High temperature sensitivity of notched AISI 304L stainless steel tests

Experiments were designed to determine the failure characteristics of AISI 304L stainless steel under different stress triaxialities and temperatures up to 70% of melt. The data show that as temperature increases the displacement to failure of notched tensile specimens increases. The complex interaction of deformation mechanisms, such as twinning and dynamic recrystallization, appears to negate the damage accumulation at higher temperatures. Microstructural analyses and finite element simulations indicate that voids nucleate, grow, and coalesce more rapidly as temperature and triaxiality increase. Finite element simulations were performed to analyze temperature dependence on the Cocks–Ashby void growth model. The finite element simulations qualitatively show a double-knee that was observed in the notched experimental specimens after loading. The combined experimental–numerical study indicates that failure can be defined at several points in the notch tests when: (1) macrovoids starts to form, (2) the load drop-off occurs, and (3) total perforation of the specimen occurs. These three points occur simultaneously in ambient conditions but occur at different displacements at higher temperatures.