Microscopic analysis of the influence of ratcheting on the evolution of dislocation structures observed in AISI 316L stainless steel during low cycle fatigue

When subjected to controlled cyclic deformation, the response of austenitic stainless steel typically involves primary hardening followed by softening, and eventually cyclic stabilization with or without secondary hardening. If a continuously drifting mean strain is superposed to an alternating strain path (i.e. strain controlled ratcheting), the response in terms of mean stress and strain amplitude is significantly different. A series of low cycle fatigue and ratcheting experiments are performed at room temperature on round specimens extracted from a batch of AISI 316L hot rolled plate. The experiments are interrupted at cycle numbers selected to correspond with the different strain controlled cycle response stages. The as-received material and the fatigued specimens are analyzed by means of transmission electron microscopy to characterize the microstructure and its evolution with cyclic loading. The low cycle fatigue experiments, performed to establish a reference point for the zero mean strain loading condition, are in line with observations reported for AISI 316L stainless steel by other authors. The continuously increasing mean strain is found to induce higher dislocation densities in the channels of the evolving microstructure, being responsible for the macroscopically observed additional hardening. The observed polarized dislocation walls at least partially accommodate the continuously drifting mean strain and play a role in the non-zero mean stress response.