Abstract
The present work dealt with the high temperature thermal shock properties of 316 stainless steels, in conjunction with a detailed analysis of their microstructures. In particular, the effects of the thermal shock temperature difference and thermal shock cycle number on the properties of 316 stainless steels were investigated. A thermal shock test for 316 stainless steel was carried out at thermal shock temperature differences from $300^{\circ}C$ to $1000^{\circ}C$. The cyclic thermal shock test for the 316 stainless steel was performed at a thermal shock temperature difference of $700^{\circ}C$ up to 100 cycles. The characterization of 316 stainless steels was evaluated using an optical microscope and a three-point bending test. Both the microstructure and flexural strength of 316 stainless steels were affected by the high-temperature thermal shock. The flexural strength of 316 stainless steels gradually increased with an increase in the thermal shock temperature difference, accompanied by a growth in the grain size of the microstructure. However, a thermal shock temperature difference of $800^{\circ}C$ produced a decrease in the flexural strength of the 316 stainless steel because of damage to the material surface. The properties of 316 stainless steels greatly depended on the thermal shock cycle number. In other words, the flexural strength of 316 stainless steels decreased with an increase in the thermal shock cycle number, accompanied by a linear growth in the grain size of the microstructure. In particular, the 316 stainless steel had a flexural strength of about 500 MPa at 100 thermal-shock cycles, which corresponded to about 80% of the strength of the as-received materials.
