J. Mater. Sci. Technol., Vol.25 No.

2, 2009 175

Behavior of AISI 316L Steel Subjected to Uniaxial State

of Stress at Elevated Temperatures
Josip Brnic1)† , Jitai Niu2) , Marko Canadija1) , Goran Turkalj1) and Domagoj Lanc1)
1) Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka, Croatia
2) The State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding Production Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology,
Harbin 150001, China
[Manuscript received September 22, 2008, in revised form February 20, 2009]

This paper presents an experimental investigation on an AISI 316L stainless steel regarding mechanical proper-
ties and short uniaxial creep tests at elevated temperatures. The short time creep tests were carried out under
different but constant stresses. The obtained data of ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, creep curves and
effects of elevated temperatures on mechanical properties were presented. For a selected rheological model,
material parameters were obtained. As a justification, such rheological model is implemented in the finite
element procedure for an uniaxially stressed specimen in selected environmental conditions.
KEY WORDS: Mechanical properties; High temperature deformation; Creep; AISI 316L

1. Introduction occur in any material subjected to a sustained load

According to the nature of involved stress-strain
relations, a structural design problem may be based
on elastic or plastic design or design allowing for time-
dependent effects. Namely, metals at enough high
stress and at elevated temperatures continue to in-
crease their deformation while the stress (or load) is
kept constant. In engineering practice, this phenom-
enon is generally called creep[1] .
At the elevated temperatures, the life of the struc-
ture member may be severely limited, even for loads
less than the design load. Creep, creep-failure or
creep-fracture may occur over a wide range of temper-
ature, load and time (T , σ, t) combination and they
also depend on the material and the environment[2] .
It is relatively easy to quantify damage in laboratory
creep procedure conducted at constant stress (load)
and temperature, but components of machines in ser-
vice hardly ever operate under constant conditions[3] .
The classical creep curve for a metal resulting from
a tensile test at constant stress σ and constant tem-
perature T may be presented as in Fig. 1.
The interval OA represents the instantaneous de-
formation ε0 that occurs immediately as the load is
applied. This strain may include both elastic and
plastic parts depending on the stress level σ and tem-
perature level T . The interval AB is called the pri-
mary creep and represents a period of work hardening,
where the creep rate decreases with time. The inter-
val BC is the secondary creep, which represents a pe-
riod, where there is a balance between work-hardening
due to plastic flow and thermal softening whereas the
creep rate is constant. The interval CD is the ter-
tiary creep, which is a period in which metallurgical
instability occurs with an increasing creep rate un-
til failure. As indicated in Fig. 1, both the strain
level and the strain rate increase with stress and/or
temperature level[4] . Generally, the secondary creep
period is of interest from an engineering design prac-
tice. Based on experimental investigations, creep will
† Corresponding author. Prof, Ph.D.; Tel.:+385 51 651 491;
Fax: +385 51 651 490; E-mail address: brnic@riteh.hr (J.
Brnic).
at a temperature slightly above its recrystallization
temperature. Consequently, this elevated tempera-
ture range, in the case of metals, begins at about one-
half of the melting temperature Tm (K). Because of
the complexity of the creep process, the analysis of
the creep phenomenon is often based on experimental
creep data. There are types of testing machines that
ensure constant load or constant stress. However, for
small strains, constant load and constant stress exper-
iments are the same. The metallic materials used at
elevated temperatures usually are made of high qual-
ity stainless steel, while in civil engineering, due to
seismic response and fire conditions etc., other types
of steel may be used[5] .
According to Fig. 1, the total strain can be ex-
pressed as follows:
ε = ε0 + εc (1)
εc = εI + εII + εIII (2)
where ε0 is the instantaneous strain and εc is the creep
strain (the sum of primary strain εI , secondary strain
εII and tertiary creep strain εIII ). Depending on the
interest in the third creep stage, the tertiary creep
stage is sometimes not included in the above formu-
las.
To model a creep response of the considered metal
material, means to model its creep curve, which can
be expressed by the following formula:
εc = f (T, σ, t) (3)
where f is a general function of temperature T , stress
σ and time t.
In an uniaxial creep test, only one of the vari-
ables (T , σ, t) is usually changed. Rheological mod-
els are purely phenomenological and have nothing to
do with the actual physical mechanism of viscoelas-
tic (viscoplastic) behavior[6–8] . The short-time creep
can be of interest when fire hazards in structural ap-
plications must be analyzed. In such scenario, metal
structure is exposed to the elevated temperature typ-
ical short time interval. In the line with this, this
paper presents an experimental investigation on
176 J. Mater. Sci. Technol., Vol.25 No.2, 2009

