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The stress relaxation and creep behaviour of a manganese-stabilized

austenitic stainless steel

Article  in  The Journal of Strain Analysis for Engineering Design · March 2009

DOI: 10.1243/03093247JSA476

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 201

The stress relaxation and creep behaviour of a

manganese-stabilized austenitic stainless steel
A Pagliarello and J Beddoes*
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

The manuscript was received on 5 October 2008 and was accepted after revision for publication on 19 January 2009.

DOI: 10.1243/03093247JSA476

Abstract: The stress relaxation behaviour of 21–4N, a manganese-stabilized austenitic

stainless steel, is investigated in terms of the metallurgical state, the application of multiple
strain levels during ‘stepped’ stress relaxation testing at 700 uC, the strain level during isostrain
stress relaxation tests at 538 uC and 700 uC, and the correspondence with results from constant-
load creep tests. The results indicate that for isostrain stress relaxation tests the stress
relaxation rate is similar for strains that span both elastic and plastic strain levels. A transition
in the stress relaxation behaviour occurs at a stress level approximately equivalent to the tensile
stress–strain proportional limit; below this transition the stress–strain rate relationship, or the
time predicted for 1 per cent creep strain, obeys a creep power law type of equation. Stress
relaxation testing successfully delineates the difference between the creep resistances of two
different metallurgical conditions with similar tensile properties using fewer specimens and
requiring less time. The time to 1 per cent creep strain determined from the analysis of stress
relaxation results is always less than the actual time to 1 per cent creep strain during constant-
load creep tests.

Keywords: stress relaxation, creep, austenitic stainless steel

1 INTRODUCTION standing of the underlying mechanisms controlling

The desired service life of many elevated-tempera-
ture structural components is of the order of tens or
hundreds of thousands of hours. For these applica-
tions, deformation due to creep is frequently life
limiting. Consequently, long-term tests, sometimes
exceeding 100 000 h, are undertaken to characterize
creep properties. Aside from the requirement for
long test times, creep tests are relatively easily
undertaken. However, from these relatively easy
tests it can prove quite difficult to ascertain the
underlying metallurgical processes that control the
creep deformation strain rate. The controlling
process varies with temperature and stress as well
as metallurgical state which may undergo micro-
structural changes during long-term tests at the
associated elevated temperatures. A clear under-
*Corresponding author: Department of Mechanical and Aero-
space Engineering, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada. email:
jbeddoes@mae.carleton.ca
creep in a specific alloy is central to designing alloy–
microstructure combinations with improved creep
resistance.
The stress relaxation test, during which strain is
held constant and the stress decreases, potentially
offers the opportunity to determine creep strain
rates in a considerably shorter time period, namely
hours to days for stress relaxation versus weeks to
months to years for creep testing. Such an economy
of time is of obvious value. The stress relaxation
technique is predicated on a constant total strain
during the test, which has both an elastic and plastic
component, so that
eT ~ee zep ~C ð1Þ
where eT is the total strain, ee is the elastic strain, ep is
the plastic strain, and C is a constant [1, 2]. As the
stress relaxation test proceeds at temperature, the
elastic stress relaxes and elastic strain is replaced by
plastic strain through creep deformation processes,
which may be a function of stress. Substituting

