Interpretation of the influences of irradiation upon fatigue crack propagation in austenitic stainless steels

An interpretation of the influences of neutron irradiation upon fatigue crack propagation in austenitic stainless steels is given. The approach has been to extend a previously developed rationalisation of the effects of various test and materials variables upon fatigue crack propagation in unirradiated stainless steels to include irradiated stainless steels. Irradiation has diverse influences upon the rate of fatigue crack propagation depending on the exact irradiation and test conditions. It has been shown that, by considering the underlying mechanisms of failure, some confidence is established in trends in data in a subject where information is very scarce and difficult to obtain. (orig.)