Instrumented Charpy tests at 77 K on 316L stainless steel welded plates

In the framework of a collaborative project between ASME, NASA, and NIST, instrumented Charpy tests have been performed at liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K, or 196 C) on specimens extracted from the center of four 316L welded stainless steel plates, each produced by a different vendor. Although the plates were produced in accordance with the same specifications from the same material (316L), clear differences in impact toughness have been observed, with the toughest welded plate exhibiting more than twice the absorbed energy of the least tough. Besides impact toughness, the availability of instrumented Charpy data has also allowed deriving estimates of dynamic yield strength and shear fracture appearance.