Effect of Microstructure on the Accelerated Creep of 20CrMoV12‐1 and P 91 Steels

In the initial part the change of microstructure for steel X20 CrMoV 121 is discussed in terms of the distribution of carbide precipitates and its effects on accelerated creep resistance and hardness are presented. In the following, experimental results of microstructure and accelerated creep resistance are presented for the steels X20CrMoV 121 and P91 annealed for up to 8760 hours at 650°C and 750°C before the testing. A similar evolution of the distribution of carbide particles of a size above 102 nm is found for both steels, while the accelerated creep resistance is diminished much stronger for the steel X20CrMoV 121. This difference is due to a greater stability of NbC than that of VC precipitates, both related to the evolution of the chemical composition of complex chromium, molybdenum and iron carbide particles.