Fatigue crack initiation in lead-bismuth eutectic and its effect on the cyclic stress behaviour of austenitic stainless steel 316L
Source abstract
Abstract
Active media such as liquid metals have an effect on the fatigue resistance of steels when compared to vacuum or inert environments. This effect might impact the initiation of fatigue cracks, their propagation, or both. This paper focusses on the initiation of fatigue cracks in an austenitic stainless steel when in contact with three environments: vacuum, air, and lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE), and the impact of such cracks on cyclic loading behaviour. Solid cylindrical samples of a 316L-type steel were fatigued under strain control in vacuum, air, and LBE in order to induce the initiation of cracks on their surface. The characteristics of fatigue damage in the form of surface microcracks were analysed with microscopy techniques. It was found that the nucleation of fatigue microcracks is enhanced by LBE, but the majority of these cracks do not propagate beyond the grain size of the steel (50 μm). An analysis with finite element methods showed that the large number of small (<10 μm) microcracks nucleated in LBE environments has a negligible impact on the sample`s stiffness, as opposed to the fewer but deeper (100–500 μm) microcracks that initiate in air, which produce a loss of stiffness, observable on the mechanical stress response of the fatigue sample. A model based on the adsorption of LBE atoms along surface slip bands is proposed to explain the phenomenon of enhanced fatigue crack nucleation in LBE.
Source: expertdata · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Nuclear Materials and Properties · High Temperature Alloys and Creep · Fatigue and fracture mechanics
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (38)
Show source-provided references
1. 2002
2. Environmental degradation of structural materials in liquid lead- and lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled reactors10.1016/j.pmatsci.2022.100920 ↗
3. Influence of liquid lead and lead-bismuth eutectic on tensile, fatigue and creep properties of ferritic/martensitic and austenitic steels for transmutation systems10.1016/j.jnucmat.2011.04.047 ↗
4. On the parameters promoting liquid metal embrittlement of T91 steel in lead bismuth eutectic alloy
5. Liquid metal embrittlement of a 9Cr-1Mo ferrritic-martensitic steel in lead-bismuth eutectic environment under low cycle fatigue
6. Mechanical behaviour of the T91 martensitic steel under monotonic and cyclic loadings in liquid metals10.1016/j.jnucmat.2004.07.024 ↗
7. Influence of PbBi environment on the low-cycle fatigue behavior of SNS target container materials10.1016/S0022-3115(03)00015-1 ↗
8. Fatigue behaviour of a martensitic and an austenitic steel in heavy liquid metals10.1016/j.proeng.2013.03.336 ↗
9. Effect of lead and lead–bismuth eutectic melts on the fatigue life of steels of the martensitic and austenitic classes10.1007/s11003-014-9697-4 ↗
10. Statistical analysis of the effect of lead-bismuth eutectic on fatigue resistance of 316L10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112312 ↗
11. Low cycle fatigue behavior of 316LN stainless steel hollow specimen in air and liquid lead–bismuth eutectic10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2023.107812 ↗
12. Development of MYRRHA
13. P.P. Milella, Fatigue and Corrosion in Metals, Springer Science & Business Media 2012.10.1007/978-88-470-2336-9 ↗
14. Low cycle fatigue behavior of a type 304L austenitic stainless steel in air or in vacuum, at 20°C or at 300°C: Relative effect of strain rate and environment10.1016/j.proeng.2010.03.233 ↗
15. Influence of temperature and environment on the fatigue mechanisms of single-crystal and polycrystal 316L, low cycle fatigue: a symposium, ASTM STP 942
16. High temperature time-dependent low cycle fatigue behaviour of a type 316L(N) stainless steel10.1016/S0142-1123(98)00052-8 ↗
17. Fatigue crack propagation in type 316 stainless steel in vacuum and air environments10.1016/0022-3115(82)90709-7 ↗
18. Fatigue crack propagation behaviour of type 316 stainless steel at elevated temperature in a vacuum10.1016/0142-1123(88)90019-9 ↗
19. E606/606M-21 standard test method for strain-controlled fatigue testing
20. Evolution of dislocation structures and cyclic behavior of a 316L-type austenitic stainless steel cycled in vacuo at room temperature10.1016/0921-5093(89)90060-9 ↗
21. Low cycle fatigue behaviour in vacuum of a 316L-type austenitic stainless steel between 20 and 600°C—Part II: Dislocation structure evolution and correlation with cyclic behaviour10.1016/S0921-5093(96)10560-8 ↗
22. Secondary cyclic hardening and dislocation structures in type 316 stainless steel at 600°C10.1016/0025-5416(86)90219-3 ↗
23. Serrated yielding in AISI 316 stainless steel10.1016/0001-6160(88)90331-8 ↗
24. Mechanism of dynamic strain aging and characterization of its effect on the low-cycle fatigue behavior in type 316L stainless steel10.1016/j.jnucmat.2004.12.012 ↗
25. Low cycle fatigue behaviour in vacuum of a 316L-type austenitic stainless steel between 20 and 600°C—Part I: fatigue resistance and cyclic behavior10.1016/S0921-5093(96)10558-X ↗
26. LIMETS 3, a novel system for high strain fatigue testing in lead–bismuth eutectic10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.10.064 ↗
27. Oxygen measurements in stagnant lead-bismuth eutectic using electrochemical sensors10.1016/j.jnucmat.2004.07.018 ↗
28. Dissolution and oxidation behaviour of various austenitic steels and Ni rich alloys in lead-bismuth eutectic at 520°C10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.11.005 ↗
29. ADS candidate materials compatibility with liquid metal in a neutron irradiation environment
30. O. Klok, Liquid metal corrosion effects in MYRRHA candidate 316L Austenitic stainless steels, Department of Materials and Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2018, p. 266.
31. Microcrack initiation in low-cycle fatigue of an austenitic stainless steel10.1016/j.proeng.2010.03.210 ↗
32. On slip band features and crack initiation in fatigued 316L austenitic stainless steel: Part 1: Analysis by electron back-scattered diffraction and atomic force microscopy10.1016/S0921-5093(01)01381-8 ↗
33. On the role of point defects in fatigue crack initiation10.1016/0025-5416(87)90157-1 ↗
34. The role of extrusions and intrusions in fatigue crack initiation10.1016/j.engfracmech.2017.03.006 ↗
35. Concerning liquid metal embrittlement, particularly of zinc monocrystals by mercury10.1080/14786436308213836 ↗
36. Crack propagation in a liquid metal environment10.1016/0001-6160(63)90180-9 ↗
37. Environmentally assisted cracking: Overview of evidence for an adsorption-induced localised-slip process10.1016/0001-6160(88)90113-7 ↗
38. A phenomenological model of embrittlement of metals under conditions of the adsorption action of liquid metal media10.1007/BF00729424 ↗