Review of Type IV Cracking of Weldments in 9 - 12%Cr PDF

25/05/2016
ReviewoftypeIVcrackingofweldmentsin912%Crcreepstrengthenhancedferriticsteels
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ReviewoftypeIVcrackingofweldmentsin912%Crcreep
strengthenhancedferriticsteels
D.J.AbsonandJ.S.Rothwell*
TWILtd
InternationalMaterialsReviews,November2013,58(8),437473.
Abstract
Theimprovementofthermalefficiencyofpowerplantshasprovidedtheincentiveforthedevelopmentofthe
martensiticferritic912%Crcreepresistantsteels.Goodprogresshasbeenmadeindevelopingsuchsteels,which
arebeingusedparticularlyinthewroughtformastubesandpipesforfossilfuelledpowerstations.Theyarealso
findinguseinhightemperatureprocessplantwithintheoilandgassector,andarebeingconsideredforusein
generationIVnucleardesigns.Thehightemperatureconditionsthatthesesteelsoperateunderinfossilfuelledpower
stationsinducetypeIVcracking.Thistypeofcrackingoccursintheintercriticalorfinegrainregionoftheheated
affectedzoneviaacreepmechanism,andresultsinfractureswithrelativelylittletotalcrossweldstrain.Despitethe
occurrenceoftypeIVcrackingexperiencedinloweralloypredecessors,successoralloyshavebeenintroducedand
widelyusedwithinsufficientconsiderationgiventotheconsequencesofweldingthem.Unfortunately,thenewer
steelssufferfromreducedcrossweldcreepstrengthduetotypeIVcrackingtoagreaterdegreeinthetemperature
rangeofoperationexpectedofthem,andthusmanyfailuresbythismechanismhaveoccurred.ThesubjectoftypeIV
crackinghasbeenanareaofactiveresearchinterest.Thisreviewaimstoserveasanupdate,drawingselectivelyon
someofthevastamountofliteraturethathasbeenpublishedoverthelast30years.
Introduction
Improvedthermalefficiencyofpowerplanthasbeenthemaindriverforthedevelopmentofferriticmartensitic9
12%Crcreepresistantsteelsthatarealsocommonlyknownascreepstrengthenhancedferritic(CSEF)steels.The
targetoperatingtemperatureforthesesteelsis650uC,withacommontargetdesignlifeof100000h.Increasingly,
thedemandforefficiencyislinkedtoeffortstoreduceCO2emissions,inordertomeetenvironmentalobligationsand
minimiseanyformofpunitiveenvironmentaltax.Figure1illustrateshowCO2emissionsvarywiththermal
efficiency.1GovernmentagenciessuchastheDepartmentofEnergyintheUSAarefundinglarge,ambitiousprojects
forthedevelopmentofultrasupercritical(USC)powerplantdesignedtooperateat760Candconversionsfrom
supercriticaltoUSCoperationsat700ChavebeencarriedoutinJapan.2Retrofittingofexistingplantisapopular
optionforimprovingoutputwithminimalinvestment,sinceexistingfittingscanbeused.TheinclusionofCO2capture
andstoragetechnologyforfossilfuelpowerplantsrepresentsasignificantadvanceintermsofcombatingCO2.
However,italsoreducesoveralloutputefficiencyandthereforethereisanadditionalincentiveforraisingoperating
temperaturesandpressuresinordertomaintainthesameamountofsaleableenergyperpowerstation.
AnexampleofthematerialsusedinthesestateoftheartprojectsisillustratedinFig.2.ThisAlstomshowpiece
demonstratesachievementsindissimilarmetaljoiningnecessaryforminimisingcapitalcosts.3Alloydevelopment
programmesthatinvolvethecollaborationofmanypartnersfromindustryandacademiafeedintothehigh
temperatureplantinitiativesandanexampleofthisistheEuropeanCooperationinScienceandTechnology(COST)
programmethathasdevelopedalloysforuseintheAD700initiativeandotherstateoftheartfossilpowerplant
suchastheNeurathplanttobeconstructedinGermany.4Manyofthesetechnicallychallengingnewpowerplants
incorporatethelatestferriticalloydevelopmentsandanincreasingamountofausteniticandnickelbasedmaterials,
whilemoreconservativeconstructionsrelyonestablished,codedsteelsthathavebeenavailableforsometime,such
asgrades91and92thatarepopularpressurevesselmaterials,andthatrepresentthecurrenthighestperforming
typesinthe9%Crfamilyofsteels.Inthedevelopingeconomies,suchasthatofChina,whereconstructionofnew
powerplantisveryrapid,thedemandforthesekindsofmaterialshasrecentlybeenbeyondtherateofsupply.5This
hugedemandforsuchmaterialscontinues,despitesignificantproblemsexperiencedwiththemduringfabricationand
service.
