The environment effect on creep fatigue strength for FBR high temperature structural material, Type 304 steel

In order to rationalize FBR high temperature structural design, the creep fatigue strength of Type 304 stainless steel for FBR main vessel was investigated in air and vacuum. The results obtained were as follows: Independent of strain wave forms, creep fatigue lives in vacuum were longer than those in air, and especially strain wave forms of fatigue damage type had noticeably longer lives. Also, a tendency to have too much longer lives at low strain level being important for real plant condition was shown. At last, it was confirmed that cyclic deformation behavior in vacuum was coincident with that in air. (author)