Correlating Effect of Temperature on Cyclic Plastic Deformation Behavior with Substructural Developments for Austenitic Stainless Steel

Low-cycle fatigue experiments have been carried out at elevated and sub-zero temperatures. Corresponding
effect on cyclic plasticity characterizing parameters such as cyclic hardening/softening and Masing
behavior is compared for different loading conditions. Disparities in the fatigue life as well as the cyclic
plastic behavior have been attributed to the phase transformations that largely obstruct the dislocation
motion. Further, the changes in strains in the materials matrix have been quantified through misorientation
studies, wherein clear demarcation in strain distributions due to fatigue loading at different temperatures was obtained and further correlated with the substructural alterations observed through transmission
electron microscopy.