Electron irradiation-induced mechanical property changes in reactor pressure vessel alloys

High-energy electrons were used to study tensile property changes in simple Fe-Cu and Fe-Cu-Mn alloys irradiated at 288C. A comparison was made with neutron irradiation data on the same alloys. An apparent effect of alloy chemistry was observed in which the presence of Mn affected embrittlement differently for electron and neutron irradiation. Comparison of previous experimental studies with the present experimental results indicates that electrons may be more efficient than fast neutrons at producing embrittlement