Influence of tensile stress on hysteresis loop of Reduced Activation Ferrite & Martensitic steel

Abstract The influence of tensile stress on hysteresis loop of Reduced Activation Ferrite & Martensitic steel (RAFM steel) in elastic region was quantitatively evaluated through experiments in this paper. In view of in vessel structures of the RAFM steel in the Tokamak devices, the variation of magnetic material properties caused by forces or mechanical deformation may lead to unexpected influences on their dynamical behaviors, even safety problem. In this paper, tensile experiments of a RAFM steel were conducted under magnetic field up to 60 kA/m to measure its hysteresis loops under different tensile stress. Tensile specimens of a RAFM steel developed in China (CLAM steel) were fabricated and measured with a multi-field coupling experimental system. The maximum relative permeability under different experimental conditions was extracted from the measured hysteresis loops. Experimental results show that a clear variation of the maximum magnetic permeability was observed when the external tensile stress was enlarged. In addition, based on a linear theory of magneto-solid coupling mechanics, a model of constitutive relation between tensile stress and maximum magnetic permeability was put forward and validated based on the experimental results.