Cryogenic fracture and adiabatic heating of austenitic stainless steels for superconducting fusion magnets

This paper discusses the fracture and the adiabatic heating of austenitic stainless steels that may be used in cryogenic structures for the superconducting magnets of magnetic fusion reactors. Elastic–plastic fracture toughness tests were performed on compact specimens in liquid helium at 4 K. Adiabatic heating was detected by measuring the internal temperature. The effect of test specimen size and side grooving on the cryogenic fracture toughness, and the temperature rise during dynamic crack growth are examined. A size independent toughness parameter results in the case of side-grooved specimens. The effect of inclusion content on the fracture mechanics parameters is also discussed.