Cyclic stress-strain response during isothermal and thermomechanical fatigue

Isothermal high-temperature low-cycle fatigue and in-phase and out-of-phase thermomechanical fatigue tests were carried out on 316L austenitic stainless steel specimens controlled by computer. A non-linear kinematic hardening model with internal variables was used to simulate the cyclic stress-strain behaviour of isothermal fatigue. This model was modified by considering thermal cyclic effects in order to describe the cyclic stress-strain behaviour of thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) using only isothermal fatigue data and the material performance data. A very good approximation of the hysteresis loops was obtained by comparing with experiments of both in-phase and out-of-phase cases. The thermomechanical fatigue behaviour described by isothermal fatigue data gives the possibility of developing the TMF lifetime prediction technique.