Effects of alloying and treatment on void swelling of 316 stainless steels

Abstract

Several samples of type 316 stainless steels, which were treated differently and modified with minor elements (such as Ti, Nb, etc.), were irradiated by 1 MeV electrons in HVEM at temperatures ranging from 823 K to 883 K. Void swelling behavior of the steels was investigated, and three parameters, i.e., swelling, void density, and void size, were measured. The results show that prior cold work improves the swelling resistance of type 316 stainless steels more effectively than solid-solution treatment. It is also shown that Ti is the best alloying element studied that can suppress void nucleation and its growth drastically by acting as sinks and impeding dislocation climb, resulting in the reduction of void swelling.