JSA476 F IMechE 2009 J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44

202 A Pagliarello and J Beddoes
Hooke’s law s 5 Eee, where E is Young’s modulus and
s is the stress, into equation (1) and differentiating
with respect to time provide
dep 1 ds
~{ ð2Þ
dt E dt
relating the stress rate during a stress relaxation test
to the plastic or creep strain rate. Such stress
relaxation tests have been referred to as self-
programmed variable-stress creep tests [3], with
the benefit that a wide range of creep strain rates,
corresponding to a range of applied stresses, occur
in a relatively short time. Combining this short test
time with the fact that the total strain is constant and
the accumulated plastic strain is minimal offers the
possibility to undertake several relaxation events on
one sample without any significant change in the
metallurgical state.
Stress relaxation results have been used to esti-
mate the creep properties of various elevated-
temperature alloys [4–8]. The creep rupture life for
industrial gas turbine blades can be estimated within
a factor of 3 via stress relaxation testing [4]. For a
nickel superalloy gas turbine disc material the creep
curves were computed from stress relaxation tests
[5], albeit for creep rupture lives of less than 10 h.
Likewise, for a Cr–Mo–V steam turbine rotor steel,
stress relaxation tests accurately predicted creep
strain rates of about 1024 h21 at 137 MPa, but at
100 MPa the strain rate discrepancy is nearly an
order of magnitude [6]. Regardless of the accuracy
with which stress relaxation tests predict creep strain
rates, relatively short-duration (about 1 day) stress
relaxation tests revealed the deterioration of the
temperature capability of one group of superalloy
blades [4], a result that would probably require creep
tests of much longer duration.
Differences in stress relaxation test methodology
exist. The amount of pre-strain prior to stress
relaxation varies from as low as 0.2 per cent [6, 7,
9] prior to yielding, to in excess of 1.0 per cent [5–9]
after yielding. For a directionally solidified nickel
superalloy loaded parallel to the directional struc-
ture the stress necessary for a relaxation strain rate
of 1029 s21 was considerably lower for a pre-strain of
0.2 per cent than for pre-strains of 0.4–1.5 per cent
[7]. In contrast, for Cr–Mo–V steel the stress
necessary for a relaxation strain rate of 1029 s21
was lower at higher pre-strains of 0.8 per cent and 1
per cent than for pre-strains of 0.2–0.6 per cent [6],
with the higher pre-strains correlating better with
creep rupture data. This concurs with the conclusion
that pre-strains greater than those corresponding to
J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44
the yield stress are necessary to avoid anelastic-
associated transient behaviour during the initial
stages of stress relaxation [9, 10]. The short time
required for stress relaxation tests, compared with
creep tests, allows multiple relaxation tests to be
undertaken on a single sample, with the resulting
creep strength predicted insensitive to thermal and
mechanical history [9]. An alternative stress relaxa-
tion method is the ‘multiple hardening–relaxation’
test in which the strain is increased in a stepwise
manner with a time interval at each step during
which relaxation occurs [5].
In this paper the stress relaxation behaviour of 21–
4N, a manganese-stabilized austenitic stainless steel,
is investigated in terms of the metallurgical state, the
application of multiple strain levels during ‘stepped’
stress relaxation testing, the strain level during
isostrain stress relaxation tests, and the correspon-
dence with results from constant-load creep tests.
The purpose is to evaluate the potential to reduce
the testing time required to characterize the creep
behaviour of elevated-temperature structural mate-
rials by using stress relaxation methods.
2 MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL
PROCEDURE
Material for this study was cut from hot-rolled 21–4N
bars of 22 mm diameter with the composition listed
in Table 1 as determined by optical emission
spectroscopy for the major elements. Three heat-
treated conditions were prepared according to the
thermal profiles of Table 2. The microstructure
resulting from the standard (Std) heat treatment
has been described in reference [11], and those for
the normal grain boundary (NGB) and serrated grain
boundary (SGB) heat treatments have been de-
scribed in reference [12].
All specimens for tensile, creep, and stress relaxa-
tion tests were machined to a straight gauge length
of 40.6 mm and diameter of 6.3 mm. Grooves were
machined into specimen shoulders for attachment
of a high-temperature extensometer with a strain
accuracy of at least ¡161024 equipped with a linear
variable-differential transducer (LVDT). For all me-
chanical testing, the temperature from thermocou-
ples attached to the specimen shoulders was con-
trolled to ¡1 uC. The yield and ultimate tensile
strengths were determined at 700 uC with a loading
strain rate of 1.761023 s21.
Creep testing was conducted in Satec M3 creep
frames at a constant load and temperature, corre-
sponding to an initial stress of 196–300 MPa at
JSA476 F IMechE 2009
 Behaviour of a manganese-stabilized austenitic stainless steel 203

Table 1 Nominal and actual composition of 21–4N

Concentration (wt%)
C N Cr Mn Ni Mo Si P S
Nominal [11] 0.45–0.60 0.30–0.50 20–23 7–10 3–5 – 0.25 maximum – –
This study* 0.52 0.39 20.6 8.3 3.35 0.25 0.19 0.030 0.001

*Also contains 0.21 wt% Cu, 0.089 wt% V, 0.035 wt% Co, 0.029 wt% W, and 0.020 wt% Nb.

