Surface Evolution Of The 18cr10niti Steel Under Irradiation By 98 Mev Fe-56(10+) Ions

The work presents the results of chemical composition and surface structure changes of 0.12%C-18%Cr-10% Ni-0.5%Ti austenitic steel irradiated by 98 MeV Fe-56(10+) ions at 923 K up to 7.05.10(20) ions/m(2). Irradiation was carried out in the accelerator DC-60 in the branch of Nuclear Physics Institute of Kazakhstan Republic (Nur-Sultan city). Structural studies were carried out using a JEOL JSM7500F scanning electron microscope with an attachment for elemental analysis and an AIST-NT SmartSM-1000 atomic force microscope. It was shown that ion irradiation causes grain etching. Complex columnar structure is formed on the grains surfaces which is mainly consists of chromium oxide. Ion irradiation causes a radiation-induced redistribution of the elements on the sample surface also: grain boundaries are enriched by iron and nickel and depleted in chromium. In addition, it was found that particles of the second phases (carbide or carbonitride of titanium) dissolve under irradiation.