Influence of grain size on the tensile and creep properties of a type 316 stainless steel

The influence of grain size, on the tensile deformation behaviour in the temperature range 300-1223 K and on the creep rate at 873 and 973 K over a wide range of applied stresses, in a type 316 stainless steel has been investigated. For the tensile results, the Hall-Petch relation was found to be valid up to 1023 K. The variations of flow stress and work hardening rate with temperature and grain size have been found to be influenced by dynamic strain aging which occurs in the temperature range 523-923 K. The creep experiments revealed that grain boundaries contribute to strengthening at high stresses (180-260 MPa) at 873 K but this strengthening does not correlate with the available models which attempt to incorporate the Hall-Petch strengthening effect into creep rate equations. At 973 K the creep rate was generally constant but increased at small grain sizes and at lower stresses due to increased contribution from grain boundary sliding. The difference in the grain size effects on creep at the two temperatures is attributed to the difference in the substructures developed during creep. (author)