Table 2 Heat treatment details

Condition Heat treatment*
Std 2 h at 1175 uC AC + 14 h at 760 uC AC
NGB 1 h at 1200 uC WQ + 30 h at 700 uC AC + 30 h at 1000 uC AC
SGB 1 h at 1200 uC FC to 1030 uC WQ + 30 h at 750 uC AC + 3 h at 1000 uC AC

*FC, furnace cool (6 uC/min); WQ, water quench; AC, air cool.

700 uC. The creep load was applied all at once via a
motorized drawhead, with strain measurement in-
itiated prior to loading. During and immediately
after loading, strain data were recorded every
second, with this time interval gradually increasing
to a maximum of 30 min as the test proceeded.
Stress relaxation tests were conducted in Satec
DLF-20 stress relaxation frames of 98 kN capacity
equipped with load cells and mechanically driven
cross-heads capable of controlled loading or main-
taining a constant strain level. Two types of stress
relaxation test were undertaken. Stepped stress
relaxation tests at 700 uC consisted in loading to a
strain level for a period of time (usually 1000 s),
followed by stepwise increases in the strain, with
each step 0.5 per cent strain at a strain rate of about
4.361025 s21. These stepped tests are similar to the
multiple hardening–relaxation tests reported in
reference [5]. The second type of test, namely iso-
strain stress relaxation tests, at 700 uC or 538 uC
involved loading at a strain rate of about 1.56
1023 s21 to a single strain level of 0.3 per cent, 1.0 per
cent, 1.5 per cent, 2.0 per cent, or 2.5 per cent for 20–
28 h. Throughout all tests, displacement and load
data were recorded every second from the LVDT-
equipped extensometer and a load cell. During stress
relaxation periods the extensometer signal was used
to control continuously the cross-head to ensure
that constant strain was maintained.
3 RESULTS
Since limited elevated-temperature tensile data are
available for 21–4N, samples of the NGB and SGB
conditions were tensile tested at 700 uC with the
results listed in Table 3, as are reference values for
the Std condition at 650 uC and 760 uC [11]. The
modification of the heat treatment between the NGB
and SGB conditions causes minimal change in
tensile properties. The proportional limit in Table 3
is the lowest stress at which the stress–strain
response deviates from a linear Hooke’s law relation-
ship. Young’s modulus E is estimated from the
average stiffness measured during the elastic portion
of the stress–strain response during loading for
isostrain stress relaxation tests, consistent with
previous stress relaxation testing [3, 7, 9, 10]. The
number of such tests included in each estimate of
Young’s modulus is given in parentheses in Table 3.
Data for the elevated-temperature Young’s modulus
of manganese-stabilized austenitic steel are not
readily available. Young’s modulus estimated at
700 uC in Table 3 is below the range 138–147 GPa

Table 3 Elevated-temperature tensile results

Proportional limit 0.2% yield strength Ultimate tensile
Condition Temperature (uC) (MPa) (MPa) strength (MPa) Elongation (%) E, estimate* (GPa)
Std 538 108 (1)
Std [11] 650 331 593 16
Std 700 119 (3)
Std [11] 760 255 427 18
NGB 700 234 306 558 20 113 (4)
SGB 700 214 292 527 21 115 (4)

*The number of tests included in each estimate of Young’s modulus is given in parentheses.

