Analysis of tensile deformation and failure in austenitic stainless steels: Part II – Irradiation dose dependence

Irradiation effects on the stable and unstable deformation and fracture behavior of austenitic stainless steels (SSs) have been studied in detail based on the equivalent true stress versus true strain curves. An iterative finite element simulation technique was used to obtain the equivalent true stress–true strain data from experimental tensile curves. The simulation result showed that the austenitic stainless steels retained high strain hardening rate during unstable deformation even after significant irradiation. The strain hardening rate was independent of irradiation dose up to the initiation of a localized necking. Similarly, the equivalent fracture stress was nearly independent of dose before the damage (embrittlement) mechanism changed. The fracture strain and tensile fracture energy decreased with dose mostly in the low dose range <∼2 dpa and reached nearly saturation values at higher doses. It was also found that the fracture properties for EC316LN SS were less sensitive to irradiation than those for 316 SS, although their uniform tensile properties showed almost the same dose dependencies. It was confirmed that the dose dependence of tensile fracture properties evaluated by the linear approximation model for nominal stress was accurate enough for practical use without elaborate calculations.