The effect of temperature on the low cycle fatigue of type 316L stainless steel over the range 20–200°C

Abstract Strain-controlled low cycle fatigue tests (with and without tensile hold) were performed on type 316L stainless steel over the temperature range 20–200°C. The results indicate that for strain ranges of less than 1%, the fatigue life was temperature independent. By contrast, for strain ranges of 1% or more, fatigue life decreased significantly as temperature was increased from 20 to approximately 50°C. It then increased with further increases in temperature until approximately 100°C and beyond when it became relatively temperature insensitive. Fatigue life at all temperatures was reduced with the superimposition of a speak tension hold of 50 s. A model based on the temperature-assisted diffusion of interstitial carbon atoms is proposed to explain the phenomenon.