On the evolution of cyclic deformation microstructure during relaxation test in austenitic stainless steel at 823 K

The evolution of cyclic patterns during relaxation time has been studied in terms of long-range internal stresses and effective stress evolution as a function of time at 823 K. The main features are the decrease of intra-granular back stress in relation to dipole annihilation promoted by self-diffusion and a decrease of inter-granular back stress which results in a homogenization of dislocation distribution in all the grains. Moreover, the static aging leads to an increase of the athermal component of the effective stress in association with the hardening effect of solution segregation on dislocation junctions.