Laboratory testing of L-grade stainless steels in representative boiling water nuclear reactor (BWR) core environments has shown that the intergranular (IG) cracking behavior is sensitive to the composition, corrosion potential and cold work. The objective of this study is to explore the deformation response of L-grade stainless steels to better understand its role on the IGSCC behavior. The deformation response was studied as a function of composition to evaluate the phase stability,
susceptibility to sensitization and creep relaxation behaviors. The effect of deformation on 304, 304L, 316L and 316NG materials were evaluated metallographically and as a function of thermal treatment using the double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DL-EPR) technique. Metallographic results show that 304L is most likely to form deformation induced martensite, consistent with calculations. The DL-EPR response of 304L and 316L/NG materials increases significantly upon thermal treatment of cold worked material. These results are being used to determine the combinations of cold work and thermal treatment that promote IGSCC in 288°C high purity water at... Keywords: IGSCC, L-grade stainless steels, cold work, deformation-induced martensite, DL-EPR, creep