Research on elastic-plastic creep damage of notched P92 steel specimens

Creep tests were performed on P92 steel specimens with notches of three different sizes at 650 °C. The results showed that the specimens switched from exhibiting ductility to showing brittleness at their center and at the notch root under multiaxial stress, but to varying degrees. This transformation was accompanied by a decrease in the reduction in area as well as in the number of dimples in the sample cross-section. The multiaxiality had a marked impact on the precipitation of the secondary phase, with its value determining the extent of precipitation of the secondary phase at the center and the root of the notch during creep. Using finite element analysis, an elastic-plastic creep damage model is embedded into the interface program and the creep behavior of the notched specimens was simulated. The results showed that plastic deformation at the notch root can accelerate specimen damage.     

Investigating creep rupture and damage behaviour in notched P92 steel specimen using a microscale modelling approach

Idealized random grains separated by pseudo grain boundaries were generated by using Voronoi tessellation to simulate the polycrystalline microstructure. Combined with finite element analyses, this approach made it possible to addressing crack initiation and progressive failure due to crack growth in notched bar geometries of P92 steel at high temperature. The calculations provided good predictions for creep rupture lives of notched specimen with different notch radii and external stress. Simultaneously, irregular crack growth shape, intergranular crack mode, and wedge cracks at triple grain interaction were captured in the model. The crack initiation positions were found to be influenced by notch radius and applied stress causing high stress triaxiality at the subgrain level. Furthermore, the preferential crack growth directions were changed as the notch varied from sharp to blunt.     

Influence of initial ovality on creep life of P92 pipe bends subjected to in-plane bending

Initial ovality is an inevitable problem in the process of pipe bends manufacturing which results in the stress redistribution of the pipe bends working at high temperature. In order to study the influence of ovality on creep life of pipe bends, full-size creep experiment of P92 pipe bend subjected to in-plane bending has been conducted. The creep strains and outside diameters of dangerous positions have been measured. The microstructures of three different positions of the pipe bend were compared through SEM and the results showed the number and size of the carbide precipitation were the largest at the flank of the pipe bend, which indicated that the creep damage developed fastest at the flank. The modified Kachanov–Robatnov constitutive equations were used to stimulate the creep of P92 pipe bends with FEA software. The representative stress, damage and multiaxiality distributions of the pipe bends have been discussed. The FEA results were consistent with the experimental results and the influence of initial ovality on creep life of P92 pipe bends were analyzed. The results showed that creep life of pipe bends reduced by the increase of ovality and their relationship coincided with the parabolic law.     

Isochronous creep rupture loci on deviatoric plane and its application to P92 steel creep behaviour under multiaxial stress state

The transformation relationship of the coordinate variables between principal stress space and deviatoric stress plane has been deduced and the isochronous creep rupture loci of disparate criteria have been described on deviatoric stress plane so as to analyze the creep behaviour under multiaxial stress state. The creep experiments of P92 steel smooth and notched specimens subjected to various stresses at 650 °C have been conducted. A modified constitutive model for the creep of P92 steel has been proposed and used to simulate the creep of P92 steel notched specimens with FEA software. The FEA results were consistent with the experimental data and the fracture morphology observation. It was found that the Hayhurst criterion had the best correlation with the experimental results of P92 steel under multiaxial stress state than other criteria through the comparison of the isochronous creep rupture loci on deviatoric plane.     

A comparison of three weld consumables for P92 under creep

Abstract

To encourage realistic power plant weld heat-affected zone failures within reasonable test times in laboratory creep testing, a welding consumable for P92 steel with the best creep performance was sought, to avoid failures in the weld metal itself. Therefore, a short term creep test programme was undertaken to evaluate weld pads manufactured using three commercially available consumables for P92, the results of which are presented in this paper. The effects of weld consumable composition are discussed both in general and with specific reference to the behaviour observed. The best overall and the poorest performing weld consumables were identified by composition. Microstructural investigations revealed the presence of precipitate free zones, that more readily formed using the poorest performing consumable as the result of retained δ–ferrite, since its deposited chemical composition led to the lowest value of δ–ferrite formation temperature. A consumable not based on P92 but on the stronger steel alloy FB2 did not perform as well as expected, confirming previous suggestions that the compositional factors which make a parent material creep-strong do not apply on a one-to-one basis to weld metals.     

