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Abstract： Since structural components in the nuclear power plant are unable to be disassembled during their in service process, it is an urgent and key problem how to quickly and non-destructively evaluate fatigue reliability of these key structural components by using miniature specimens. Fatigue properties of miniature specimens of CA6NM martensite stainless steel for impellers in the nuclear pump were obtained by using symmetrically bending fatigue loading and uniaxial tension-tension fatigue loading, respectively. A comparison of fatigue properties between the miniature specimens and bulk specimens was conducted to examine feasibility for the evaluation of fatigue reliability of the CA6NM steel using miniature specimens. The results show that tensile strength of the 40 μm-thick CA6NM specimens is slightly higher than that of the bulk specimens, but elongation of the 40 μm-thick specimens is lower than that of the bulk counterparts. In low cycle fatigue regime, fatigue strength of the 40 μm-thick specimens subjected to uniaxial tension-tension fatigue loading is lower than that of the standard bulk counterparts. With decreasing the applied stress amplitude, the difference in fatigue properties gradually decreases, and the fatigue limit of the miniature specimen is close to that of the bulk counterparts. Fatigue strength of the 40 μm-thick specimens subjected to bending fatigue loading is much higher than that subjected to uniaxial tension-tension fatigue loading, and also higher than that of the bulk counterparts. Fatigue strength of the miniature specimens is related to the loading mode. The difference in the fatigue mechanism between the miniature specimens and the bulk counterparts is discussed, and the feasibility to evaluate fatigue reliability of the steel using miniature specimens is addressed.
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