Abstract: Literatures published in the past 50 years on the thermomechanical fatigue(TMF) behavior of austenitic stainless steel(SS) for nuclear power plant pipes are reviewed. The accurate definition of TMF testing is given and its standardization processes at home and abroad are systematically reviewed. The asymmetric characteristic of cyclic mechanical response of austenitic SS under TMF loadings are described. Three main deformation and damage mechanisms of austenitic SS, namely dynamic strain aging, oxidation and creep under high temperature fatigue loadings are selected, the macroscopic manifestation, underlying physical mechanisms and interactions of which with fatigue damage are analyzed in detail. According to the relationship between the maximum temperature and the critical temperature for the occurrence of creep damage, the TMF life behavior of austenitic SS in the low and high temperature region, corresponding to different failure mechanisms are discussed respectively. The dominant failure mechanism in the low temperature region is pure fatigue or oxidation-fatigue interaction, while the complex interactions among creep, oxidation and fatigue in high temperature region determine the TMF life behavior. Based on the above discussion, several prospects for the TMF investigation of austenitic stainless steel are presented.

Key words: austenitic stainless steel, thermomechanical fatigue, cyclic mechanical response, deformation and damage mechanisms, fatigue life behavior