Fig. 1 Schematic representation of classical creep behavior illustrating creep stages

frequently used steel. Based on such experimental ob-

servations, a suitable creep model is developed. The
obtained creep law can be used in various analyses,
both numerical and analytical ones. In addition to
the testing machine and all necessary equipment, test
specimens and experimental procedure are described
as well.
Because of its frequent use, steel 316L is very often
experimentally investigated in many ways. For ex-
ample, its tensile and low-cycle fatigue behavior was
described in literature[9,10] . The 316L steel is com-
monly used also in boilers and pipe structures. A
fatigue and creep study of this steel was presented in
literature[11] . The effect of a multiaxial stress state
Fig. 2 Testing system with installed specimen
of the creep behaviour on both smooth and notched
specimens was carried out at 600◦ C in literature[12] .
One investigation of creep crack growth in 316L steel
was given in literature[13] . This steel may be used
in structures joined by welding[14–16] . The effect of
loading history on the computation of threshold stress
for steady state creep deformation was investigated in
literature[17] . Furthermore, an investigation of influ-
ence of carbon and nitrogen on creep properties of
316L was presented in literature[18] . Fig. 3 Test specimen

2. Experimental Problem Statement
Experimental investigation involved determina-
tion of stress-strain curves and mechanical properties
at several temperatures as well as short-time creep
tests at different temperatures and stress levels. Ob-
tained data will be very useful in design of structures
where short time exposure to elevated temperatures
is expected.
The material under consideration was an AISI
316L stainless steel with the following composition
(wt pct): Fe(69.173), C(0.0265), Cr(17.91), Ni (8.23),
Mn(1.51), Mo(1.85), Si(0.29), S(0.029), P(0.021),
Cu(0.334), Co(0.23).
of 400 kN, a high temperature furnace Maytec HTO-
08 up to 900◦ C and a high temperature extensometer
Maytec LVTD, which are shown in Fig. 2. All the
mentioned equipments were calibrated before testing
from a German Calibration Laboratory (DKD). Heat
was generated by the heating elements for each of the
three heating zones. Three internal thermal couples,
each in one zone, were located inside the furnace to
measure the air temperature. The temperature dif-
ference between the zones and the required test tem-
perature did not exceed 1◦ C. The heating rate of the
furnace was 15◦ C/min.
2.2 Test specimen

2.1 Experimental equipment The test specimens were taken from the 316L
steel rods. The specimens were prepared according
The material testing system in experimental inves- to ASTM standard E8M-04, EN 10002-1:2001[19] , as
tigations was Zwick Roell Z400E with maximum load shown in Fig. 3.
 J. Mater. Sci. Technol., Vol.25 No.2, 2009 177
3. Mechanical Properties of the 316L Steel at
Room and Elevated Temperatures

Using the above mentioned equipment, the me-

chanical properties of the 316L steel at 20◦ C as well
as at elevated temperatures were measured. The tests
were carried out regarding the EN 10002-1 and EN
10002-5 standards. Each specimen was heated up to
a specified temperature. After the specified temper-
ature had been reached, tests were not started until
the temperature became stable. After that, the tensile
load was applied to the specimen. The obtained re-
sults are given as engineering stress σ (MPa) vs strain Fig. 4 Effect of elevated temperature on engineering
ε (%) diagrams in Fig. 4, while their numerical data stress-strain diagrams of the 316L steel
are presented in Table 1. If some explicit function
for stress-strain is necessary, there are several options
available (see literature[20] for one procedure).
Table 1 Mechanical properties of the AISI
316L steel at various temperatures
T /◦ C σ0.2 /MPa σm /MPa εt /% ψ/%
20 467.83 600.24 32.98 73.74
250 431.60 508.21 22.48 66.95
350 430.97 491.30 22.91 65.50
400 334.09 485.61 23.33 65.50
500 312.41 431.02 20.41 66.95
600 288.73 344.51 28.60 75.01
700 180.78 233.13 59.07 86.86

