Influence of Thermal Aging on Tensile and Low Cycle Fatigue Behavior of Type 316LN Austenitic Stainless Steel Weld Joint

Influence of short-term thermal aging on the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of 316LN austenitic stainless steel weld joint with 0.07 wt pct N has been investigated. Prior thermal exposure was found to improve the fatigue life compared with the as-welded condition. Besides, the treatment also imparted a softening effect on the weld metal, leading to an increase in the ductility of the weld joint which had a bearing on the cyclic stress response. The degree of cyclic hardening was seen to increase after aging. Automated ball-indentation (ABI) technique was employed toward understanding the mechanical properties of individual zones across the weld joint. It was observed that the base metal takes most of the applied cyclic strain during LCF deformation in the as-welded condition. In the aged condition, however, the weld also participates in the cyclic deformation. The beneficial effect of thermal aging on cyclic life is attributed to a reduction in the severity of the metallurgical notch leading to a restoration of ductility of the weld region. The transformation of δ-ferrite to σ-phase during the aging treatment was found to influence the location of crack initiation. Fatigue cracks were found to initiate in the base metal region of the joint in most of the testing conditions. However, embrittlement in the weld metal caused a shift in the point of crack initiation with increasing strain amplitude under LCF.