Irradiation-induced precipitates in a neutron irradiated 304 stainless steel studied by three-dimensional atom probe

Irradiation-induced precipitates in a 304 stainless steel, neutron-irradiated to a dose of 24 dpa at 300°C in the fuel wrapper plates of a commercial pressurized water reactor, were investigated by laser-assisted three-dimensional atom probe. A high number density of 4x10^23 m^3 of Ni–Si rich precipitates was observed, which is one order of magnitude higher than that of Frank loops. The average diameter was 10 nm and the average chemical composition was 40% Ni, 14% Si, 11% Cr and 32% Fe in atomic percent. Over a range of Si concentrations, the ratio of Ni to Si was ~3, close to that of g' precipitate (Ni3Si). In some precipitates, Mn enrichment inside the precipitate and P segregation at the interface were observed. Post-irradiation annealing was performed to discuss the contribution of the precipitates to irradiation-hardening.