Strain hardening and plastic instability properties of austenitic stainless steels after proton and neutron irradiation

Strain hardening and plastic instability properties were analyzed for EC316LN, HTUPS316, and AL6XN austenitic stainless steels after combined 800 MeV proton and spallation neutron irradiation to doses up to 10.7 dpa. The steels retained good strain-hardening rates after irradiation, which resulted in significant uniform strains. It was found that the instability stress, the stress at the onset of necking, had little dependence on the irradiation dose. Tensile fracture stress and strain were calculated from the stress-strain curve data and were used to estimate fracture toughness using an existing model. The doses to plastic instability and fracture, the accumulated doses at which the yield stress reaches instability stress or fracture stress, were predicted by extrapolation of the yield stress, instability stress, and fracture stress to higher dose. The EC316LN alloy required the highest doses for plastic instability and fracture. Plastic deformation mechanisms are discussed in relation to the strain-hardening properties of the austenitic stainless steels. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.