Further studies of the effect of rubidium on the mechanical properties of an austenitic steel

The effect of strain rate and temperature on the mechanical properties in argon and liquid rubidium have been studied for a Type 304 austenitic steel. It has been shown that samples rapidly strained can experience major temperature rises in argon but not in rubidium. When sample temperatures are equal, there is no marked effect of the environment on mechanical behaviour. For both environments, the ductility and the strength of the steel decrease markedly as the temperature is raised from 50 to 1500C but are little changed by a further temperature rise to 2500 C. (author)