Inverted peaks visible on all given curves, origi-

nate from the removal of the extensometer. During
the testing process, strain was measured using a high
temperature extensometer. After reaching the ulti-
mate force, the curve representing stress vs strain
started to decrease. In a moment when the force
was decreased 5% compared to the ultimate force,
the machine was paused and the extensometer was
removed to avoid its possible damage. Upon removal,
the machine continued with the test procedure and
Fig. 5 Curve of AISI 316L steel: (a) σm and σ0.2 vs tem-
the strain measurement data were obtained by the
perature, (b) εt and ψ vs temperature
crosshead movement.
The effect of elevated temperature on mechanical
properties, σm and σ0,2 , of the 316L steel is presented to 540◦ C. According to experimental investigation, it
in Fig. 5(a). The similar effect on total elongation is visible that the effect of yield strength decreasing
and reduction in cross-section area is presented in is present in the temperature range of 350 to 400◦ C.
Fig. 5(b).
Based on Figs. 4 and 5, it can be noticed that 4. Short-time Uniaxial Creep Tests
the ultimate tensile stress (σm ) decreases with tem-
perature. In general, the total strain practically de- Several uniaxial creep tests were carried out. Each
creases until 600◦ C when the total strain rapidly creep procedure was made under constant stress at
increases. σ0.2 rapidly decreases between 350 and specified constant elevated temperature. We tried to
400◦ C. In many classes of steels, one of the most im- find that stress level at selected temperature where
portant metallurgical embrittlement phenomenon is material can be treated as creep resistant.
temper embrittlement[21] . It can occur during heat The creep tests were carried out as follows:
treatment or elevated temperature service. Impurity- • Constant temperature T =500◦ C and constant
segregation-induced intergranular fracture is most of- stress:
ten called temper embrittlement. Embrittlement oc- σ1 = 0.60σ0.2 = 187 MPa;
curs when the embrittling elements (P, S, etc.) con- σ2 = 0.70σ0.2 = 218 MPa;
centrate at the austenite grain boundaries and create
intergranular segregation that leads to intergranular σ3 = 0.80σ0.2 = 250 MPa.
fracture[22] . Temper embrittlement is a major cause
of degradation of toughness. The decrease in tough- According to Fig. 6, it can be seen that at 500◦ C
ness reflects a decrease in yield strength[23] . Frac- and at enough high stress levels, the creep strain was
ture by the mentioned mode occurs most frequently still quite small, which means that the 316L steel is
in alloy steels containing Ni and Cr that have been relatively well resistant to creep under the above con-
service exposure in the temperature range of 345 dition.
178 J. Mater. Sci. Technol., Vol.25 No.2, 2009
Fig. 6 Creep curves at constant elevated temper-
ature T =500◦ C and constant stress: (a)
250 MPa/1400 min, (b) (250, 218 and
187) MPa/60 min
Fig. 7 Creep curves at constant elevated temper-
ature T =600◦ C and constant stress: (a)
115 MPa/1400 min, (b) (202, 158, 130 and 115)
MPa/60 min
• Constant temperature T =600◦ C and constant
stress:
σ1 = 0.40σ0.2 = 115 MPa;
σ2 = 0.45σ0.2 = 130 MPa;
σ3 = 0.55σ0.2 = 158 MPa;
σ4 = 0.70σ0.2 = 202 MPa;
Figure 7 also shows that at stresses of 40%σ0.2 ,
45%σ0.2 and 55%σ0.2 the 316L steel was quite resis-
tant to creep at this temperature, while at 70%σ0.2 ,
due to increase of the strain, the creep resistance was
Fig. 8 Creep curves at constant elevated tempera-
ture T =700◦ C and constant stress: (72, 54,
45) MPa/60 min
Fig. 9 Rheological model (H—Hooke0 s model, N—
Newton0 s model)
smaller. In addition, it can be said that stress level
of 40%σ0.2 =115 MPa during the time of 1400 min at
this temperature had the same strain as that of stress
level of 80%σ0.2 =250 MPa at 500◦ C. If we compare
Figs. 6 and 7, it is visible that stress level of about
200 MPa at 500◦ C and 600◦ C, gives different creep
resistance.
• Constant temperature T =700◦ C and constant
stress:
σ1 = 0.25σ0.2 = 45 MPa;
σ2 = 0.30σ0.2 = 54 MPa;
σ3 = 0.40σ0.2 = 72 MPa.
According to Fig. 8, at quite low stress level, e.g.
at 25%σ0.2 , the creep resistance was quite well for the
316L steel, but at higher stress levels, its creep resis-
tance decreased. Generally, it can be stated that in
spite of high temperatures, but not so high stress lev-
els, the 316L steel may be treated as creep resistant
steel. Furthermore, in design procedure, designers of-
ten use a low percentage of stress according to σ0.2 ,
because of the high safety margin in a service life.
5. Simulation of Short-Time Creep Behaviour
To simulate creep behavior of the considered ma-
terial, a suitable rheological model must be selected.
In the line with this, we analysed two models. The
first model, known as Burgers model, is presented in
Fig. 9.
The stress in each segment of the model can be
written as:
σ = σ x1 = σ x2 = σ x3 (4)
while the strain and strain rate are valid as:
ε = εx1 + εx2 + εx3 ; ε̇ = ε̇x1 + ε̇x2 + ε̇x3 (5)
 J. Mater. Sci. Technol., Vol.25 No.2, 2009 179
Table 2 Burgers model parameters obtained for each creep curve, ε=f (t)
T /◦ C σ/MPa E1 /GPa E2 /MPa η1 /(MPa·s) η2 /(GPa·s)
500 187 140.3 670.9 270.9 1190.4
500 218 140.3 553.9 331.9 427.4
500 250 140.3 548.4 442.1 323.7
600 130 125.7 501.8 117.9 78.39
600 158 125.7 490.2 361.1 48.73
600 202 125.7 439.9 262.0 11.86
700 45 95.0 549.7 166.1 122.3
700 54 95.0 412.3 86.4 21.75
700 72 95.0 374.8 186.5 11.09