JSA476 F IMechE 2009 J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44

204 A Pagliarello and J Beddoes

for several grades of austenitic stainless steel, none

of which was manganese stabilized [13].
The results of constant-load creep tests are
summarized in Table 4 with example creep strain–
time curves shown in Fig. 1. Despite the similar
tensile properties of Table 3 it is apparent from
Table 4 and Fig. 1(a) that the NGB condition has
better creep resistance than the SGB condition, in
terms of the minimum strain rate, time to 1 per cent
strain, and rupture life. The SGB condition does
exhibit a higher rupture strain due to greater tertiary
creep, but with a corresponding decrease in rupture
life. Figure 1(a) illustrates that, when loaded to
250 MPa, beyond the proportional limit but below
the yield stress, the SGB condition exhibits a higher
minimum strain rate, an earlier onset of tertiary
creep, and a shorter rupture life. The same trends
exist when loaded to 196 MPa, below the propor-
tional limit, or at 900 uC and 925 uC [12]. Figure 1(b)
shows that creep is strongly dependent on stress.
This is to be expected given the relatively high
stresses applied; at 700 uC the 300 MPa creep stress is
probably beyond the yield stress (Table 3), and even
the 230 MPa creep stress is probably close to the
proportional limit. Based on the minimum strain
rates of Table 4, the creep stress exponent n between
230 MPa and 300 MPa for the Std condition accord-
ing to
Fig. 1 Creep properties of (a) 21–4N heat treated to
e_ ~Csn ð3Þ the NGB or SGB state at 250 MPa and 700 uC
and (b) 21–4N heat treated to the Std state and
is 8. For oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloys, stress tested at 700 uC and 230 MPa or 300 MPa
exponents of 8 or higher occur at high stresses [14].
For most metals and alloys at low stresses, n 5 1 and, and (b) respectively. From Fig. 2(a) it is clear that the
at intermediate stresses, n 5 3–5 [15, 16]. At high load frame is capable of applying well-defined strain
creep stresses the stress exponent increases rapidly steps and maintaining constant strain during each
with increasing stress, a phenomenon often referred hold period with minimal strain overshoot. The first
to as power law breakdown [15, 16]. In the current strain increment of 0.5 per cent causes a peak stress
case of the Std condition, n 5 8 and power law of 289 MPa, close to the 0.2 per cent yield stress of
breakdown is consistent with the high creep stress 306 MPa and well above the proportional limit
levels of 230–300 MPa that span the range from the (Table 3). During each constant strain period of
proportional limit to the yield stress. 1000 s the stress relaxes at a decreasing rate. At each
The strain–time and stress–time response for a successive strain level, both the peak stress and the
stepped stress relaxation test are shown in Figs 2(a) stress after 1000 s of relaxation increase, with the
Table 4 Summary of creep results at 700 uC
Condition Stress (MPa) Minimum strain rate (h21) Time to 1% strain t1% (h) Rupture life (h) Rupture strain (%)
24
Std 230 1.2610 44 229 4.2
300 1.661023 3.6 12.5 2.8
NGB 196 4.061025 144 531 6.2
196 3.761025 188 584 7.0
250 9.361025 67 252 4.1
SGB 196 7.161025 80 465 13.5
196 5.861025 114 504 17.6
250 3.661024 10.5 148 11.7

