Cryogenics 44 (2004) 789792 www.elsevier.

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Small punch testing for determining the cryogenic fracture properties of 304 and 316 austenitic stainless steels in a high magnetic eld
Yasuhide Shindo *, Yoko Yamaguchi, Katsumi Horiguchi
Department of Materials Processing, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan Received 22 December 2003; received in revised form 12 April 2004; accepted 16 April 2004

Abstract This paper examines the eect of magnetic eld on the fracture properties of austenitic stainless steels at liquid helium temperature (4 K). Small punch tests were performed on cold-rolled 304 and 316 austenitic stainless steels. Previously proposed correlation for small punch and elasticplastic fracture toughness test methods was applied to predict a small punch test-based fracture toughness from equivalent fracture strain. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Metals (A); Structural materials (A); Liquid helium (B); Mechanical properties (C); Superconducting magnets (F)

1. Introduction Austenitic stainless steels are the primary structural materials for the superconducting applications, in which they are subjected to high magnetic elds at liquid helium temperature (4 K). The presence of a strong magnetic eld enhances the strain-induced martensitic transformation in some of these materials at low temperatures. If the structural materials selected for superconducting applications undergo martensitic transformation under service conditions, there may be unanticipated eects, such as changes in the fracture and deformation properties that can potentially degrade the performance of the device [1]. Experimental eorts have been made to examine the eect of magnetic eld on the tensile and fracture properties of metastable austenitic stainless steels at 4 K. Fultz and Morris [2] studied the plastic deformation of AISI 304L and AISI 304LN stainless steels in magnetic elds as large as 18 T (tesla) at temperatures of 4, 77 and 290 K. They found that the eects of high magnetic elds on the deformation behavior were probably too

Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +81-22-217-7341. E-mail address: shindo@material.tohoku.ac.jp (Y. Shindo).

small to be of engineering importance in the design of large superconducting magnets. Fukushima et al. [3] using compact (CT) specimens precracked at 77 K, suggested that there may be a signicant decrease in the fracture toughness of 304 stainless steel at 4 K in a 9 T magnetic eld. Murase et al. [4] also observed that an 8 T magnetic eld decreased the 4-K fracture toughness of 304 CT specimens precracked at 77 K. However, Chan et al. [5] using CT specimens precracked at room temperature, found that an increase in the fracture toughness of 304 CT specimens tested at 4 K in an 8 T magnetic eld was observed relative to the fracture toughness of CT specimens tested in 0 T. They concluded that this improvement is expected as a result of magnetostatic eects and transformation strain dierences due to the excess martensite formed within the magnetic eld, and the increase in strain hardening rates. The direction of fracture toughness change is inuenced both by the stability of the alloys and by the specimen preparation conditions, such as precracking temperature. The stability of martensitic transformations and thus the mechanical properties of 304 are sensitive to factors such as its C, N, and Ni content [6] and grain size. The C and Ni content in the alloy used in Ref. [5] was a slightly lower than that in the alloys used by Fukushima et al. [3] and by Murase et al. [4]. Chan

0011-2275/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.cryogenics.2004.04.008

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Y. Shindo et al. / Cryogenics 44 (2004) 789792

