Oğuz Berk Özdemir
J. Min. Metall. Sect. B-Metall., 62 (2) (2026) 257-266. DOI:10.2298/JMMB260507019O
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Available online 14 September 2026
(Received 07 May 2026; Accepted 28 July 2026)
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The creep behavior of a reference 316L(N) grade and a modified 316L(N) grade with adjusted minor alloying elements, mainly N, Nb, and B (Steel A), was investigated at 575 °C and 310 MPa. The strain–time response was analyzed across primary, steady-state, and tertiary creep stages. Steel A exhibited a rupture life of 9203 h, compared with 649 h for the reference steel. Optical microscopy, SEM, and X-ray tomography revealed narrow wedge-type cracks in the reference steel, whereas Steel A developed thicker, more rounded R-type cracks. The Estrin–Mecking approach described the primary and steady-state stages, while Ganesan’s damage-tolerance factor and Yin’s cavity-growth model were used for the tertiary stage. The damage-tolerance parameter λ increased from 3.6 to 4.6. In the Estrin–Mecking analysis, the fitted internal-stress parameters increased from 215 to 239 MPa for the reference steel and from 230 to 253 MPa for Steel A. These results indicate that crack morphology should be considered when interpreting tertiary creep model parameters, particularly when models are based on different damage assumptions.
Keywords: 316L(N) stainless steel; Creep modeling; Crack morphology; Creep stages; Internal stress; Damage-tolerance factor (λ)
Correspondence Address:
Oguz Berk Ozdemir,
Hacettepe University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Nuclear Energy Engineering, Ankara, Türkiye;
email: oguzberkozdemir@hacettepe.edu.tr
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