Intergranular segregation in the pressure vessel steel of a commercial nuclear reactor studied by atom probe tomography

Solute/impurity segregation and precipitation at grain boundaries (GBs) in a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel were investigated using laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT): RPV surveillance test specimens irradiated in a commercial nuclear reactor to neutron doses of 0.83 × 1019 n•cm² (low-dose) and 5.1 × 1019 n•cm² (high-dose), corresponding to in-service exposure of ∼5 and ∼30 years, respectively. The segregation of C, P and Mo was found on GBs after the low-dose irradiation. The segregation of Si and Mn as well as C, P and Mo was observed after the high-dose irradiation. The monolayer coverage of P is estimated to be less than a suggested level for intergranular embrittlement. The segregation of C, P and Mo was also observed along parallel array of dislocation lines in small-angle grain boundaries. However, no segregation of Si and Mn was detected there. Copper-nano precipitates (CNPs) were observed on the GBs, along the dislocation lines and in the matrix. The sizes and the solute-impurity enrichment in these CNPs are compared.