Improvement of low-cycle fatigue life of austenitic stainless steel by multiple high-density pulsed electric currents

Abstract This study evaluated the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) life of type 316 austenitic stainless steel to determine the effect of multiple high-density pulsed electric currents (HDPECs). Fatigue properties were analyzed with the fatigue crack growth (FCG) and LCF tests by considering different conditions of multiple HDPECs and its application. The HDPEC densities of 100, 150 and 200 A/mm2 with application numbers from 1 to 17 times were used. The LCF results were assessed by using fatigue models, and the effectiveness of the application methods was examined. Under the HDPEC density of 200 A/mm2, increasing the number of HDPECs during the period of crack propagation is the best way for delaying FCG. Multiple applications of HDPEC caused a decrease in the length and an increase in the depth of striations in the specimen’s fatigue fracture surface, and the degree of ductility was increased thereby leading to the delay in FCG. The proposed conditions pave the way toward improving the LCF life of the material.