Creep deformation behavior at long-term in P23/T23 steels

K. Sawada, M. Tabuchi and K. Kimura National Institute for Materials Science, Japan

34th MPA-Seminar Materials and Components Behaviour in Energy & Plant Technology October 9 and 10, 2008 in Stuttgart Abstract Creep behavior of ASME P23/T23 steels was investigated and analyzed, focusing on creep strength degradation at long-term. Creep rupture strength at 625oC and 650oC dropped at long-term in both P23 and T23 steels. The stress exponent of minimum creep rate at 625oC and 650oC was 7.8-13 for higher stresses and 3.9-5.3 for lower stresses in the P23/T23 steels. The change of stress exponent with stress levels was consistent with the drop in creep rupture strength at long-term. The Monkman-Grant rule was confirmed in the range examined in P23 steel, while the data points deviated from the rule at long-term in the case of T23 steel. The creep ductility of P23 steel was high over a wide stress and temperature range. On the other hand, in T23 steel, creep ductility at 625oC and 650oC decreased as time to rupture increased. The change in ductility may cause the deviation from the Monkman-Grant rule. Fracture mode changed from transgranular to intergranular fracture in the long-term at 625oC and 650oC. 1. Introduction Modern ultra supercritical ( USC ) power plants with high thermal efficiency have been realized due to development of creep strength enhanced ferritic steels. The development of creep strength enhanced ferritic steels such as ASME Gr.91, Gr.92 and Gr.122 strongly contributed to improvement of thermal efficiency in power plants.[1] Furthermore, ASME P23/T23 (2.25Cr-1.6W) with lower Cr content has been developed for reducing the cost of power plants construction.[2] The creep strength of P23/T23 is superior to 2.25Cr-1Mo steel. Recently, however, allowable tensile stress of Gr.91, Gr.92 and Gr.122 has been reduced in Japan [3-6] since it became clear that the creep rupture strength of these steels abruptly drops at long-term. The allowable tensile stress of P23/T23 has also been reviewed in Japan.[4] Remarkable drop in creep rupture strength was observed on P23/T23 at higher temperatures in the long-term. However, it was assumed that the drop in creep rupture strength was due to mainly an oxidation effect since thick oxide scale was observed after creep.[4]

Yoshizawa et al. reported that the drop of creep rupture strength for P23/T23 at higher temperatures can be explained by estimating the effect of oxidation.[7] It has been confirmed, by measuring the thickness of oxide scale and calculating true stress, that oxidation causes the drop in creep strength in 2.25Cr-1Mo steel.[8,9] Kushima et al. reported that preferential recovery of martensite around prior austenite grain boundary causes the remarkable drop in creep rupture strength for Gr.91 with tempered martensite.[10] In the same way as Gr.91, the preferential recovery takes place after long-term creep in ASTM A542(2.25Cr-1Mo) with martensitic structure.[11] In fact, the drop in creep rupture strength occurs at the long-term in ASTM A542.[12] That means the preferential recovery contributes to the creep strength degradation in ASTM A542. It is necessary to consider that in P23/T23 with a bainite structure, creep strength degradation may occur due to microstructural changes.[13] The bainite structure has a relatively high dislocation density and lath structure like a tempered martensite, indicating occurrence of the preferential recovery around prior austenite grain boundary. Komai et al. reported that the creep strength of P23/T23 abruptly decreases in the long term at 600oC.[13] However, they also reported that the drop in creep rupture strength does not occur in P23/T23, if it was tempered for a long time before creep.[13] They pointed out that non-homogeneous recovery such as the preferential recovery around prior austenite grain boundaries can not take place in the P23/T23 since long-time tempering can decrease dislocation density in bainite structure. Bainite structure with a lower dislocation density may have no inhomogeneity of internal stress due to accumulation of dislocation, indicating that the structure can homogenously recover during creep. Consequently, there are two possibilities as the reason for the creep strength degradation in P23/T23. One is that the oxidation causes the reduction of creep life in the long-term, meaning that the degradation is not due to an intrinsic material property. Another possible reason is that the drop in creep strength occurs due to microstructural changes. If the former is the reason for reduction of creep life, the current allowable stress of P23/T23 does not need to be reviewed.[4] However, if the latter is the reason, it will be necessary to review the allowable stress again, considering the drop in creep rupture strength in the long-term. In this paper, we characterize creep behavior for three heats of P23/T23, and then discuss whether microstructural change can cause the drop in creep strength or not. The analysis for creep behavior can provide us the information on the deformation mechanism and microstructural change. 2. Experimental procedure The materials examined are ASME T23 and P23.[14] Two heats for T23 tube and one heat for P23 pipe were used for creep tests. The chemical compositions and heat

