| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Environmentally Assisted Cracking: Theory and Practice
|
| Presentation Title |
Experimental Investigation
of the Environmentally Assisted Fatigue Crack
Initiation Mechanisms in Austenitic Stainless Steel 304L |
| Author(s) |
Lucie Borowiack, Loic Signor, Patrick Villechaise, Frederic Delabrouille, Gaelle Leopold Jean-Marie, François Curtit, Gilbert Henaff, Florence Hamon, Luc Doremus, Laurent De Baglion |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Lucie Borowiack |
| Abstract Scope |
Austenitic stainless steels, mainly grades 316L and 304L, are used to manufacture primary piping components in Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) nuclear power plants. The thermal fluctuations and expansions to which these components may be subjected during operation induce loading comparable to low-cycle fatigue (LCF) under strain control. These steels are also exposed to a potentially aggressive environment, the primary PWR environment (light water at 325°C and 150 bar). Environmentally-assisted fatigue (EAF) can lead to a reduction in the fatigue life of these materials. The aim of the present study is to identify and characterize qualitatively and quantitatively the main phenomena responsible for the initiation of EAF cracks. Initiation sites in LCF under these conditions are mainly located inside persistent slip bands (PSBs). Local and multimodal characterizations will therefore be carried out at initiation sites from the PSBs formation to the micropropagation in different environments (air, primary PWR environment, vacuum). |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Environmental Effects, Nuclear Materials, Mechanical Properties |