Abstract
The literature which describes the microstructural development during neutron irradiation of austenitic stainless steels is reviewed, with emphasis on solution annealed AISI 316 stainless steel. The main difference in primary damage caused by fission and fusion neutron irradiation is the considerably larger amounts of transmutation gases (hydrogen and helium) produced by fusion neutrons. The secondary damage consists of dislocation loops, cavities, and radiation-affected phases. The microstructural changes produced by secondary damage is largely determined by radiation-induced segregation due to coupled migration of impurity atom/point defect complexes, and by the amount of helium produced by transmutation.
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