treatment conditions are summarized in Table 1. The Vickers hardness and 0.2% proof stress at room temperature are listed in Table 2. All steels retained a bainitic lath structure as shown in Fig.1. Creep tests were performed under constant load in air, using specimens of 6mm (heat A, B) or 10mm (heat C) in gauge diameter and 30mm (heat A, B) or 50mm (heat C) in gauge length. Displacement was continuously measured by extensometer for high temperature use during creep. 3. Results and Discussion 3.1 Creep rupture strength Creep rupture strength for the three heats is shown in Fig.2. For all of the heats, there is no large drop in creep strength in the long-term at 500oC to 600oC. However, creep rupture strength of all heats abruptly decreases in the long-term at 625oC and 650oC. This tendency is consistent with the results reported in the literature.[13] The drop in creep rupture strength in the long-term for heat C is not so remarkable compared with heat A and B. The gauge diameter of heat C is larger than those of heat A and B. If oxidation affects creep strength, the influence of oxidation may be small in heat C since the fraction occupied by oxide scale per cross-section area is smaller in heat C in contrast with other heats. (gauge diameter : 6mm for heat A and B, 10mm for heat C) This may cause the slighter drop in creep strength at 625oC and 650oC in heat C as shown in Fig.2. On the other hand, differences in initial microstructure can also affect creep strength degradation. It is expected that initial dislocation density in heat C will be lower than those of heat A and B since the hardness of heat C is lesser than those of other heats. It is reported in high Cr ferritic steels that creep rupture strength of steel with a high dislocation density abruptly decreases in the long-term.[15] In short, the creep strength degradation of heat C may be slighter than those of other heats due to not only the low fraction occupied by oxide scale but also due to low dislocation density. 3.2 Creep deformation behavior Fig.3 shows relationship between minimum creep rate and stress for all steels. A linear relation is observed for all steels over a wide range of applied stresses at 500oC to 600oC. There is, however, inflection at a low stress at 625oC and 650oC for all steels. The magnitude of slope in Fig.3, that is a stress exponent, are summarized in Table 3. For all steels, the stress exponent is about 6.7 18 at 500oC to 600oC and about 7.8 - 13 at a higher stress region at 625oC and 650oC. On the other hand, the stress exponent is about 3.9 5.3 at a lower stress region at 625oC and 650oC. The change of stress exponent at 625oC and 650oC may indicate transition of the creep deformation property. For discussion of the creep deformation mechanism, it is also necessary to determine the apparent activation energy of creep. The relationship

