An analysis of the creep/fatigue behaviour of type 316 weld metal

The document presents creep/fatigue results obtained at UKAEA Risley Nuclear Labs. on type 316 weld metal and the associated stress rupture data and analyses them in the same way as that currently favoured for wrought material. The continuous cycling fatigue results are shown; the lower temperature is seen to give a higher endurance. The creep/fatigue results indicate that lower endurances are obtained at 625 deg. C and that with increasing hold time there is a tendency for the endurance to be lowered. The weld metal creep/fatigue endurances are compared with published UK data on wrought material for strain ranges of up to 3%. Under the conditions examined, it can be seen that the weld metal endurance is towards the top of the scatter band, the results at 550 deg. C forming the upper bound. The stress rupture data note that the ductility is reasonable at short times but fall to relatively low values at long times (10,000h).