The effect of post-irradiation annealing (300C, 50h) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CuCrZr irradiated to 0.2 and 0.3dpa at 100C was evaluated. The post-irradiation annealing removes the yield point phenomenon, lowers the strength and improved the ductility and work hardening of the material. It did not, however, completely remove the effects of irradiation as the annealed material was still considerably stronger and less ductile than the non-irradiated CuCrZr alloy. The removal of the yield point phenomenon was attributed to a decrease in raft formation and dislocation decoration, weakening the dislocation pinning and allowing more homogeneous generation of dislocations within the material. The segregation of solute additions, impurities and transmutation elements as well as precipitation at dislocation segments and loops needs to be further investigated to fully understand the mechanical properties.

Post-Irradiation Annealing of Neutron Irradiated CuCrZr. D.J.Edwards, B.N.Singh, Q.Xu, P.Toft: Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2002, 307-311[1], 439-43