[en] 6063 Al alloy is subjected to severe plastic deformation through high-pressure torsion (HPT) using disk samples. The values of the Vickers microhardness and equivalent strain were recorded along diameters in each disk. The microhardness of 6063 Al alloys increases strongly and continuously with increasing equivalent strain but levels off and enters into a steady-state where the hardness remains unchanged with further straining. It is confirmed that the yield and ultimate tensile strength also follows the same single role of the equivalent strain as the hardness. Transmission electron microscopy showed that a subgrain structure develops at an initial stage of straining with individual grains containing dislocations. When increasing the straining, the subgrain size decreases whereas the misorientation angle increases and more dislocations are formed within the grains. In the steady-state range, some recrystallized grains formed which are free from dislocations. The mechanism for the grain refinement is discussed in terms of dislocation mobility.

[en] FeCrAl alloys are candidate materials for manufacturing accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding intended for light water reactors to increase fuel reliability and safety during design-basis and beyond-design-basis accident scenarios. The evolution of the materials' surface characteristics, microstructure, and mechanical properties when exposed to the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) in flow boiling testing is crucial for safety analysis while providing insights into their thermal-hydraulic performance in nuclear reactors. After CHF, the surface chemistry of two FeCrAl alloys, APMT and C26M, was studied to understand their evolution at the early stage of high-temperature excursions in short time periods. The results indicated a thin layer composed of oxides and hydroxides of Al, Cr, and Fe with varying proportions at different depths in the layer, as indicated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and depth profiling. The cross-sections prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) revealed the growth of an oxide layer, in the range of 90-180 nm thick, on the alloys' surfaces. The evolution of the materials' surface chemistry also led to a noticeable post CHF excursion increase in their wettability, with a slight increase in roughness. The investigation of the materials' mechanical properties indicated a modest increase in hardness by 10-15% as well as an increase in their yield strength, as evidenced by the microindentation and ring compression tests conducted before and after CHF testing. Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate microstructural features of the materials and their changes after CHF treatment.