between minimum creep rate and temperature are shown as an Arrhenius plot in Fig.4. The magnitude of slope means apparent activation energy of creep deformation. The activation energy for each applied stress is also shown in Fig.4. In heat A and B, the apparent activation energy is respectively 350 420 kJ / mol (QH) and 544 765 kJ / mol (QL) for a higher stress region and a lower one, respectively. The apparent activation energy is about 342 431 kJ / mol (Q) for all stress regions in heat C. The activation energy for lattice self diffusion of ferritic steel (QC) is about 350 kJ / mol.[16] In heat A and B, QH is consistent with QC. The Q value is almost the same as QC in heat C. The reason for the higher apparent activation energy at a lower stress region in heat A and B is not clear. The deformation mechanism may change with stress in heat A and B due to the apparent activation energy change shown in Fig.4. On the other hand, it is expected that the deformation mechanism does not change in heat C in terms of the apparent activation energy although the stress exponent changed at a lower stress. Consequently, it is confirmed that the creep deformation behavior changes at a low stress at 625oC and 650oC in all steels, considering the changes of apparent activation energy and stress exponent. The deformation behavior change, however, does not directly mean deformation mechanism change. For deformation mechanism change, a microstructure at minimum creep rate should be almost the same at each stress.[17] However, microstructures such as precipitates, dislocation density and bainitic lath structure remarkably change during creep in actual heat resistant steels. Time for minimum creep rate under a lower stress is longer than that under a higher stress, indicating that under a lower stress the microstructure can change remarkably until creep deformation reaches minimum creep rate, compared to a higher stress condition. This tendency is more pronounced at a higher temperature. The minimum creep rate under low stresses will be larger than that expected from the stress exponent in higher stresses since deformation resistance at minimum creep rate may be reduced under low stresses due to the remarkable change of microstructure. This can be one of the reasons for the change of stress exponent and apparent activation energy under a lower stress shown in Fig.3 and Fig.4. 3.3 Effect of creep deformation behavior change on creep rupture behavior The time to rupture is plotted against minimum creep rate for all steels in Fig.5. A linear relation, that is the Monkman-Grant rule[18], was observed. The relation depends on temperature. The magnitude of slope in the relation(Fig.5-a, b, c) at 500oC and 550oC is different from those at other temperatures. In heat A and B, all of the experimental data at 575oC and 600oC, and the short-term data at 625oC and 650oC, were expressed as a linear relationship (Fig.5-d, e) . However, experimental data for the long-term at 625oC and 650oC deviates from the linear relationship. On

the other hand, there was no deviation from the linear relationship in the long-term at 575oC to 650oC in heat C as shown in Fig.5-f. In the case of heats A and B, actual time to rupture in the long-term at 625oC and 650oC is shorter than that extrapolated by short term data (higher minimum creep rate). This suggests that increase in creep rate at tertiary stage is larger and/or low creep ductility in the long-term (under low stresses), comparing with the short-term (under high stresses). In short, it is possible to predict directly time to rupture by minimum creep rate in heat C, while we can not predict time to rupture at long-term by only minimum creep rate in heat A and B. 3.4 Creep ductility The elongation for all steels is shown in Fig.6. In heat A and B, the elongation at o 500 C and 550oC is kept high even in the long-term, while ductility decreases with increasing time to rupture at 575oC to 650oC. At 625oC and 650oC, the ductility recovers in the long-term again. On the other hand, no drop in ductility was observed in heat C for the whole temperature range examined. The drop in ductility of heat A and B may be caused by brittle fractures such as intergranular fractures. The Monkman-Grant rule is expressed as follow. & m tr = C (1) & m , tr, and C are minimum creep rate, time to rupture and constant. It can be where assumed that the constant corresponds to creep ductility. At 625oC and 650oC, the constant C should be higher in the short-term since the creep ductility is high in the short-term as shown in Fig.6. On the other hand, the constant C would be lower in the long-term due to the low creep ductility. In short, the deviation of data points from the Monkman-Grant rule in the-long term shown in Fig.5 is due to the decrease in creep ductility. Figure 7 shows optical micrographs of gauge portions, which are uniformly deformed and far from necked regions, after creep at 550oC. No creep cavities were observed in heat A, B and C after short-term(Fig.7(a), (c), (e) ) and long-term creep(Fig.7(b), (d), (f)). We confirmed in heat A, B and C that creep cavities were located in prior austenite grains of necked regions after short-term and long-term creep at 550oC, meaning that the transgranular fracture occurs at 550oC. Figure 8 demonstrates optical micrographs of gauge portions, which are far from necked regions, after creep at 625oC. A large number of creep cavities was located on prior austenite grain boundaries in heats A (Fig.8(b), (c)) and B (Fig.8(e)) after long-term creep although a small amount of cavities was observed after short-term creep (Fig.8(a), (d)). This means that at 625oC, the fracture mode changes from transgranular to intergranular with time to rupture in heat A and B. However, in heat B, only a small amount of cavities was observed even after very long-term creep, indicating recovery of ductility. (Fig.8(f)) In heat B, the change of number of cavities

