Bending ratcheting tests of Z2CND18.12 stainless steel

The ratcheting effect greatly challenges the design of components of the nuclear power plant. Not only the mean stress and the stress amplitude, but the temperature also affects the ratcheting strain. In this study, the tensile properties of Z2CND18.12 stainless steel are studied. The relationship between the Young’s modulus and the temperature was studied experimentally. A series of ratcheting experiments under bending loading for Z2CND18.12 stainless steel were carried out on a dynamic mechanical analyzer. The characteristic of progressive inelastic deformation of the material in the different temperatures and different loadings were investigated. The difference of the domestic and imported stainless steel on the tensile properties and bending ratcheting properties was studied. The experiment results have shown that the imported Z2CND18.12 is better than the domestic one on the tensile properties. The Young’s modulus is linear with the temperature change, and gradually decreased with the increase of temperature. The temperature and the bending loading affect the ratcheting greatly. In addition, the imported one is better than the domestic one on the resistance to the ratcheting deformation at various temperatures. The ratcheting boundary of the imported one is defined based on the ratcheting experiments.