Probing the deterioration of 316L stainless steel welds due to ageing and creep by indentation creep tests

Authors have probed into the creep behaviour of AISI 316L stainless steel welds through the indentation creep test methodology and assessed the deterioration effects of these welds under different ageing conditions subjecting them to different test conditions. Comparison is made between the parent metal and the weld metal for integrity at different levels of ageing and test loads. It is concluded that although the aged weld's deteriorated status is not revealed at low temperature and low load test conditions, it is explicitly revealed when tested at higher temperature and higher loads. Microstructural evidences have been given by the authors and they have suggested mechanisms of creep at different test conditions.