• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.809-815
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• 2014

The induction heating bending process, which has been recently applied to nuclear piping, can generate residual stresses due to thermomechanical mechanism during the process. This residual stress is one of the crack driving forces that have important effects on crack initiation and propagation. However, previous studies have focused only on geometric shape variations such as the change in thickness and ovality. Moreover, very few studies are available on the effects of process variables on residual stresses. This study investigated the effects of process variables on the residual stress distributions of induction heating bended austenitic stainless steel (316 series) piping using parametric finite element analysis. The results indicated that the heat generation rate and feed velocity have significant effects on the residual stresses whereas the moment and bending angle have insignificant effects.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1317-1323
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• 2002

This paper describes the comparison of calculated effective stress with experimental one in austenitic heat resistant steels, STS310J1TB and STS310S with and without a small amount of Nb and N. Based on a solute atoms diffusion model, contribution from soluble nitrogen to the high-temperature strength was numerically examined for austenitic heat-resisting Fe-Cr-Ni-N(STS310J1TB) and Fe-Cr-Ni (STS310S) alloys. The solute atmosphere dragging stress of dislocation was calculated in optional dislocation velocity of STS310J1TB and STS310S at $650^{\circ}C$, $675^{\circ}C$ and $700^{\circ}C$. As a result of the numerical calculation, the solute atmosphere dragging stress of STS310J1TB was about 50 times larger than that of STS310S. When the temperature became high, the maximum value of solute atmosphere dragging stress was small and the velocity of moving dislocation was fast. From the relationship between the dislocation rate and the solute atmosphere dragging stress, the relation of both was proportional and the inclination is about 1 in the level with low velocity of moving dislocation. From above results, the mechanism of dislocation movement in STS310J1TB was the solute atmosphere dragging stress. The solute atmosphere dragging stress, which was calculated from the numerical calculation was close to the effect stress in stress relaxation tests.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.1127-1132
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• 2013

The failure of reactor internals may have a significant effect on the safe operation and shutdown of a reactor. Various agings related to neutron irradiation occur or can potentially occur in the reactor internals owing to high neutron irradiation levels. Austenitic stainless steel, one of the principal materials constituting the reactor internals, shows different mechanical material behaviors such as tensile/creep properties and fracture toughness with neutron irradiation levels. This variation should be considered when the structural integrity of the reactor internals against agings during the design lifetime or continued operation period is evaluated. In this study, user subroutine programs considering the variation of mechanical material behaviors with neutron irradiation levels were developed. The programs were validated by testing them for various conditions.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.117-126
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• 2003

Due to excellent corrosion resistance and mechanical properties, austenitic stainless steel is widely used as the material for chemical plants. nuclear power plants, and food processing facilities. But, the zone affected by heat in the range of 400 to $800^{\circ}C$ during welding loses corrosion resistance and tensile strength since Cr-carbide precipitation like $Cr_{23}C_6$ forms at the grain boundary and thereby takes place the intergranular corrosion. In this study, AISI 304 stainless steel with the added Nb of 0.3 to 0.7 wt% was solutionized at $1050^{\circ}C$ and sensitized at $650^{\circ}C$. Specimen was welded by MIG. The phase and the microstructure of the specimens were examined by an optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope, and a x-ray diffractometer. The corrosion characteristics of specimens were tested by electrolytic etching and by double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation method(EPR) in the mixed solution of 0.5M $H_2SO_4$ + 0.01M KSCN. The melting zone had dendritic structure constituted of austenitic phase and $\delta$-ferrite phase. Cr carbide at the matrix did not appear, as Nb content increased. At the grain boundaries of the heat affected zone, the precipitates decreased and the twins appeared. The hardness increased, as Nb content increased. The hardness was highest in the order of the heat affected zone>melted zone>matrix. According to EPR curve, as the Nb content decreased, the reactivation current density(Ir) and the activation current density(la) were highest in the order of the melted zone

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.203-210
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• 2020

The corrosion behavior of super austenitic stainless steel was studied by examining the characteristics of the sigma phase formed in the steel. A range of experimental and analytical methods was employed, including potentiodynamic polarization tests, critical pitting temperature tests, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Three steel samples with different sigma phase levels were obtained by intentionally adjusting the manufacturing process. The results showed that the corrosion resistance of the samples was strongly dependent upon the size and distribution of the sigma phase precipitated in the samples. The larger the size of the sigma phase, the higher the Mo content in the sigma phase and the higher the depletion level of Mo at the interface between the matrix/sigma phase, the more samples with a coarse-sized sigma phase were susceptible to localized pitting corrosion at the interface. These results suggest that various manufacturing processes, such as welding and the post-heat treatment of the steel, should be optimized so that both the size and fraction of the sigma phase precipitated in the steel are small to improve the resistance to localized corrosion.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.3 no.3 s.8
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• pp.1-8
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• 1999

Three-point bending fatigue properties of austenitic 304 stainless steel sheets were investigated at room temperature and LNG temperature($-162^{\circ}C$) in the strain range from 0.43 to $1.7\%$. The fatigue properties at $-162^{\circ}C$ were superior to those at room temperature due to the higher volume fractions of deformation-induced martensite. The cyclic hardening behavior owing to the deformation- induced martensite transformation was detected in both specimens. In room temperature testing, the mean load amplitude increased steadily with cycles, meaning that cumulative plastic incubation strain was required for martensite transformation. On the contrary, in $-162^{\circ}C$ tested specimen, the mean load amplitude increased rapidly within a few cycles due to the rapid transformation of martensite, and slightly decreased after the maximum is reached probably due to dynamic recovery.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.194-202
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• 2019