with time to rupture qualitatively agrees with that of ductility shown in Fig.6. While there are no cavities after short-term (Fig.8(e)) and long-term creep (Fig.8(f)) in heat C. In short, in the case of heat C, the transgranular fracture occurs even at 625oC regardless of test conditions. It was reported that fracture mode change from transgranular to intergranular fracture causes inflection in stress vs. time to rupture curve for tempered martensitic steel.[19] However, note that in heat B, the creep rupture strength at 625oC drops in the long-term although only a small amount of cavities is observed after long-term creep as shown in Fig.8(f). In short, not only fracture mode change but also other microstructural factors should be considered to clarify the degradation mechanism of creep strength. The inflection in stress vs. time to rupture curve is observed in heat C as shown in Fig.2. This indicates that in the case of heat C, not the fracture mode change but other microstructural change contributes to the inflection since the fracture mode change was not observed in heat C shown in Fig.8. The hardness of heat A and B is higher than that of heat C shown in Table 2. The strength of the grain interior in heat A and B should be higher than that in heat C since microstructural factors such as dislocation density and lath width, which retain the strength of the grain interior, contribute to the hardness. In short, it is easy for creep voids to form at prior austenite grain boundaries as an accommodation process since the strength of the grain interior may be relatively larger than that of the grain boundary in heats A and B, while in heat C, creep void formation may not be required for the accommodation since the grain interior can easily deform due to the lower creep resistance. We have summarized characteristics of creep deformation behavior and its effect on creep rupture strength in Fig.9. In heat C, change of the stress exponent of minimum creep rate directly contributes to the inflection in stress vs. time to rupture curve. In heat A and B, actual data of creep life in the long-term deviates from the trend expected from change of the stress exponent of minimum creep rate. The low creep ductility causes the deviation, considering relationship between creep ductility and the Monkman-Grant rule as discussed in section 3.4. It is expected that not deformation mechanism change but microstructural change may cause the change in the stress exponent of minimum creep rate in all heats as mentioned in section 3.2. 3.5 Comparison of creep rupture strength between all steels Figure 10 shows creep rupture strength of all steels. The creep rupture strength of heat A is clearly higher than those of heat B and heat C at 500oC to 600oC. At 625oC and 650oC, the creep rupture strength of heat A abruptly drops in the long-term, compared with heat B and heat C. Therefore, the creep rupture strength of heat A becomes similar to those of heat B and heat C in the long-term. The hardness of heat C is lower than those of heat A and heat B in the as tempered condition as shown in

