Microstructural Deformation and Fracture of Reduced Activation Ferritic-Martensitic Steel EK-181 under Different Heat Treatment Conditions

TEM studies were performed to examine the effect of holding of dispersion-strengthened heat-resistant reduced activation 12% chromium ferritic-martensitic steel EK-181 in static liquid lead for 3000 h at 600°C on the steel microstructure in comparison with the steel after conventional heat treatment by quenching and tempering at 720°C. It was found that the steel microstructure has good thermal stability under the specified experimental conditions. Microstructural deformation of EK-181 steel was studied in the neck region of tensile specimens tested at the temperatures 20, 680, 700, and 720°C with and without holding in liquid lead, and their fracture mechanisms were investigated. As a result of plastic deformation during tensile testing at room temperature, martensite plates and laths near the fracture surface are distorted and fragmented with the formation of new low-angle boundaries, and the dislocation density increases. At the deformation temperatures 680–720°C, nearly equiaxed ferrite grains are formed, the density and size of second-phase particles (M₂₃C₆ and MX) increases due to dynamic strain aging, and the dislocation density decreases locally. As the test temperature rises, the degree of martensite tempering increases. At T ≥ 700°C, some dynamic polygonization and dynamic recrystallization are observed. At elevated tension temperatures, ferrite coarsening is more significant in the specimens held in lead as compared to the conventionally treated material. The plastic deformation and fracture behavior of the steel are largely determined by the test temperature, rather than by the treatment mode.