Effect of high-dose neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties and structure of copper alloys and Cu/SS joints for ITER applications

The base copper alloys Cu-Cs-Zr IG and GlidCopA125 IG and Cu/SS joints manu factured in Russian Federation (RF), United States (US), Europe (EU) and Ja pan (JA) with the HIP method were irradiated up to 2 dpa at 200 degreesC in SM-2 reactor. Tensile tests, shear tests, metallography and SEM investigat ions were performed. Mechanical test results on the base alloys and joints irradiated up to 2 dpa at 200 degreesC indicate that the trends established at lower dose (0.3-0.4 dpa) tests are still valid at higher doses. The mai n effect of the irradiation dose increase can be considered as a shift of t he low temperature embrittlement towards higher temperatures. (C) 2000 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.