Finite element analysis and experimental research on notched strengthening effect of P92 steel

Abstract

The notched strengthening effect during creep of P92 steel has been studied by finite element analysis and experimental research. It was found that there was a transforming tendency from ductile to brittle at the root of the notch and the extent of the transforming intensified with the increment of the nominal stress. It was the transforming tendency that increased the value of creep life enhancement factor. With the help of finite element software, Kachanov–Rabotnov creep damage constitutive model was embedded into the interface program and the notched specimens creep was simulated. The result has shown the Kachanov–Rabotnov model can be used to simulate the notched strengthening effect of P92 steel accurately when the material constant α?=?0·73.     

Study on creep mechanical behaviour of P92 steel under multiaxial stress state

The creep mechanical behaviour of P92 steel at 650°C has been studied by experimental research and finite element analysis. During the creep of P92 steel, there existed the notched strengthening effect, which was influenced by the shapes of the notch and the nominal stress. Under the condition of the same notch depth, the creep life enhancement factor increased with decreasing notched radius or the increase of stress. The multiaxial stress caused by the notch effect had a significant influence on the evolution of the microstructure and resulted in a transforming tendency from ductile to brittle at the root of the notch. The fracture position varied with the shapes of the notch: the U shaped notch started to fracture at the root of the notch, while the C shaped notch in the centre of the specimen. The creep process of notched specimens was simulated by embedding Kachanov–Rabotnov creep damage constitutive model into the interface program of finite element software. The result showed that damage distribution of notched specimens varied during the process of creep. The maximum damage location at the end of creep depended on the notch shape: with larger notch radius the maximum damage location was in the centre, while smaller radius of notch specimens was near the notch root, which was consistent with the analysis of the fracture morphology.     

Proposal of a new concept on creep fracture remnant life for a precracked specimen

Abstract

The creep life time of a smooth specimen can be predicted using existing laws for creep deformation and steady state creep rate. When crack growth behaviour is involved, it is necessary to construct a law of creep crack growth rate to predict creep fracture life. Creep fracture life can be measured by integrating the law of creep crack growth rate. One example is the creep crack growth rate, represented by the parameter Q*. In this study, we investigated the applicability of this prediction method to creep fracture remnant life for a cracked specimen. The Ω criterion is proposed to predict creep fracture remnant life for a smooth specimen for creep ductile materials. In this study, the correlation between Q*_L derived from the paremeters Q* and Ω is investigated. The correlation between Q_L* and Ω provided a unified theoretical prediction law of creep fracture remnant life for high-temperature creep-ductile materials in the range from smooth to precracked specimens.     

Influence of precipitation on dislocation substructure and creep properties of P91 steel weld joints

Abstract

Two trial weld joints were prepared using the GTAW and SMAW methods and they underwent creep testing at temperatures between 525 and 625°C. The longest time to rupture was 45,811 h. Two main processes occurred during creep exposures: recovery and precipitation of secondary phases. Slight coarsenings of the M₂₃C₆ carbide, precipitation of Laves phase and Z-phase were observed after long tests at high temperatures. Some differences in microstructure and creep failure were found in the individual zones of weldments. After long exposure at temperatures up to 600°C, fractures occurred in the fine-grain heat-affected zone as a result of a low density of fine vanadium nitride and a high density of coarse particles at grain and subgrain boundaries. At 625°C, growth of Laves phase caused a softening of the ferritic matrix and crack propagation in the weld metal.     

Experimental investigation of specimen size effect on creep crack growth behavior in P92 steel welded joint

In order to clarify the effect of constraint induced by specimen size on creep crack growth behavior of P92 steel welded joint, creep crack tests were carried out on the compact tension specimens with thick thickness and thin thickness, the crack tip of which were located at different distinct zones of welded joint. Tested results revealed that even in thin thickness specimens, fine grained heat affected zone specimens exhibited a fast creep crack growth rate compared with other micro-zones specimens due to a low creep crack resistance and a high multistress state. The fractographies of these specimens exhibited an accelerated number of spherical particles that were caused by the coalescence of creep voids. Furthermore, the correlation of C^* with creep crack growth rate was dependent on specimen thickness. As the specimen thickness increased from 10 to 30 mm, the creep crack growth rate increased. This was due to the increase in constraint level ahead of crack tip during creep crack propagation.     