et al. [1] examined the fracture behavior of CT specimens made from austenitic stainless steels of diering stability in a 4 K, 8 T magnetic eld environment. The least stable alloy showed a large reduction in the 4-K fracture toughness with an 8 T magnetic eld. The amount of fracture toughness reduction with an 8 T magnetic eld decreased as the stability of the specimens increased. They found that this dierence in fracture behavior is attributed to the enhancement of martensitic transformation about the crack tip during the fracture process in a magnetic eld. Because of the limited space available in high-eld mechanical property testing facilities, a test specimen much smaller than the standard CT specimen would be extremely desirable. Shindo et al. [7] examined the use of small punch (SP) testing to estimate fracture toughness of austenitic stainless steels and weld metals at 4 K, and assessed correlation between equivalent fracture strain and elasticplastic fracture toughness JIC . Following JIS Z 2284 [8] standard test method, all JIC data were obtained using 25-mm-thick CT specimens. Shindo et al. [9] using circumferentially notched bar specimens, also investigated the cryogenic fracture toughness of austenitic stainless steels and weld metals. Recently, Yamaguchi et al. [10] investigated the eect of magnetic eld on the cryogenic fracture toughness of alloy 908, a ferromagnetic austenite, using SP and notch tensile specimens. The 4-K fracture properties of alloy 908 were not changed signicantly by magnetic eld. The theoretical model [11] predicted a negligible magnetic eld eect on the stress intensity factor for a crack in low-permeability materials. The purpose of this study is to examine the eect of magnetic eld on the cryogenic fracture properties of austenitic stainless steels, and establish the suitability of SP testing technique for fracture characterization of cryogenic structural materials at 4 K in magnetic elds. SP tests were performed with thin plate specimens at 4 K in magnetic elds of 0 and 6 T. Two austenitic stainless steels of diering stability, SUS304 and SUS316 were selected for this test series. A method outlined by Shindo et al. [7] was applied to predict a SP test-based fracture toughness from equivalent fracture strain.

SUS304 is metastable with respect to austeniticto-martensitic transformation and undergo a phase transition from an fcc structure to a more stable bcc martensite on deformation at low temperatures; SUS316 is stable with respect to austenitic-to-martensitic transformation. Both were obtained as 10 mm thickness plate in the cold-rolled condition. The initial volume fraction of a0 martensite was determined using the relationship between saturation magnetization and amount of a0 martensite obtained by X-ray diraction [12]. The saturation magnetization was measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The percent martensite is 0.8% for 304 and 0.4% for 316. Small, thin plate specimens of 10 10 0.5 mm were sliced by electro discharge machining and tested in the as-received condition. The SP specimens were oriented with the thickness direction parallel to the rolling direction. 2.2. Testing method The high-eld SP testing was done using a load frame designed and constructed to t into the bore of a 8 T superconducting magnet with a 77 mm diameter working bore. The punch and the specimen holder, designed for SP tests, are shown in Fig. 1. The SP specimen holder consisted of an upper and lower die and four clamping screws. All test xtures were fabricated using SUS310 that is completely stable with respect to martensitic transformation. SP tests were performed at 4 K in magnetic elds of 0 and 6 T. The specimens were oriented such that the axis of the solenoid eld was parallel to the specimen load direction. The stroke rate was 0.2 mm/min. Displace-

2. Experimental procedures 2.1. Materials and specimen The compositions of the commercial SUS304 and SUS316 plates used in this work are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 Chemical compositions of SUS304 and SUS316 stainless steels (wt%) C SUS304 SUS316 0.06 0.05 Si 0.47 0.43 Mn 0.89 1.04 P 0.028 0.023 S 0.001 0.001 Ni 8.54 13.69 Cr 18.28 16.46 Mo 2.51

Fig. 1. Schematic of small punch test device.

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3. Results and discussion All loaddisplacement curves for both SUS304 and 316 SP specimens are represented in Figs. 2 and 3. In the 4-K SP tests of austenitic stainless steels and weld metals, an approximate denition of equivalent fracture strain eqf was adopted [7]:  1:83 dmax eqf 0:0756 ; 1 t0 where dmax is the displacement at peak load and t0 is the initial thickness. The SP test-based fracture toughness JC SP can be estimated from the equivalent fracture strain as JC SP 957:7eqf 29:5; 2

Load (kN)

ment was measured by measurement of the motion of the punch relative to the lower die using a 20-mmdiameter ring-shaped clip-on gage. The clip-on gage response with and without a 6 T magnetic eld was measured at 4 K. The eect of magnetic eld on the clipon gage response was negligible.

