Energy equivalence based constitutive model of austenitic stainless steel at cryogenic temperatures

In the present work the constitutive model of 316L and 304 stainless steel subjected to mechanical loading at cryogenic temperatures is derived. Three main coupled dissipative phenomena taking place in the material: plastic flow, plastic strain-induced transformation from the primary phase (gamma) to the secondary phase (alpha'), and evolution of micro-damage are considered using a thermodynamically consistent framework. The approach based on total energy equivalence, originally developed for damaged materials, is here extended to modelling not only damage but also phase transformation, in a consistent manner. The proposed model is implemented numerically and validated by means of parametric studies, and by comparison with the experimental results. Very good qualitative and quantitative results are obtained. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.