Table 3 Burgers model parameters obtained for each temperature, ε=f (σ, t)
T /◦ C σ/MPa E1 /GPa E 2 , η1 , η2
E2 =−1.81σ+9.85×108 (MPa)
500 187–250 140.3 η1 =2.82σ−2.65×108 (MPa·s)
η2 =−2644σ+1.11×1012 (MPa·s)
E2 =−0.834σ+6.099×108 (MPa)
600 130–202 125.7 η1 =2.046σ−1.045×108 (MPa·s)
η2 =−959.4σ+2.056×108 (MPa·s)
E2 =−5.421σ+7.524×108 (MPa)
700 45–72 95.0 η1 =2.484σ−3.43×106 (MPa·s)
η2 =−668.5σ+5.963×1010 (MPa·s)

The stress in each segment of the proposed model is:

σ x1 = σ H1 = E1 εx1 ; σ x2 = σ N 1 + σ H2

= η1 ε̇x2 + E2 εx2 ; σ x3 = σ N 2 = η2 ε̇x3 (6)

Starting from these basic equations and some
subsequent transformations, the following differential
equation is obtained:
E2 E2 ³ E η1 + η2 ´
2
ε̇ + ε−σ t−σ + =0
η2 η1 η2 η1 E1 η1 η2
Fig. 10 Approximation of creep curve, T =600◦ C,
with σ σ=158 MPa, using Burgers and Findley models
ε(t = 0) = (7)
E1
n is independent of stress and ε0 is the instantaneous
The solution to the above equation is: strain.
h 1 1 t i To compare all of the mentioned approximations,
ε=σ + (1 − e(−E2 /η1 )t ) + (8) we selected one of the experimentally obtained creep
E1 E2 η2
curves, more specifically, σ=158 MPa at 600◦ C. For
The parameters, E2 , η1 , η2 , have to be approximate the Findley model, the approximation yielded the re-
regarding the above described experiment, while mod- sults as: a=0.089, n=0.271. The corresponding creep
ulus of elasticity E1 is obtained from the stress-strain curves for all the approximations are presented in
curve. For each creep curve, we employed the least- Fig. 10.
squares fitting to obtain the above parameters, as Clearly, regarding to the short-time creep, the
listed in Table 2. Burgers model approximation is better than Findley
However, practical applications usually involve one, although the Burgers model is not enough ap-
creep of structure with varying stress field. In this propriate for all the stress levels as well as the tem-
case, the approximation obtained with constant stress perature levels, especially taking in consideration of
is of little use. Therefore, we made the approximate longer experimental procedures.
curves to the complete range of stress for each tem-
perature T by fitting Burgers model to each pair of 6. Discussion and Conclusion
points ε=f (σ, t). In this case, the parameter E1 is
kept constant, while others are assumed to be linear
For the material presently investigated, from the
with stress, E2 ,η1 ,η2 =f (σ). The obtained material
uniaxial test results, it can be seen that the ultimate
parameters are presented in Table 3.
tensile stress reached a maximum at room tempera-
The second model is Findley creep model. The
ture and decreased with increasing temperature. The
same approximation technique was applied to this
curve of yield strength with temperature, as shown
model:
in Fig. 5, also indicated a similar trend, although its
ε = ε 0 + a · tn (9)
shape was somewhat different from that of ultimate
where ε0 , a and n are parameters, which are related tensile strength. The maximal elongation, as shown
to the material; ε0 and a are stress-dependent while in Table 1 and Fig. 5(b), constantly decreased un-
180 J. Mater. Sci. Technol., Vol.25 No.2, 2009
til 300◦ C and started to increase again after 600◦ C.
A maximal elongation was obtained at the maximal
testing temperature (700◦ C).
From the short time creep test curves, it can be
concluded that the AISI 316L stainless steel is quite
