Novel technique for quantitative measurement of localized stresses near dislocation channel—grain boundary interaction sites in irradiated stainless steel

Abstract

A process for quantitatively measuring the residual stress near dislocation channel—grain boundary interaction sites has been developed especially for irradiated stainless steel using High Resolution Electron Backscatter Diffraction (HREBSD). Tensile stress acting normal to the grain boundary at 15 different discontinuous channel—grain boundary sites were observed to be highly elevated, with peak stresses reaching ~2 GPa, which is roughly an order of magnitude greater than the stresses observed at sites where slip transfer occurred at the grain boundary. A clearly observable difference can be made between the stress profiles present at discontinuous and continuous channel—grain boundary interaction sites. This difference is consistent with the theory that high tensile stress at the grain boundary may be a key driving factor for the initiation of irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracks.