Study on the Re-Aging Behavior of Cu-Rich Precipitates in a FeCu Alloy under Electropulsing

The nanoscale Cu-rich precipitates (CRPs) are one of the most critical microstructural features responsible for degrading the mechanical properties of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels. The prospect of the rapid regeneration of the service performance of degraded materials through electropulsing is attractive, and electropulsing has been proven to have the application potential to eliminate the CRPs and recover the mechanical properties of RPV materials. However, few studies have investigated the secondary service issue of electropulsing. This paper provides experimental findings from microstructural investigations and property evaluations of a FeCu RPV model alloy subjected to re-aging following recovery electropulsing and annealing treatments. The evolution behavior of CRPs and the changes in the hardness of the alloy during the re-aging process after electropulsing treatment were consistent with the initial aging process, while the re-aging process of the annealing treatment group was quite different from the initial aging. The difference between the electropulsing and annealing treatment groups was that the annealing treatment failed to eliminate the precipitates completely, leaving behind some large precipitates. This work demonstrates the potential application of EPT in this field.