Austenitic stainless steel exhibits nonlinear hardening behavior at low temperature and under various strain rate conditions caused by the phenomenon of transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP). In this study, a uniaxial tensile test for 304L austenitic stainless steel was performed below ambient temperature (-163, -140, -120, -50, and 20 degrees C) and at strain rates (10 (4), 10 (3), and 10 (2) s (1)) to identify nonlinear mechanical characteristics. In addition, a viscoplastic damage model was proposed and implemented in a user-defined material subroutine to provide a theoretical explanation of the nonlinear hardening features. The verification was conducted not only by a material-based comparative study involving experimental investigations, but also by a structural application to the corrugated steel membrane of a Mark-III-type cargo containment system for liquefied natural gas. In addition, an accumulated damage contour was represented to predict the failure location by using a continuum damage mechanics approach. (2013) Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
