J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 266: 183-197.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.11.054

• Research article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Ion irradiation-driven microstructural evolution and hardening resistance in cold-working CLF-1 steels and ODS steel at different temperatures

Xu Z.H.a,b,1, Xu S.a,1, Zhao F.Q.a,b, Cao J.J.c, Chen Y.H.d, Li T.e, Wang C.X.d, Zhu H.H.f, Wu Y.f, Liao H.B.g, Yang G.P.g, Oono N.H.e, Ukai S.h, Ohnuki S.h, Guo L.P.c, Wan F.R.a, Zhan Q.a,b,*   

  1. aSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
    bState Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Technology and Equipment, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
    cHubei Nuclear Solid Physics Key Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education and School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China;
    dState Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;
    eDivision of Systems Research Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan;
    fState Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
    gSouthwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu 610225, China;
    hGraduate School and School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan
  • Received:2025-09-09 Revised:2025-11-23 Accepted:2025-11-24 Published:2026-09-20 Online:2025-12-09
  • Contact: *E-mail address: qzhan@mater.ustb.edu.cn (Q. Zhan).
  • About author:1 These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Abstract: Both uniformly dispersed nano-oxide particles and dislocations introduced by cold work are key approaches to enhancing the irradiation tolerance of materials. This study systematically investigates the irradiation responses of China Low-Activation Ferrite steel (CLF-1) steels (with 0 % and 10 % cold-work reductions, denoted as CW 0 % and CW 10 %) and oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel under sequential H+-(Fe2++He+) irradiation at 350 °C and 450 °C. Microstructural evolution, including bubbles and dislocation loops, was characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). And atom probe tomography (APT) elucidated the configuration of nano-sized oxide particles in ODS steel. At both irradiation temperatures, CW 10 % exhibited an increase in the number density of dislocation loops and bubbles but a decrease in average size compared to CW 0 %, attributed to the enhanced defect sinks induced by cold work. The analysis results of ODS steel based on APT indicate that the average size and number density of oxide particles are significantly dependent on the irradiation temperature, and the aggregation of Cr element was found in the oxide particles at both irradiation conditions, with slightly elevated levels observed at 450 °C compared to 350 °C. Notably, CW 10 % and ODS steel demonstrated comparable irradiation hardening resistance, rationalized by the similar strength of the primary sinks they introduced individually. The contributions of dislocation loops, bubbles, oxide particles, and dislocation lines to irradiation hardening are quantified using the Dispersed Barrier Hardening (DBH) model and Friedel-Kroupa-Hirsch (FKH) model. These results demonstrate that dislocations introduced by controlled cold working and dispersed nanoscale oxide particles of tailored size and density exert a comparable effect in mitigating irradiation hardening, which offers different promising pathways to improve the irradiation tolerance of advanced nuclear materials.

Key words: Cold work, Bubbles, Irradiation hardening, CLF-1 steel, Nano-sized oxide particles, Atom probe tomography, ODS steel

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