Effects of grain size and specimen size on small punch test of type 316L austenitic stainless steel

Miniature specimen test technique has been extensively studied for quantifying the properties of bulk materials. In this paper small punch test (SPT) is used to clarify the effects of specimen thickness (t), grain size (d) and ratio of thickness to grain size (t/d) on mechanical properties of 316L austenitic stainless steel (SS). Five sheet of 316L SS with the same texture but different thicknesses and grain sizes were prepared using rolling and heating treatment technique. Effective SPT yield strength was measured, and then used to correlate with conventional tensile test by empirical equation. The results show that the SPT is sensitive not only to differences in the thickness, but also to changes in the grain size and value of t/d. The present work provides information that enhance the understanding of reliability of SPT in analysis of the mechanical properties of small specimens and bulk materials. (author)