Behaviour of the steel T91 under uniaxial and multiaxial slow loading in contact with liquid lead

Behavior of the Steel T91 under Multi Axial Loading in Contact with Liquid and Solid Pb

“…The three parameters that were selected were temperature, deformation rate and surface treatment in order to stimulate the LME initiation on smooth tensile specimens: (i) test temperature was selected to map the expected LME range, i.e., around the Pb melting point 327 • C up to 450 • C; (ii) strain rates 10 −6 and 10 −4 s −1 were applied; (iii) the surface was treated before test to induce wetting, which means that natural oxide layers were removed with a flux (chemical cleaning agent) and a Pb layer was deposited on the surface of the specimen. However, none of tested smooth specimens showed LME cracking of T91 in Pb [7]. In the first part of the research, it was concluded that uniaxial test conditions, i.e., loading up to ultimate tensile strength and necking, even if good surface wetting was induced or a thin oxide layer broken, did not stimulate LME of the T91 in liquid Pb.…”

“…The cell was mounted on a hydraulic loading machine with a maximum loading capacity of 50 kN [7]. Several specimens (B05, Figure 1.…”

“…Afterwards, these specimens were rapidly immersed in a container with liquid Pb at 450 °C and a film of Pb, about 50 μm thick, was deposited on the wetted surface. This technique was applied to smooth tensile specimens of the same material presented in another work [7]. In order to remove natural oxides from the surface of the steel and to induce wetting, notched specimens were treated with a chemical flux (chemical composition given in Table 3).…”

“…Afterwards, these specimens were rapidly immersed in a container with liquid Pb at 450 • C and a film of Pb, about 50 µm thick, was deposited on the wetted surface. This technique was applied to smooth tensile specimens of the same material presented in another work [7].…”

“…The first part of this research [7] was aimed to study the behavior of the T91/Pb interaction under load and to identify the conditions leading to the LME. The three parameters that were selected were temperature, deformation rate and surface treatment in order to stimulate the LME initiation on smooth tensile specimens: (i) test temperature was selected to map the expected LME range, i.e., around the Pb melting point 327 • C up to 450 • C; (ii) strain rates 10 −6 and 10 −4 s −1 were applied; (iii) the surface was treated before test to induce wetting, which means that natural oxide layers were removed with a flux (chemical cleaning agent) and a Pb layer was deposited on the surface of the specimen.…”