J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44 JSA476 F IMechE 2009

 Behaviour of a manganese-stabilized austenitic stainless steel
Fig. 2 Result of a stepped stress relaxation test on the
NGB condition, in terms of (a) strain–time and
(b) stress–time. D indicates the difference
between the maximum stress and the mini-
mum stress at each strain increment
difference between the peak stress and the 1000 s
relaxed stress increasing with each strain increment
(Fig. 1(b)). As such, the average stress relaxation rate
increases after each successive strain increment.
Importantly during this stepped stress relaxation test
the stress never decreases to below 228 MPa or 75
per cent of the 0.2 per cent yield stress.
The stress–time response for an isostrain (e 5 1 per
cent) stress relaxation test of the Std state at 538 uC is
shown in Fig. 3. The stress–strain response during
the elastic portion of the initial loading period
generated the estimate of Young’s modulus E 5 108
GPa, in Table 3. During the relaxation period the
stress monotonically decreases very rapidly from
about 425 MPa to 375 MPa and, after this, much
more slowly at an ever-decreasing rate.
Figure 4 shows the influence of the strain applied
on isostrain stress relaxation of the NGB condition.
At 0.3 per cent strain the peak stress reaches almost
250 MPa, below the yield stress, and rapidly relaxes
to about 200 MPa. Higher strains of 1.5 per cent or 2
JSA476 F IMechE 2009
205
Fig. 3 Isostrain stress relaxation results for 21–4N in
the Std condition at 538 uC and a constant
strain of 1.0 per cent. The stiffness during the
loading transient was used for estimate of E in
Table 3
Fig. 4 Isostrain stress relaxation results for 21–4N in
the Std condition at 700 uC for three different
constant strains. The 1.5 per cent and 2 per cent
plots are shifted +3 h and +6 h respectively to
the left for clarity. The average of the stiffnesss
during the loading transient from all three tests
was used to determine the estimate of E in
Table 3
per cent cause a much larger peak stress of about
400 MPa, well above the yield stress, but again
relaxation to about 200 MPa (roughly half the peak
value) is very rapid. Subsequent stress relaxation
below 200 MPa occurs at virtually the same rate
regardless of the strain level, with all three curves of
Fig. 4 superimposed on one another. Similarly to the
isostrain test at 538 uC, at long relaxation times it
appears that the stress asymptotically approaches a
threshold stress of approximately 325 MPa in Fig. 3
and about 100 MPa in Fig. 4.
J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44
206 A Pagliarello and J Beddoes
Fig. 5 Isostrain stress relaxation results for the NGB
and SGB conditions tested at 700 uC and
constant strain of 2.5 per cent. The stiffnesses
during the loading transient of these tests and
three other tests for each condition at different
strain levels were used to estimate E in Table 3
Figure 5 compares the isostrain (e 5 2.5 per cent)
stress relaxation behaviour of the NGB and SGB
conditions. The peak stress on loading of nearly
500 MPa is close to the ultimate strength (Table 3)
for these conditions, and, similarly to the results of
Figs 3 and 4, when the peak stress is considerably
higher than the yield stress, the stress rapidly relaxes
to about half the peak stress. Again similarly to the
results of Figs 3 and 4, at long times the stress
relaxation of the NGB and SGB conditions asympto-
tically approaches threshold stresses of about
150 MPa and 75 MPa respectively.
4 DISCUSSION
From the standpoint of defining creep properties
there are two potential justifications for undertaking
stress relaxation tests: first, the ability to predict the
creep strain rate as a function of stress from one
sample in a much shorter time than for creep testing;
second, identification of the mechanisms controlling
the creep strain rate, again in a shortened time
period. The results presented are discussed in terms
of these two potential justifications.
The stepped stress relaxation test method allows
data for multiple strain levels to be generated in only
a few hours. However, as evident from Fig. 2(b), for
the NGB condition the minimum relaxed stress is
228 MPa, about 75 per cent of the yield strength. At
these relatively high stresses, creep tests will not
typically require overly extended times. It is often of
interest to use stress relaxation test results to predict
J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44
the time to 1 per cent creep strain. From Table 4 the
time to 1 per cent creep strain during constant-load
creep tests for the NGB condition is only 67 h or
about 166 h at 250 MPa and 196 MPa respectively.
Given that most elevated-temperature applications
involve service times of 10 000–100 000 h, stress
relaxation testing is more useful at stress levels
considerably below those of Fig. 2(b). Previous
stepped stress relaxation results were successfully
