Abstract
This paper reviews important deformation mechanisms observed in austenitic stainless steels in post-irradiation and in-reactor mechanical tests. For post-irradiation tensile and fatigue tests the influence of radiation-induced defect structures on hardening and embrittlement can at the best be explained by the so-called barrier-hardening. The austenitic alloys behave in this respect very similar. Post-irradiation combined fatigue-creep tests show a strong influence of strain-rate and hold times on the cycles to fracture. In the temperature/stress region of 300–550°C the dominant deformation mechanism of austenitic steels is the S1PA creep. Apparent deviations from this model can often be accounted for by an additional coupling of swelling with irradiation creep (I-creep) and by the stress dependence of swelling. At temperature-stress regions where thermal and irradiation creep compete, critical transient stress levels σ tr in the order of 100 MPa (for T > 550°C) have been determined below which irradiation creep operates. Above this stress level no direct influence of irradiation on the creep kinetics has been found and the reduction in time-to-rupture is due to helium embrittlement.
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