In-Situ Neutron Diffraction Study of the Behavior of AL6XN Stainless Steel Under Biaxial Loading

In–situ neutron diffraction has been used to measure lattice strains parallel to two principal stress directions in biaxially-loaded AL6XN stainless steel. A new fixture was developed for loading thin-walled tubular specimens through combinations of internal pressure and axial loading. Under these conditions, the principal directions (σzz and σθθ in a cylindrical r, θ, z coordinate system) remain constant with respect to the initial crystallographic texture regardless of the level of biaxiality, a distinct advantage for diffraction experiments over the traditional tension/torsion tests for which this condition does not hold. Specimens were first pressurized to the level required to obtain a chosen value of σθθ. The axial load was then increased to reach the yield surface at different σθθ/σzz ratios, ranging from uniaxial to balanced biaxial loading (0, 0.4, 0.7, 1 according to Tresca). The {200}, {220}, {222}, and {311} reflections were measured in the axial and hoop directions as a function of axial load. A sequence of axial loading/unloading episodes was applied for different levels of plastic deformation. Under uniaxial tension, the {200} reflection showed the highest axial strains, followed by the {311}, and {220}/{222} reflections. With increasing internal pressure (biaxiality), the axial lattice strains corresponding to a given axial stress tended to decrease, and the responses of the various reflections tended to merge.