used to generate creep strain–time data, but only for
creep lives of a few hours [5]. The second advantage
of stepped stress relaxation tests of generating data
for multiple strain levels is of limited value since, as
discussed next, it appears that the strain level has no
influence on the stress relaxation rate.
By calculating ds/dt for various stress levels from
the relaxation data of Fig. 4, and using the estimate
of Young’s modulus from Table 3, the relaxation
strain rate can be calculated according to equation
(2). Using this strain rate the time to 1 per cent creep
strain can be estimated (t1% 5 0.01/ė) with the
resulting stress versus time to 1 per cent strain
plotted in Fig. 6. For all three strain levels, including
strains corresponding to elastic and plastic initial
loading, the predicted times to 1 per cent creep
strain are very similar, suggesting that, for the range
of strains investigated, there is no influence on the
relaxation strain rate, nor consequently on the time
to 1 per cent creep strain, or any detrimental
anelastic effects as reported elsewhere [9, 10]. It
appears that the stress relaxation rate may be
Fig. 6 Comparison of the predicted time to 1 per cent
strain for three stress relaxation tests on the Std
condition at 700 uC, each at the constant strain
level indicated. The full squares indicate the
actual time to 1 per cent strain from the creep
tests results of Table 4. The open squares
indicate the time to 1 per cent strain predicted
from the minimum creep strain rate of Table 4
JSA476 F IMechE 2009
 Behaviour of a manganese-stabilized austenitic stainless steel
controlled by the difference between the instanta-
neous stress and the asymptotic threshold stress,
about 100 MPa in Fig. 4. The significance of this
threshold stress will be investigated as part of
ongoing research.
Interpolating from the data of Table 3 it is
estimated that the proportional limit for the Std
heat-treated condition at 700 uC is about 220 MPa.
Interestingly at about this same stress the results of
Fig. 6 exhibit a transition. Below 220 MPa the stress–
t1% function is logarithmically linear, indicating a
power law stress–strain rate relationship (equation
(3)), as would be expected during creep testing.
Above 220 MPa the stress–t1% slope becomes in-
creasingly more negative, consistent with increasing
plasticity. This result may be an indication of power
law breakdown as suggested by the stress exponent
of 8 predicted from the 230 MPa and 300 MPa creep
of Table 4. However, care in interpreting results
above the proportional limit is required, since
equation (2) on which this analysis is based assumes
a Hooke’s law stress–strain relationship, an assump-
tion that loses validity as the stress increases beyond
the proportional limit.
Despite the fact that both the NGB and the SGB
conditions exhibit similar tensile properties (see
Table 3), the creep properties of these two condi-
tions differ substantially (Fig. 1(a) and Table 4), with
the SGB condition less creep resistant. Repeating the
foregoing analysis for the stress relaxation data of
Fig. 5 results in the stress–t1% plot of Fig. 7 for these
two conditions. Importantly, the stress relaxation
results exhibit the same trend as the creep results,
namely that the time to 1 per cent creep strain for
the SGB condition is less than for the NGB condition.
Figure 7 summarizes the outcome of two stress
relaxation tests totalling 40 h duration that generated
stress–t1% data over a range of several hundred
megapascals. In contrast, the corresponding six
creep tests of Table 4 required a total of more than
600 h to determine the time to 1 per cent strain for
only two stress levels. This result indicates that stress
relaxation testing can be used to delineate the
relative creep resistances of different microstructural
conditions, even those with similar tensile proper-
ties, in a much more effective manner in terms of
time and the number of samples required. By
examining the deformation structures developed
during stress relaxation and creep testing, continu-
ing research will investigate whether the same
deformation mechanistic processes occur during
stress relaxation and creep. It is the long-term
objective of such research to determine the extent
JSA476 F IMechE 2009
207
Fig. 7 Comparison of the time to 1 per cent creep
strain from stress relaxation tests on the NGB
and SGB conditions at 700 uC and constant
strain of 2.5 per cent: +, 6, actual time to 1 per
cent strain from the creep tests results of
Table 4; o, fl, time to 1 per cent strain pre-
dicted from the minimum creep strain rate of
Table 4
to which relatively short-time stress relaxation test
results can be used to ascertain the underlying
deformation mechanism controlling the strain rate
during long-term creep tests.
For comparison with the results from stress
relaxation tests, the actual times to 1 per cent strain
determined from creep tests of the NGB and SGB