Table 2. The difference of hardness can contribute to that of creep rupture strength shown in Fig.10. However, the creep strength of heat A is higher than that of heat B although the hardness of heat A is the same as that of heat B. There may be difference in bainitic structure and/or precipitates between heat A and heat B. The difference in bainitic structure and precipitates can cause that in creep rupture strength. We have to clarify the detail of bainitic structure and precipitates for all heats in future. 4. Conclusions Creep tests were performed under several conditions in three steels for ASME P23/T23. Creep rupture data and minimum creep rate were analyzed for evaluation of creep strength degradation at long-term. The results can be summarized as follows. (1) At 625oC and 650oC, the drop in creep rupture strength at long-term regions was observed in all steels (heat A, B and C) . The drop in heat A and B with higher initial hardness was more remarkable than that in heat C with lower hardness. (2) At 625oC and 650oC, the stress exponent of minimum creep rate changed at a lower stress in all steels (stress exponent : 7.8-13 for higher stress, 3.9-5.3 for lower stress) . The stress region at which the stress exponent was changed is consistent with that for the drop in creep rupture strength. In heat C, the Monkman-Grant rule was confirmed over a wide temperature and stress range examined. While actual data deviated from the rule at long-term in heat A and B, the rule was confirmed at short-term. (3) At 500oC and 550oC, the ductility was high even in the long-term in heats A and B, while at 575oC to 650oC, the ductility decreased with increasing time to rupture. The ductility increased at longer term again at 625oC and 650oC in heat A and B. On the other hand, the ductility was high over a wide stress and temperature range examined in heat C. The drop in ductility relates with intergranular fracture in heat A and B. For heat A and B, the low ductility in the long-term caused the deviation of experimental data from the Monkman-Grant rule. (4) In heat C, the change of stress exponent of minimum creep rate directly contributes to the drop in creep rupture strength since the Monkman-Grant rule was confirmed. The stress exponent change may be attributed to microstructural change. On the other hand, the drop in creep rupture strength was more remarkable than that expected from both the stress exponent change and the Monkman-Grant rule in heats A and B. The decrease in creep ductility in heats A and B causes the deviation of data point from the Monkman-Grant rule. This deviation contributes to the large drop in creep rupture strength in heats A and B.

Acknowledgement The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to K. Yokokawa, O. Kanemaru, K. Kubo, T. Ohba, Dr. H. Kushima, H. Miyazaki and all the members involved in the Creep Data Sheet project for their collaboration in creep tests. References [1] F. Masuyama : ISIJ Int., 2001, vol.41, pp.612-625. [2] F. Masuyama, T. Yokoyama, Y. Sawaragi and A. Iseda : Proc. on Materials for Advanced Power Engineering, 1994, part I, pp.173-181. [3] K. Kimura : Proc. of 2005 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Division Conference, 2005, PVP2005-71039. [4] K. Kimura : Proc. of 2006 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Division Conference, 2006, PVP2006-ICPVT11-93294. [5] Thermal Power Standard Code, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japanese Government, Tokyo, Dec. 14 (2005). [6] Thermal Power Standard Code, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japanese Government, Tokyo, July 10 (2007). [7] M. Yoshizawa, M. Igarashi and A. Iseda : CAMP-ISIJ, 2005, vol.18, pp1549. [8] M. Nakashiro, S. Kihara, Y. Tumita and I. Kajigaya : J. Soc. Mat. Sci., Japan, 1994, vol. 43, pp.203-209. [9] R. Viswanathan and J. Foulds : Trans. ASME, J. Pressure Vessel Tech., 1998, vol. 120, pp.105-115. [10] H. Kushima, K. Kimura and F. Abe : Tetsu-to-Hagane, 1999, vol. 85, pp.841-847. [11] K. Kimura, K. Sawada, K. Kubo and H. Kushima : Proc. on Life Management and Maintenance for Power Plants, 2004, vol.2, pp.465-476. [12] K. Kimura, K. Sawada, K. Kubo and H. Kushima : Proc. of 2004 ASME/JSME Pressure Vessel and Piping Conference, 2004, PVP2004-2566. [13] N. Komai and T. Imazato : Proc. of 8th Liege Conf. on Materials for Advanced Power Engineering, 2006, part II, pp.997-1009. [14] NIMS Creep Data Sheet, No.54, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan, 2008. [15] A. Iseda, H. Teranishi and F. Masuyama : Tetsu-to-Hagane, 1990, vol.76, pp.1076-1083. [16] K. Maruyama and H. Oikawa : J. Japan Inst. Metals, 1991, vol.55, pp.1189-1193. [17] J. Cadek : Creep in Metallic Materials, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1998. [18] F. C. Monkman and N. J. Grant, Proc. ASTM, 1956, vol.56, pp.595. [19] J. S. Lee, H. G. Armaki, K. Maruyama, T. Muraki and H. Asahi : Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2006, vol.A428, pp.270-275.

