affect irradiation response, offering new insights into defect evolution in fusion-relevant alloys.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	FeCr alloys; Ion implantation; Micro-diffraction; Nano-indentation; Atomic force microscopy
Subjects:	NATURAL SCIENCES
Divisions:	Division of Experimental Physics
Projects:	Project title Project leader Project code Project type Implementation of activities described in the Roadmap to Fusion during Horizon Europe through a joint programme of the members of the EUROfusion consortium-EUROfusion Tonči Tadić 101052200 EK
Depositing User:	Ana Zečević
Date Deposited:	06 May 2026 09:20
URI:	https://fulir.irb.hr:/id/eprint/11906
DOI:	10.1016/j.msea.2025.149464

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