Effect of stress regime‐dependent creep behaviour on measurement of creep strain rate based on small specimen techniques

Small specimen creep testing technique has become a hot topic of research as bulk materials are not available in many occasions. The stress distributions in the small specimens such as small punch and 3‐point bending specimens are essentially nonuniform. As it is known, the creep deformation/damage accumulation mechanisms exhibited at a high stress regime are not the same as the ones at a lower stress regime for many engineering alloys. The potential measurement errors because of stress regime‐dependent creep behaviour, however, has not been considered in the determination of the creep parameters based on small specimen testing in the previous studies. In this paper, 2 kinds of materials that show different Norton's parameters at the corresponding stress regimes are examined. A simple case of 2‐bar structure is firstly adopted to illustrate the measurement error of creep strain rate because of stress regime‐dependent creep behaviour. Furthermore, clamped beam bending testing and small punch testing are investigated to demonstrate the significance of measurement error using the same materials. It is shown that an error of more than 8 times may occur near the transition point of creep deformation mechanism depending on specimen types and materials. Attention should thus be paid to the selection of stress level in the small specimen testing to avoid significant measurement errors.     

Experimental and numerical characterization of low cycle fatigue and creep fatigue behaviour of P92 steel welded joint

Low cycle fatigue (LCF) and creep fatigue interaction (CFI) behaviour of P92 steel welded joint were investigated experimentally and numerically. Strain‐controlled LCF tests at different strain amplitudes and CFI tests at different peak strain holding time were conducted. Evolutions of cyclic stress response, mean stress, and creep strain during cycling were described, in which the influence of strain amplitude and holding time were investigated. A specific heat treatment process was proposed to get the homogenous simulated material of fine grain region and coarse grain region in the heat affected zone. Material parameters of parent material, fine grain heat affected zone, coarse grain heat affected zone, and weld metal in the unified viscoplasticity model were then determined and validated. To predict the LCF and CFI behaviour of welded joint, 3‐dimensional unified viscoplasticity model with a modified isotropic variable was compiled into ABAQUS UMAT. The comparison between the predicted and experimental result under LCF and CFI loadings showed that the simulation results were reasonable and agreed with the experimental data well.     

Research on representative stress and fracture ductility of P92 steel under multiaxial creep

Creep experiments on both plain and notched specimens were conducted at 650 °C over a stress range of 120–185 MPa. The notch strengthening effect was found to exhibit in notched specimens. By using stress components at the skeletal point, several expressions of representative stress were compared to validate their effectiveness in predicting creep rupture lives of P92 steel under multiaxial stress states. The results showed that Hayhurst representative stress was more suitable for life predictions of P92 steel. In the mean time, the relationship between the fracture ductility and multiaxiality was presented to investigate the influence of the multiaxial stress states on creep rupture behavior of P92 steel. A more reasonable prediction model was proposed, and the validity of the model was verified by experimental data.     

Characterization of incubation time on creep crack growth for weldments of P92

Most structures are mainly fabricated by welding which are likely to be regions of crack initiation and propagation. In such weldment, it is known that the multi-axial stress fields appear due to the plastic constraint induced by the differences in material micro-structure between the weld metal, heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal. In the present study, the experiments of creep crack growth tests and the structural mechanical analyses of weldment were conducted to understand the effects of stress multi-axiality of weldment on the characteristics of creep crack growth, creep deformation and creep ductility. Additionally, to characterize the time of creep crack initiation up to the start of a brittle type creep crack growth, the distribution of stress multi-axiality (TF) through the base metal, fine-grain HAZ, coarse-grain HAZ to weld metal were investigated.     