Table 1 C heat A (T23) heat B (T23) heat C (P23) 0.05 0.06 0.07 Nb heat A (T23) heat B (T23) heat C (P23) 0.05 0.06 0.04 Si 0.2 0.22 0.18 Al 0.002 0.002 0.009

Chemical compositions(mass%) and heat treatment conditions. Mn 0.12 0.43 0.24 N 0.007 0.004 0.006 P 0.014 0.013 0.009 B 0.0033 0.0021 0.0034 S 0.002 0.003 0.002 Cr 2.33 2.27 2.58 Mo 0.25 0.12 0.27 W 1.54 1.67 1.60 V 0.23 0.26 0.22

Normalizing 1050oC / 10min A.C. 1050oC / 30min A.C. 1050oC / 30min A.C.

Tempering 770oC / 60min A.C. 770oC / 60min A.C. 770oC / 60min A.C.

Table 2

Mechanical property at room temperature.

Vickers hardness 0.2% proof stress / MPa 607 620 547

heat A heat B heat C

207 207 182

Table 3 500oC heat A heat B heat C 7.9 7.7 12 550oC 6.7 8.0 8.2

Stress exponent of minimum creep rate. 575oC 18 13 9.1 600oC 12 9.0 8.5 625oC high stress 13 7.8 9.5 low stress 3.9 4.2 5.3 650oC high stress 9.0 9.6 10 low stress 4.5 4.2 4.1

heat A

heat B

50m

50m

heat C

50m

Fig.1 Optical micrographs before creep.

500 300

500 300

Stress / MPa

Stress / MPa

100 80 60 40

500oC 550 C 575 C 600 C 625 C 650 C

o o o o o

100 80 60 40

500 C 550oC 575oC 600oC 625oC 650oC

ASME T23 heat A

10
3

ASME T23 heat B

10
3

20 1 10

10

10

10

20 1 10

10

10

10

Time to rupture / h
500 300

Time to rupture / h

Stress / MPa

100 80 60 40

500oC 550oC 575oC 600oC 625oC 650 C

o

ASME P23 heat C

10
3

20 1 10

10

10

10

Fig.2

Creep rupture strength for all steels.

Time to rupture / h

10

-3

10 500 C
o o

-3

500oC
-1

Minimum creep rate / h -1

550 C 10
-4

550oC 10
-4

600oC 625oC 10
-5

Minimum creep rate / h

575oC

575oC 600oC 625oC

650 C

10

-5

650oC

10

-6

10-6

10

-7

ASME T23 heat A

20 40 60 80 100 300 500

10

-7

ASME T23 heat B

20 40 60 80 100 300 500

10

-2

Stress / MPa
500oC

Stress / MPa

Minimum creep rate / h -1

10

-3

550oC 575oC 600oC

10

-4

625oC 650oC

10

-5

10-6

ASME P23 heat C

20 40 60 80 100 300 500

10

-7

Fig.3

Relationship between minimum creep rate and stress for all steels.

Stress / MPa
10
-2

10

-2

Minimum creep rate / h -1

10

-4

Minimum creep rate / h -1

10

-3

ASME T23 heat A

200MPa (382kJ/mol) 180MPa (385kJ/mol) 160MPa (765kJ/mol) 140MPa (633kJ/mol) 100MPa (563kJ/mol)

10

-3

ASME T23 heat B

200MPa (374kJ/mol) 180MPa (350kJ/mol) 160MPa (420kJ/mol) 140MPa (552kJ/mol) 100MPa (544kJ/mol)

10

-4

10

-5

10

-5

10

-6

10-6

10 0.001
10
-2

-7

0.0011

0.0012

0.0013
-1

0.0014

10 0.001

-7

0.0011

0.0012

0.0013
-1

0.0014

-1

/ K

T
200MPa (377kJ/mol) 180MPa (386kJ/mol) 160MPa (342kJ/mol) 140MPa (395kJ/mol) 120MPa (431kJ/mol) 100MPa (371kJ/mol)

-1

/K

Minimum creep rate / h -1

10

-3

ASME P23 heat C

10

-4

10

-5

10-6

10 0.001

-7

Fig.4
0.0011 0.0012 0.0013 0.0014

Relationship between minimum creep rate and temperature for all steels.

