Atomistic study on high temperature creep of nanocrystalline 316L austenitic stainless steels

B Wang and Q Wang and R Luo and QH Kan and B Gu, ACTA MECHANICA SINICA, 39, 122470 (2023).

DOI: 10.1007/s10409-022-22470-x

The creep deformation behavior and creep mechanisms of nanocrystalline 316L austenitic stainless steels at high temperature with different peak stresses are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Numerical results demonstrate that the creep deformation of nanocrystalline 316L austenitic stainless steels at high temperature is caused by the interaction among the dislocations, diffusion in the grains' interior and grain boundaries (GBs), and the sliding of GBs. The dominant mechanisms of high temperature creep are diffusion in the grains' interior and GBs and the sliding of GBs during the initial creep and steady-state creep stages of nanocrystalline 316L austenitic stainless steels. Dislocation slipping becomes the main mechanism of nanocrystalline 316L austenitic stainless steels during the accelerated creep stage after some GBs are destroyed. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the creep mechanisms of nanocrystalline 316L austenitic stainless steel, which guides the design and fabrication of enhanced creep-resistant 316L austenitic stainless steels.

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