Strain-rate effects on the mechanical behavior of the AISI 300 series of austenitic stainless steel under cryogenic environments

A series of uni-axial tensile tests were carried out under various low temperatures and strain-rate ranges for AISI 300 austenitic stainless steel. The strain-rate dependencies of the materials under investigation were evaluated at temperatures ranging from ambient to cryogenic. Non-linear mechanical behavior such as phase transformation, discontinuous yielding and micro-damage of four kinds of commercial stainless steel-based material were quantitatively investigated by measuring transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) and threshold strain for 2nd hardening. In this study, the main properties of each material were analyzed and compared based on the conditions of strain-rates and temperature. Test results showed that all the test materials were strongly dependent on temperature and strain rate. It is expected that the findings in this study could be used for the cryogenic design and further research of structure materials under cryogenic environments.