A model for the normal stress dependence of intergranular cracking of irradiated 316L stainless steel in supercritical water

The intergranular cracking behavior of irradiated 316L stainless steel in supercritical water (SCW) was found to be strongly dependent on the local grain boundary normal stress. Tensile specimens of 7 dpa proton irradiated 316L stainless steel were strained in 400 °C SCW to 2%, 5%, and 10% macroscopic plastic strain. The cracking behavior was characterized according to the distributions of cracked grain boundary plane surface trace inclinations to the tensile axis and the Schmid factors of the grains adjacent to the cracked boundaries. Cracks occurred preferentially along grain boundaries with trace inclinations perpendicular to the tensile axis and adjacent to grains with low Schmid factors. There was also a slight increase in cracking propensity for grain boundaries adjacent to grains with high Schmid factor mismatch. The normal stress dependence of intergranular cracking was confirmed by developing and applying the Schmid-Modified Grain Boundary Stress model which characterizes the normal stress acting on a grain boundary as a function of the inclination of the grain boundary plane to the tensile axis and the flow stress of the grain, as estimated from its Schmid factor. By applying this model, the Schmid factor dependence of intergranular cracking could be predicted from the distributions of cracked grain boundary trace inclinations to the tensile axis.