Behavior of Irradiated Type 316 Stainless Steels under Low- Strain-Rate Tensile Conditions

The effects of lower strain rate on the tensile behavior of 12 % cold-worked type 316 stainless steels irradiated in the EBR-II reactor under low-dose-rate and moderate temperature conditions were investigated. Tensile tests were carried out at a strain rate of 1 × 10^-7/s. Post-test fractography and microstructural characterization were also performed. Irradiation temperature and dose appeared to have the greatest effect on hardening and ductility loss, whereas dose rate appeared to have less apparent effects. In conjunction with earlier work performed on the same material at a strain rate of 1 × 10^-3/s, there was no significant effect of strain rate on tensile behavior under the irradiation conditions examined. For fracture behavior, the material after irradiation exhibited typical ductile fracture during both high and low-strain-rate tests.