Metallurgical characterization of the reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel Euroferʹ97 on as-received condition

A new European reduced activation ferrous alloy (denominated Euroferʹ97) developed as possible first wall and breeder blanket structural material for fusion applications is being characterized. In this paper, activities specially focussed to investigate the microstructural and mechanical properties of this material on the as-received state (normalized at 980 °C/27′ plus tempered at 760 °C/90′/air cooled) are presented. Chemical analyses, a detailed microstructural study, hardness, tensile and Charpy tests have been carried out and are compared to the reduced activation material F–82H modified previously studied. The results show that the Euroferʹ97 is a fully martensitic steel free of δ-ferrite with similar tensile and better impact properties than the F–82H modified steel. Two types of carbides have been observed in the Euroferʹ97, namely, Cr rich precipitates and Ta/V rich precipitates, tentatively identified as M23C6 type and (Ta,V)C type, respectively.