1.5 SUS316 SP test 1.0 4K

0.5 0T 6T

0.5

1.0

1.5

Displacement (mm)
Fig. 3. Loaddisplacement curves for SUS316 SP specimens.

where JC SP has units of kJ/m2 . Standard deviation is 24 kJ/m2 . The JC SP values of SUS304 decrease 30% from approximately 303 to 213 kJ/m2 on going from 0 to 6 T, while those values of SUS316 decrease 5% from 0 T condition (274 kJ/m2 ) to 261 kJ/m2 at 6 T. Decreases in fracture toughness are detected with an applied magnetic eld, depending on the alloy stability. The less stable SUS304 has the large percentage reduction while SUS316 has not changed signicantly. The transformation related factor important to the fracture behavior is the formation of lower toughness a0 martensite. A material that transforms easily produces a brittle zone, reducing its measured fracture toughness.
1.5 SUS304 SP test 1.0 4K

Our results showing a decrease in fracture toughness with application of a magnetic eld are consistent with some experimental data obtained from CT specimens [3,4]. At present, fracture toughness is usually determined using CT specimens, which are rather expensive to manufacture and require relatively sophisticated laboratory equipment to test. The advantages of the SP test are reduced specimen machining costs compared to CT specimens and simplied test methodology. The SP test approach is shown to be a viable option for evaluating the material toughness at 4 K in magnetic elds.

4. Conclusions The 4-K fracture toughness of austenitic stainless steels, SUS304 and SUS316, in magnetic elds are characterized by small punch test. The results are summarized as follows: 1. SUS304 shows a decrease in the measured fracture toughness at 4 K with the application of magnetic eld. 2. The magnetic eld has a measurable inuence on the 4-K fracture toughness of SUS304. 3. For SUS316, the magnetic eld eect is not large enough to aect mechanical design. 4. The magnitude of change in 4-K fracture toughness with the application of magnetic eld is a function of the stability of the alloy.

Load (kN)
0.5 0T 6T

References
[1] Chan JW, Chu D, Sunwoo AJ, Morris Jr JW. Metastable austenites in cryogenic high magnetic eld environments. Adv Cry Eng 1992;38:559. [2] Fultz B, Morris Jr JW. Eects of high magnetic elds on the ow stress of 18-8 stainless steels. Acta Metall 1986;34(3):37984.

0.5

1.0

1.5

Displacement (mm)
Fig. 2. Loaddisplacement curves for SUS304 SP specimens.

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Y. Shindo et al. / Cryogenics 44 (2004) 789792 [8] JIS Z 2284, Method of elasticplastic fracture toughness JIC testing for metallic materials in liquid helium. Japanese Standards Association; 1998. [9] Shindo Y, Mano Y, Horiguchi K, Sugo T. Cryogenic fracture toughness determination of a structural alloy weldment by notch tensile measurement and nite element analysis. ASME J Eng Mater Technol 2001;123(1):4550. [10] Yamaguchi Y, Horiguchi K, Shindo Y, Sekiya D, Kumagai S. Fracture and deformation properties of NiFe superalloy in cryogenic high magnetic eld environments. Cryogenics 2003;43(8):46975. [11] Shindo Y. The linear magnetoelastic problem for a soft ferromagnetic elastic solid with a nite crack. ASME J Appl Mech 1977;44(1):4750. [12] Kurita Y, Emura S, Fujita K, Nagai K, Ishikawa K, Shibata K. Eects of magnetic elds on martensitic transformation and serration of austenitic FeNi and FeCrNi steels at 4 K. Fus Eng Des 1993;20:44550.

[3] Fukushima E, Kobatake S, Tanaka M, Ogiwara H. Fracture toughness tests on 304 stainless steel in high magnetic elds at cryogenic temperatures. Adv Cry Eng 1988;34:367 70. [4] Murase S, Kobatake S, Tanaka M, Tashiro I, Horigami O, Ogiwara H, Shibata K, Nagai K, Ishikawa K. Eects of a high magnetic eld on fracture toughness at 4.2 K for austenitic stainless steels. Fus Eng Des 1993;20:4514. [5] Chan JW, Glazer J, Mei Z, Kramer PA, Morris Jr JW. Fracture toughness of 304 stainless steel in an 8 Tesla eld. Acta Metall Mater 1990;38(3):47987. [6] Pickering FB. Physical metallurgy of stainless steel developments. Int Mat Rev 1976;21:22768. [7] Shindo Y, Horiguchi K, Sugo T, Mano Y. Finite element analysis and small punch testing for determining the cryogenic fracture toughness of austenitic stainless steel welds. ASTM J Test Eval 2000;28(6):4317.