T -1 / K -1

10

5 o

10

10

(a)
Time to rupture / h
10
4

500 C 550oC 10
4

(b)
Time to rupture / h

500oC 550 C -0.68

o

(c)
Time to rupture / h
10
4

500oC 550oC

-0.63 10
3

-0.83

10

-0.78

10

-0.84 -1.0

102

102

102

ASME T23 heat A

101 -7 10 10
-6

ASME T23 heat B

-5

ASME P23 heat C

-5

10

10

-4

10

-3

10

-2

101 -7 10

10

-6

10

10

-4

10

-3

10

-2

101 -7 10

10

-6

10

-5

10

-4

10

-3

10

-2

-1 Minimum creep rate / h

-1 Minimum creep rate / h

-1 Minimum creep rate / h

10

10

5 o

10

(d)
Time to rupture / h
10
4

575oC 600oC 625oC -1.2 650oC 10

4

(e)
Time to rupture / h
-1.1 10
3

575 C 600oC 625oC 650oC 10

4

(f)
Time to rupture / h
-0.98
3

575oC 600oC 625oC 650oC

10

10

102

ASME T23 heat A

-7

102

102

ASME T23 heat B

-5

ASME P23 heat C

-5

10

10

10

-6

10

10

-4

10
-1

-3

10

-2

10

10

-7

10

-6

10

10

-4

10
-1

-3

10

-2

10

10

-7

10

-6

10

-5

10

-4

10
-1

-3

10

-2

Minimum creep rate / h

Minimum creep rate / h

Minimum creep rate / h

Fig. 5
60 500 C 50 40 30 20 10 550 C
o o

Relationship between minimum creep rate and time to rupture.

60

575 C 600 C
o

625 C 650 C
o

500oC 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 10 550 C
o

575oC 600 C
o

625oC 650oC

Elongation / %

Elongation / %

ASME T23 heat A

10
2

ASME T23 heat B

10
2

0 1 10

10

10

10

10

10

10

Time to rupture / h
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 10 500oC 550 C 10
2 o

Time to rupture / h

ASME P23 heat C

Elongation / %

575oC 600 C 10
3 o

625oC 650oC 10
4

Fig.6
10
5

Creep ductility for all steels.

Time to rupture / h

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

25m
Fig.7 Optical micrographs of crept samples at 550oC. (a) heat A, tr = 194.4h, (b) heat A, tr = 7971.0h, (c) heat B, tr = 225.2h, (d) heat B, tr = 6900.5h, (e) heat C, tr = 373.9h, (f) heat C, tr = 10164.7h

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

25m
Fig.8 Optical micrographs of crept samples at 625oC. (a) heat A, tr = 260.8h, (b) heat A, tr = 4537.8h, (c) heat A, tr = 11267.6h, (d) heat B, tr = 160.2h, (e) heat B, tr = 4200.7h, (f) heat B, tr = 13559.3h, (g) heat C, tr = 119.3h, (h) heat C, tr = 6406.8h

log

log t r

log t r

&m t r = K

&m log

&m log
Heat C at 625oC and 650oC

log

&m t r = K
log

Deviation from the Monkman -Grant rule

log t r

log t r

&m log

&m log
Heat A and B at 625oC and 650oC

log

Fig.9

Schematic illustration for effect of deformation behavior on rupture behavior.

500 300

Stress / MPa

100 80 60 40

500oC 550oC 575oC 600oC 625oC 650oC Black : heat A Red : heat B Blue : heat C 10
3

20 1 10

10

10

10

Time to rupture / h
Fig.10 Comparison of creep rupture strength in all steels.