Effect of the aging treatment in the fractures mechanics of welded joints of steel 316L

The austenitic stainless steel 316L is widely used in nuclear industry because of its excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. These properties must be evaluated in order to prevent failure and extend the life of equipment. The microstructure in the weld fusion zone consists on an austenite matrix with 5-12% of delta ferrite met stable at room temperature. However the pressurized water reactors operate at temperatures in the range 290-325 deg C, thus welds may be susceptible to thermal aging embrittlement after long service life. According to the literature, this occurs due to the spinodal decomposition. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the mechanical properties of 316L stainless steel welds by hardness and tensile tests before and after heat treatment. In this regard, two steel plates were welded and part of the material was heat treated at 335 deg C for 1000 hours. The tests after heat treatment showed an increase of only 4% in ultimate tensile strength and an increase of 28% in hardness. No changes were observed in the material microstructure, however according to literature changes can be identified by transmission electron microscopy. The curves of impact energy vs. temperature showed little change but, it was not able to observe a ductile-brittle transition and images of microstructure from scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) did not show fragile behavior. (author)