Temper and Neutron Irradiation Embrittlement in 2¼ Cr–1 Mo Steels for Pressure Vessels of High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

A 2¼ Cr-1 Mo steel is a promising candidate material for structural components of the pressure vessel of the experimental very high temperature gascooled reactor (VHTR) in Japan. Since the service temperature of such components is expected to be ∼400°C, the behavior of the temper and neutron irradiation embrittlements in these chromium-molybdenum steels should be confirmed from the viewpoint of structural integrity. The experimental verification on the degree of the embrittlement due to thermal aging, including the effect of applied stress and neutron irradiation, is described.Steel containing substantial amounts (∼ 100 ppm) of phosphorus atoms, which are believed to cause the temper embrittlement, showed that applied stress enhanced the embrittlement due to thermal aging. Embrittlement caused by neutron irradiation appears to be minimal in the case of the material containing <1000 ppm of copper as impurity with neutrons irradiated at ∼400°C.