The valve stem used in the main steam system of nuclear power plant is usually 17-4PH martensitic stainless steel. When it served in 300 C° for a long time, the thermal aging embrittlement of valve stem will be significant, with the performance of the ductile brittle transition temperature (DBTT) and the hardness increased, the upper stage energy (USE) decreased. It will seriously affect the safety and economic operation of nuclear power plant (NPP). It is important to study the thermal aging effect of the 17-4PH steel for safe operation of nuclear power plant. In this work, Three-Dimensional Atom Probe (3DAP), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Optical Microscope (OM) are used to analyze the element distribution in 17-4PH steel. The results show that lath martensite will grow significantly under high temperature for a long time. More δ-ferrite will be found between lath martensite, and some carbide aggregates at its interface. In addition, the number density of Cu clusters in the17-4PH steel is increased. It is found that Ni and Mn have obvious segregation with the Cu cluster.

Volume Subject Area:
Plant Systems, Structures, Components and Materials
Topics:
Nuclear power stations, Stainless steel, Steel, Valves, Atoms, Density, Ductile-brittle transition, Embrittlement, Ferrites (Magnetic materials), High temperature, Optical microscopes, Probes, Safety, Scanning electron microscopes, Steam, Temperature, X-ray spectroscopy
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