Study on creep-fatigue life of irradiated austenitic stainless steel

The low cycle creep-fatigue test with tensile strain hold of the austenitic stainless steel irradiated to 2 dpa was carried out at 823K in vacuum. The applicability of creep-fatigue life prediction methods to the irradiated specimen was examined. The fatigue life on the irradiated specimen without tensile strain hold time was reduced by a factor of 2-5 in comparison with the unirradiated specimen. The decline in fatigue life of the irradiated specimen with tensile strain hold was almost equal to that of the unirradiated specimen. The creep damage of both unirradiated and irradiated specimens was underestimated by the time fraction rule or the ductility exhaustion rule. The creep damage calculated by the time fraction rule or the ductility exhaustion rule increased by the irradiation. The predictions derived from the linear damage rule are unsafe as compared with the experimental fatigue lives. (author)