Impact Testing of Stainless Steel Materials

Stainless steels are used for the construction of numerous spent nuclear fuel or radioactive material containers that may be subjected to high strains and moderate strain rates (10 to 200 per second) during accidental drop events. Mechanical characteristics of these materials under dynamic (impact) loads in the strain rate range of concern are not well documented. The goal of the work presented in this paper was to improve understanding of moderate strain rate phenomena on these materials. Utilizing a drop-weight impact test machine and relatively large test specimens (1/2-inch thick), initial test efforts focused on the tensile behavior of specific stainless steel materials during impact loading. Impact tests of 304L and 316L stainless steel test specimens at two different strain rates, 25 per second (304L and 316L material) and 50 per second (304L material) were performed for comparison to their quasi-static tensile test properties. Elevated strain rate stress-strain curves for the two materials were determined using the impact test machine and a ''total impact energy'' approach. This approach considered the deformation energy required to strain the specimens at a given strain rate. The material data developed was then utilized in analytical simulations to validate the final elevated stress-strain curves. The procedures used during testing and the results obtained are described in this paper.