Fatigue crack initiation and crystallographic growth in 316L stainless steel

A mesoscale model of fatigue crack formation and stress-strain behavior in crystalline alloys entitled Sistaninia-Niffenegger Fatigue (SNF) model is applied to AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel. An inelastic hysteresis energy criterion in conjunction with continuum damage modeling provides a strong tool for studying the behavior of the austenitic steel under cyclic loading. The model predictions are validated against fatigue experimental data. The results show that this microstructural-based modeling approach is capable for predicting the behavior of the steel even under complex loading conditions. It can reproduce and help to understand well known fatigue experimental facts, e.g. the effect of grain size and initial defects, by considering the anisotropic behavior of crystalline materials at the level of the microstructure.