creep resistant at 500◦ C, although the load levels can
be relatively high. At 600◦ C and lower load levels, the
316L steel is also relatively resistant to creep. How-
ever, at higher load levels and higher temperatures,
the 316L steel is not suitable for engineering appli-
cation, especially in longer service life. Generally,
the material under the present consideration may be
treated as appropriate selection for short time creep
exposure with operating temperature up to 500◦ C and
at load levels below 50%σ0.2 at 600◦ C. The proposed
models may be accepted to be appropriate in simula-
tion of very short creep behavior at both lower tem-
peratures and stress levels.
Acknowledgements
This work was conducted within the scientific project
069-0691736-1737 titled “Numerical Analysis of Structural
Response for Specific Service Conditions”, financially sup-
ported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the
Republic of Croatia.
REFERENCES
[1 ] Z.P. Bažant and L. Cedolin: Stability of Structures,
Oxford University Press, New York, 1991.
[2 ] A.P. Boresi, R.J. Schmidt and O.M. Sidebottom: Ad-
vanced Mechanics of Materials, John Wiley & Sons,
New York, 1993.
[3 ] P.F. Timmins: ASM Int., 1997, 19, 468.
[4 ] T.H. Courtney: ASM Int., 1997, 20, 336.
[5 ] D.A. Woodford: ASM Int., 1997, 20, 573.
[6 ] W.N. Findley, J.S. Lai and K. Onaran: Creep and
Relaxation of Nonlinear Viscoelastic Materials, Dover
Publications, New York, 1989.
[7 ] P.L. Tallec: Numerical Analysis of Viscoelastic Prob-
lems, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1990.
[8 ] A.D. Drozdov: Finite Elasticity and Viscoelasticity,
World Scientific Publishing, London, 1996.
[9 ] S.G. Hong and S.B. Lee: Int. J. Fatigue, 2004, 26,
899.
[10] D.J. Smith and E.G. Ellison: Int. J. Press. Ves. Pip.,
1992, 50, 231.
[11] R.F. Martins and C.M. Branco: Fatigue Fract. Eng.
M., 2004, 27, 861.
[12] Q. Auzoux, L. Allais, C. Caes, B. Girard, I. Tournie,
A.F. Gourgues and A. Pineau: Nucl. Eng. Des., 2005,
235, 2227.
[13] R.C. Hurst and S. McAllister: Nucl. Eng. Des., 1995,
158, 253.
[14] M.D. Mathew, S. Latha and K.B.S. Rao: Mater. Sci.
Eng. A, 2007, 456, 28.
[15] L. Allais, J.P. Dessalas, T. Forgeron, D. Francois,
H. Huthmann, C. Escaravage, C. Poette and H. Sas-
soulas: Fatigue Fract. Eng. M., 1998, 21, 791
[16] G. Bouche, L. Allais, V. Lezaud, R. Piques and A.
Pineau: Mater. High Temper., 1998, 15, 403.
[17] C.G. Shastry, P. Parameswaran, M.D. Mathew, K.B.S.
Rao, and S.D. Pathak: Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2008,
473, 133.
[18] M.D. Mathew, G. Sasikala, K.B.S. Rao and S.L. Man-
nan: Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 1991, 148, 253.
[19] Annual Book of ASTM Standards: Metal Test Meth-
ods and Analytical Procedures, Vol. 03.01, ASTM In-
ternational, Baltimore, 2005.
[20] Y.Y. Yang, M. Mahfouf and D.A. Linkens: J. Mater.
Sci. Technol., 2003, 19(Suppl.1), 5.
[21] Fracture Mechanics Properties of Carbon and Alloy
Steels, In Fatigue and Fracture, Vol. 19, ASM Inter-
national, Materials Park (OH)) 1997, 614.
[22] B.L. Bramfitt: Effects of Composition, Processing and
Structure on Properties of Irons and Steels, In Materi-
als Selection and Design, Vol. 20, ASM International,
Materials Park (OH) 1997., 357.
[23] W.J. Mills: Fracture Toughness of Austenitic Stainless
Steels and Their Welds, In Fatigue and Fracture, Vol.
19, ASM International, Materials Park (OH)), 1997,
733.