Effect of welding structure and δ-ferrite on fatigue properties for TIG welded austenitic stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures

High-cycle and low-cycle fatigue properties of base and weld metals for SUS304L and SUS316L and the effects of welding structure and δ-ferrite on fatigue properties were investigated at cryogenic temperatures in order to evaluate the long-life reliability of the structural materials to be used in liquid hydrogen supertankers and storage tanks and to develop a welding process for these applications. The S–N curves of the base and weld metals shifted towards higher levels, i.e., the longer life side, with decreasing test temperatures. High-cycle fatigue tests demonstrated the ratios of fatigue strength at 10 6 cycles to tensile strength of the weld metals to be 0.35–0.7, falling below those of base metals with decreasing test temperatures. Fatigue crack initiation sites in SUS304L weld metals were mostly at blowholes with diameters of 200–700 μm, and those of SUS316L weld metals were at weld pass interface boundaries. Low-cycle fatigue tests revealed the fatigue lives of the weld metals to be somewhat lower than those of the base metals. Although δ-ferrite reduces the toughness of austenitic stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures, the effects of δ-ferrite on high-cycle and low-cycle fatigue properties are not clear or significant.