This paper discusses low‐cycle fatigue characteristics of 316L stainless steel under proportional and nonproportional loadings. Tension–torsion multiaxial low‐cycle fatigue tests were performed using five strain paths. Additional hardening was observed under nonproportional loadings and was more significant in tests with larger nonproportionality. Mises equivalent strain, Smith–Watson–Topper, Fatemi–Socie, Kandil–Brown–Miller and nonproportional strain parameters were applied to the experimental data to evaluate the multiaxial low‐cycle fatigue damage. The applicability of the damage laws to practical design was discussed.

A series of tests for low cycle fatigue were conducted on the tubular specimens for 304 stainless steel under variable amplitude and irregular axial-torsional loading. Rainflow cycle counting and linear damage rule are used to calculate fatigue damage and four approaches, e.g. SWT(Smith-Watson-Topper), KBM(Kandil-Brown-Miller), FS(Fatemi-Socie), and LKN(Lee-Kim-Nam) approach are employed to predict the fatigue life. The maximum shear strain plane, the maximum normal strain plane, and the maximum damage plane are considered as the critical plane, respectively. The effects of the choice of the critical plane on previous approaches are discussed. It is shown that comparing with the maximum shear/normal strain approach, the predictions are improved by using the maximum damage plane approach, part nonproportional paths for SWT, AV and part nonproportional paths for KBM, TV paths for FS. But for LKN, the prediction results are nonconservative for some paths than that of the maximum shear/normal strain approach.