Low cycle fatigue behaviors of type 316LN austenitic stainless steel in 310 °C deaerated water–fatigue life and dislocation structure development

Effects of mixed strain rates on low cycle fatigue behaviors of austenitic stainless steels in a simulated PWR environment

“…In addition, the results of LCF test with mixed strain rate (0.24-0.024%/s) also indicate that the fatigue life in air is not dependent on strain rate. Both observations are consistent with the previous results by ANL [1][2][3][4], Japanese researchers [5][6][7], and authors [13,14]. Fig.…”

“…Our results are consistent with the prior studies such that fatigue life in PWR water decreased with decreasing strain rate within strain rates from 0.4 to 0.0004%/s [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Also, it is thought that the fatigue life of 316LN SS is affected by environmentally-assisted cracking (EAC) mechanisms in PWR water as previously reported by authors [11,[13][14][15]. However, it is not easy to compare the fatigue life in PWR water with the mixed strain rate tests and the comparable constant strain rate from Fig.…”

Effects of Hydrogen Diffusion on the Mechanical Properties of Austenite 316L Steel at Ambient Temperature

“…[5][6][7] As such, the HE phenomenon in steels is an important subject and has been examined by a number of researchers for advanced structural applications, such as nuclear power plants and gas/oil industry where there are several hydrogen sources. [8][9][10][11][12] In particular, 316L austenite stainless steels are becoming increasingly popular as advanced structural materials in light water reactors (LWRs) or liquid metal reactors (LMRs) in nuclear power plants owing to their combination of strength and ductility, fracture toughness, corrosion resistance as well as low absorption rate of neutron radiation. [13][14][15] For the HE study, the interaction between hydrogen and steels is generally induced either by cathodic or gas-phase charging.…”

“…In this study, the forced charging of hydrogen was achieved also using a cathodic charging technique to simulate the mechanistic role of hydrogen in 316L austenite stainless steels. Furthermore, unlike previous studies, 8,10,12,21,22) the H charging process was followed by a high-temperature heat-treatment to remove the initially inhomogeneous hydrogen concentration gradient that usually occurs after cathodic charging. 12,21,23) The room-temperature tensile properties of the 316L austenite stainless steel with and without the homogenization process were examined and compared at different strain rates.…”

“…Furthermore, unlike previous studies, 8,10,12,21,22) the H charging process was followed by a high-temperature heat-treatment to remove the initially inhomogeneous hydrogen concentration gradient that usually occurs after cathodic charging. 12,21,23) The room-temperature tensile properties of the 316L austenite stainless steel with and without the homogenization process were examined and compared at different strain rates. In particular, this paper concerns an effect of a small amount of uniformly distributed hydrogen (in the range of several ppm (parts per million) hydrogen by weight) on the roomtemperature tensile properties of 316L stainless steel.…”