Evaluation and characterisation of ASS316L at sub-zero temperature

Austenitic Stainless-Steel grade 316L is one among the significant ASS grades which is most used in various industry sectors. It has excellent corrosion resistance in ordinary atmospheric and in more arduous environments such as saltwater. Whilst performing well when exposed to relatively high temperatures, this grade of ASS also maintains its strength and toughness at sub-zero temperatures, making this an excellent choice for various applications in industrial sectors such as Marine, general construction and water treatment. Therefore, present study focused on evaluating the mechanical properties, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS) and strain hardening exponent (n) are evaluated based on the experimental data obtained from the uniaxial isothermal tensile tests performed at an interval of -25 degrees C from 0 degrees C to -50 degrees C and at three orientations 0, 45, 90 degrees to the rolling direction and cross-head velocity 3, 5, 7 mm/min were chosen. Total of 27 experiments have been planned based on design-of-experiments. A mathematical model for the prediction of UTS, YS and n was developed using process parameters such as temperature, orientation and cross-head velocities. Results have shown that mechanical properties can be predicted with a reasonable accuracy within the range of process parameters considered in this study.