Effect of Specimen Diameter on Tensile Properties of Austenitic Stainless Steels in Liquid Hydrogen and Gaseous Helium at 20K

Abstract

Tensile tests using round bar type specimens of 3, 5 and 7 mm in diameter were conducted at 20K in liquid hydrogen and also in gaseous helium at the same temperature for three major austenitic stainless steels, JIS SUS304L, 316L and 316LN, extensively used for cryogenic applications including liquid hydrogen transportation and storage vessels. Stress‐strain curves were considerably different between circumstances and also specimen diameter, resulting in differences of strength and ductility. In liquid hydrogen, serrated deformation appeared after considerable work hardening and more active in specimens with larger diameter. Meanwhile serrated deformation was observed from the early stage of plastic deformation in gaseous helium at 20 K and serration was more frequent in specimens with smaller diameter. The serrated deformation behaviors were numerically simulated for 304L steel with taking thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat, heat transfer from specimens to cryogenic media into account, and some agreement with the experiments was obtained.