Effect of multiaxial stress state on creep damage in ASME T92 welded joint

This study reports the type IV fracture process and the influence of multiaxial stress state in ASME T92 welded joints during creep. The type IV fracture occurs at the fine‐grained heat‐affected zone (ie, FGHAZ), involving void initiation, growth, and coalescence, microcrack occurrence, propagation and extension, and eventual macrocrack with consequent joint failure. The creep damage is not uniformly distributed along the thickness direction in the FGHAZ, and the central part of the welded joint is the most seriously damaged region. The equivalent creep strain is higher at the external surface, but the stress triaxiality is larger in the centre section. Large equivalent creep strain could promote creep void initiation, whereas high hydrostatic pressure and stress triaxiality factor accelerate void growth in the FGHAZ of T92 joints. Besides, reducing groove angle and HAZ width of the joints is recommended to delay the occurrence of type IV cracking because of lower equivalent creep strain and stress triaxiality factor.     

Effects of Sn segregation and precipitates on creep response of Mg‐Sn alloys

Mg‐Sn alloys are promising for the development of new cheap creep resistant magnesium alloys. In the present paper, the creep behaviours of Mg‐Sn and Mg‐Sn‐Ca alloys were examined at the constant temperature and different stresses. The measurements of stress exponents indicate that the dislocation climbing is the dominant mechanism during the creep of Mg‐3Sn or Mg‐3Sn‐2Ca alloys. The poor creep resistance of the binary Mg‐3Sn alloy is caused by the easy movement of dislocation and the segregation of Sn at the boundaries. Both T4 and T6 heat treatments improve the creep resistance of Mg‐3Sn alloy due to the alleviation of Sn segregation at grain boundaries and the precipitation of Mg₂Sn particles, respectively. Ca is an effective alloying element to increase the creep resistance of Mg‐Sn alloys. The Ca addition leads to the formation of thermal stable phases Mg₂Ca and CaMgSn in Mg‐3Sn‐Ca alloys. These two phases effectively hinder the movement of dislocations and the sliding of grain boundaries. On the other hand, the addition of Ca alleviates the segregation of Sn by the interaction of Ca with Mg and Sn to form the phase CaMgSn.     

基于Norton-Bailey模型的P92钢初期蠕变过程分析

以Norton-Bailey时间硬化模型和Kachanov损伤模型为基础,提出一种能够全面描述蠕变全寿命期蠕变变形发展的本构模型。与Norton-Bailey模型相比,该模型可以更准确地反映蠕变第一阶段的变形累积,以Kachanov损伤演化方程描述蠕变第三阶段的变化;推导模型第一阶段和第三阶段的参数确定方法;根据实验数据,确定P92钢的模型参数。将该模型嵌入到在ANSYS接口程序中,并用于高温合金钢P92的蠕变寿命计算,结果表明模型与实验数据基本吻合。     

Formation of rafting and cellular-like precipitates during creep

Abstract

Evolution of γ′ precipitates during creep has been investigated over a wide range of temperatures from 760 to 1100°C in a liquid metal cooling directionally solidified nickel-based superalloy. Cubic γ′ precipitates were found to remain in the specimens crept at low temperatures, while rafting and cellular-like precipitates remained at intermediate and high temperatures, respectively.     

High temperature test rig for inert atmosphere miniature specimen creep testing

A creep test rig is described which allows to perform creep experiments with miniature tensile creep specimens under an inert gas atmosphere at temperatures up to 1150°C. Previous work on the development of a miniature tensile creep test procedure is described. The key elements of the new inert gas system are then described. The test rig yields reliable creep data. Three examples for applications of the new system addressing grain boundary sliding in a TiAl alloy, creep cavitation and damage accumulation in copper and to provide high temperature creep data for a Co‐Re‐Cr alloy are given.     

Rationalization and extrapolation of creep and creep fracture data for Grade 91 steel

Abstract

New relationships are shown to allow straightforward rationalization and extended extrapolation of multi-batch creep data sets for Grade 91 steel (9Cr –1MoVNb). Specifically, after normalizing the applied stress through the appropriate UTS value, creep property measurements at different temperatures are superimposed onto sigmoidal ‘master curves’ using the activation energy for lattice diffusion in the alloy steel matrix (300 kJ mol^–1). In contrast to currently-adopted analysis procedures, applying the new methodology to results from tests lasting less than 30,000 h allows the minimum creep rates, the times to various creep strains and the creep lives to be predicted accurately for stress-temperature conditions causing failure in times approaching or even exceeding 100,000 h.