A systematic investigation was made on the influence of processing parameters such as gas composition and treatment temperature on the surface characteristics of hardened layers of low temperature plasma nitrided 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel. Various nitriding processes were conducted by changing temperature ($370^{\circ}C$ to $430^{\circ}C$) and changing $N_2$ percentage (10% to 25%) for 15 hours in the glow discharge environment of a gas mixture of $N_2$ and $H_2$ in a plasma nitriding system. In this process a constant pressure of 4 Torr was maintained. Increasing nitriding temperature from $370^{\circ}C$ to $430^{\circ}C$, increases the thickness of S phase layer and the surface hardness, and also makes an improvement in corrosion resistance, irrespective of nitrogen percent. On the other hand, increasing nitrogen percent from 10% to 25% at $430^{\circ}C$ decreases corrosion resistance although it increases the surface hardness and the thickness of S phase layer. Therefore, optimized condition was selected as nitriding temperature of $430^{\circ}C$ with 10% nitrogen, as at this condition, the treated sample showed better corrosion resistance. Moreover to further increase the thickness of S phase layer and surface hardness without compromising the corrosion behavior, further research was conducted by fixing the $N_2$ content at 10% with introducing various amount of $CH_4$ content from 0% to 5% in the nitriding atmosphere. The best treatment condition was determined as 10% $N_2$ and 5% $CH_4$ content at $430^{\circ}C$, where the thickness of S phase layer of about $17{\mu}m$ and a surface hardness of $980HV_{0.1}$ were obtained (before treatment $250HV_{0.1}$ hardness). This specimen also showed much higher pitting potential, i.e. better corrosion resistance, than specimens treated at different process conditions and the untreated one.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.519-524
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• 2021

The impact properties of two austenitic Fe-23Mn-0.4C steels with different Al contents for cryogenic applications are investigated in this study. The 4Al steel consists mostly of austenite single-phase microstructure, while the 5Al steel exhibits a two-phase microstructure of austenite and delta-ferrite with coarse and elongated grains. Charpy impact test results reveal that the 5Al steel with duplex phases of austenite and delta-ferrite exhibits a ductile-to-brittle transition behavior, while the 4Al steel with only single-phase austenite has higher absorbed energy over 100 J at -196 ℃. The SEM fractographs of Charpy impact specimens show that the 4Al steel has a ductile dimple fracture regardless of test temperature, whereas the 5Al steel fractured at -100 ℃ and -196 ℃ exhibits a mixed fracture mode of both ductile and brittle fractures. Additionally, quasi-cleavage fracture caused by crack propagation of delta-ferrite phase is found in some regions of the brittle fracture surface of the 5Al steel. Based on these results, the delta-ferrite phase hardly has a significant effect on absorbed energy at room-temperature, but it significantly deteriorates low-temperature toughness by acting as the main site of the propagation of brittle cracks at cryogenic-temperatures.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.11
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• pp.716-721
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• 2009

The major drive for the application of low-temperature plasma treatment in nitrocarburizing of austenitic stainless steels lies in improved surface hardness without degraded corrosion resistance. The low-temperature plasma nitrocarburizing was performed in a gas mixture of $N_{2}$, $H_{2}$, and carbon-containing gas such as $CH_{4}$ at $450^{\circ}C$. The influence of the processing time (5~30 h) and $N_{2}$ gas composition (15~35%) on the surface properties of the nitrocarburized layer was investigated. The resultant nitrocarburized layer was a dual-layer structure, which was comprised of a N-enriched layer (${\gamma}_N$) with a high nitrogen content on top of a C-enriched layer (${\gamma}_C$) with a high carbon content, leading to a significant increase in surface hardness. The surface hardness reached up to about $1050HV_{0.01}$, which is about 4 times higher than that of the untreated sample ($250HV_{0.01}$). The thickness of the hardened layer increased with increasing treatment time and $N_{2}$ gas level in the atmosphere and reached up to about $25{\mu}m$. In addition, the corrosion resistance of the treated samples without containing $Cr_{2}N$ precipitates was enhanced than that of the untreated samples due to a high concentration of N on the surface. However, longer treatment time (25% $N_{2}$, 30 h) and higher $N_{2}$ gas composition (35% $N_{2}$, 20 h) resulted in the formation of $Cr_{2}N$ precipitates in the N-enriched layer, which caused the degradation of corrosion resistance.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.158-168
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• 2021

Austenitic 316 stainless steel was irradiated with protons accelerated by an energy of 2 MeV at 360 ℃, the various defects induced by this proton irradiation were characterized with microscopic equipment. In our observations irradiation defects such as dislocations and micro-voids were clearly revealed. The typical irradiation defects observed differed according to depth, indicating the evolution of irradiation defects follows the characteristics of radiation damage profiles that depend on depth. Surface oxidation tests were conducted under the simulated primary water conditions of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) to understand the role irradiation defects play in surface oxidation behavior and also to investigate the resultant irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) susceptibility that occurs after exposure to PWR primary water. We found that Cr and Fe became depleted while Ni was enriched at the grain boundary beneath the surface oxidation layer both in the non-irradiated and proton-irradiated specimens. However, the degree of Cr/Fe depletion and Ni enrichment was much higher in the proton-irradiated sample than in the non-irradiated one owing to radiation-induced segregation and the irradiation defects. The microstructural and microchemical changes induced by proton irradiation all appear to significantly increase the susceptibility of austenitic 316 stainless steel to IASCC.