conditions at 196 MPa and 250 MPa (Table 4) are
plotted in Fig. 7. Likewise, in Fig. 6 the actual times
to 1 per cent creep strain for the Std state at 230 Mpa
and 300 MPa, also from Table 4, are plotted. The
time to 1 per cent creep strain includes a contribu-
tion due to the instantaneous and primary creep,
which is not reflected in equation (2) or the stress
relaxation results. Therefore, using the minimum
creep strain rate results from Table 4, a modified
time to 1 per cent creep strain is calculated and also
plotted in Figs 6 and 7.
Figure 8 shows the same analysis based on Fig. 3 for
the Std condition tested at 538 uC, and 10 000 h, 1 per
cent creep data from reference [11]. In Figs 6 to 8,
stress relaxation testing gives a predicted time to 1 per
cent strain that is less than the actual time from creep
tests or those calculated from the minimum creep
strain rate by a factor of about 5, slightly greater than
the factor of 3 reported previously [4], but within the
order-of-magnitude range reported in reference [6].
These results indicate that the strain rate as a function
of stress during stress relaxation is greater than the
strain rate for the same stress during creep. Two
J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44
208 A Pagliarello and J Beddoes
Fig. 8 Time to 1 per cent creep strain from the
isostrain stress relaxation test on 21–4N in the
Std condition at 538 uC and constant strain of 1
per cent. The solid circle indicates the actual
time to 1 per cent strain from the creep results
of reference [11]
factors may contribute to this difference. The first
factor is the accuracy of the Young’s modulus
equation (2) analysis. Young’s modulus measured
during the elastic loading portion of stress relaxation
tests is lower than might be expected from reference
[12]. Clearly, to obtain accurate strain rate and
predicted times to 1 per cent creep strain an accurate
value for Young’s modulus is required. The second
factor is that, during creep testing, the strain rate
observed is the sum of two components: that due to
the underlying mechanism controlling creep, and that
due to the accumulation of creep damage such as the
formation of intergranular voids or cracking. It is
difficult to separate the contributions to the creep
strain rate of each of these components. The constant-
strain characteristic of stress relaxation testing means
that damage mechanisms are not active and the strain
rate observed is only that due to the underlying
mechanism controlling deformation. Therefore, it
might be expected that stress relaxation testing would
predict a longer time to 1 per cent strain than creep
testing, i.e. the opposite of the trend in Figs 6 to 8.
Future research will confirm whether this trend is
unique to 21–4N or is observed in other elevated-
temperature alloys, as well as seek the reason for this
trend through examination of deformed structures.
5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The investigation of the stress relaxation and creep
behaviour of 21–4N, a manganese-stabilized auste-
J. Strain Analysis Vol. 44
nitic stainless steel, provides the following conclu-
sions.
1. For isostrain stress relaxation tests undertaken at
one strain level, the stress relaxation rate is
similar for strains in the range from 0.3 per cent
to 2.0 per cent, a range that spans both elastic and
plastic strain levels.
2. Stepped stress relaxation tests in which the strain
level is incrementally increased are only useful for
determining stress relaxation behaviour at rela-
tively high stresses. Further, given the first
conclusion, there is minimal incremental value
to the application of multiple strain levels to 21–
4N.
3. A transition in the stress relaxation behaviour
occurs at a stress level approximately equivalent
to the stress–strain proportional limit, i.e. the
point at which Hooke’s law no longer applies.
Below this transition the stress–strain rate or the
time predicted for 1 per cent creep strain obeys a
relationship similar to the creep power law.
4. In much less time and using fewer specimens,
stress relaxation testing successfully delineated
the difference between the creep resistances of
different metallurgical conditions despite the fact
that these two conditions have similar tensile
properties.
5. For 21–4N the time to 1 per cent creep strain
determined from the analysis of stress relaxation
data is always less than the actual time to 1 per
cent creep strain during constant-load creep tests.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was funded by the Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada
through the Discovery grant programme. Thanks
are due to Crucible Specialty Metals, Syracuse, New
York, USA, for supply of the 21–4N bars. The authors
are grateful to F. Barrett and K. Sangster for
assistance with some experimental aspects of this
research.
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