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1PlotshowingtheexpectedreductioninCO2emissionsby
increasedplantefciencyperunitenergy1
Table1andFig.3illustratehow,overtheyears,goodprogresshasbeenmadeindevelopingcreepresistantsteels
whicharebeingusedparticularlyintheforgedformastubesandpipesinboilers,butwhicharealsobeingconsidered
forrotorsandtheircastvariantsforturbinecasings.Suchsteelsarealsobeingconsideredforthenewbreedof
nuclearreactors(generationIV),andbeyondthepowerindustry,theoilrefineryindustryhasbecomemore
interestedinthisfamilyofsteelsforpressurevesselsandpiping.Theimprovementoftensileandcreeprupture
strengthisattractivetodesignerswhowanttotakeadvantageofthehigherhottensileandcreepstrengthtoreduce
pipewallthicknesses,andtherebyminimisethermalstressesforamorereliableplant.Thisisincreasinglyimportant
fortodayspowerplants,whicharesubjecttotemperaturecyclesinanefforttorespondtothepeaksandtroughsof
demand,andimproveprofitability.Aschematicillustrationofthereductioninpipewallthicknesspossiblethroughthe
useofmoreadvancedmaterialsispresentedinFig.4.
Muchlessattentionwaspaidinitiallytocrossweldtestingofthe9%Crsteels,notwithoutquitediscomforting
consequencesforthepowerindustry.Also,incorrectheattreatmentofgrade91steelinparticularandaninitially
detrimentalallowablealuminiumlevelhavecontributedtopoorcreepperformance.However,themostsignificant,
weldrelatedproblemthathasplaguedthepowerindustryforover40yearsandthatstillhasnotbeenovercome,
despitealloydevelopment,hasbeenthephenomenonoftypeIVcracking.Thisiscreepfailurethatoccursinthe
heatedaffectedzone(HAZ)ofweldedjoints,particularlyinhighalloyprecipitationstrengthenedgradesthatare
populartoday,suchasgrades91and92.Thesegradeshaveatemperedmartensitemicrostructurethatissolid
solutionstrengthened,butwithmuchofthestrengthderivedfromfine
[Zoom]
2Demonstrationshowpieceillustratingthematerialsandjoiningtechniques
thatareunderconsiderationforthenewUSCplants3
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Table1Developmentof912%Crsteels67,178
Years
Alloymodification
AdditionofMoorNb,V
19601970 tosimple12Crand9Cr
steels
600C/105hcreep
rupture
strength/MPa
Examplealloys
Maximummetaluse
temperature/C
60
EM12,HCM9M,HT9,Tempaloy
F9,HT91
565
HCM12,T91,HCM2S
593
620
19701985 OptimisationofC,Nb,V 100

19851995
PartialsubstitutionofW
130
forMo
P92,P122,P911(NF616,
HCM12A)
Emerging
IncreaseWandaddition
150
ofCo,BandcontrolledN
NF12,SAVE12,MARN,MARB2,
650
MARBN
[Zoom]
3Chartshowingtheprogressivedevelopmentof912%Crsteels64,67
MXprecipitatessuchasvanadiumnitride(VN).ThecompositionofpopularcreepresistantsteelsisgiveninTable
2.162,163
Safetyis,ofcourse,ofprimaryconcerninthedesignandmanufactureofplantintendedforsteamservice.
Improvementsindesign,weldintegrityandinspectiontechniqueshaveallcontributedtoimprovedsafety,withthe
knowledgegainedbeingincorporatedintorelevantcodesandstandards.Anincreasedunderstandingoftheroleof
defectsinfailurehasbeenreflectedinassessmentcodes,withanimprovedabilitytodetectandsizedefects
[Zoom]
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4Illustrationshowingpossiblereductioninwall
thicknessachievablethroughuseofadvanced
9%Crparentalloys:temperature5600uC
pressure530Nmm22100000hlife94
contributingtoimprovedsafetyarisingfromtheiruse.AnunderstandingofthephenomenonoftypeIVcrackingand
oftheextentoflongtermcreepstrengthdegradation,andstrategiesforimprovedperformance,wouldconstitutea
usefuladditiontoexistingknowledge,andwouldhelpdesignersandoperatorstotaketherightdecisionswhen
designing,operatingorrepairingplant,tomaximiseoverallsafety,operatingefficiencyandplantavailability.
Inthisdocument,thephenomenonoftypeIVcracking,particularlywithrespecttoweldmentsin912%Crsteels,
hasbeenreviewed,andassociatedtechnologygapsthatexistincurrentmaterialsandpracticeshavebeendiscussed.
TypeIVcrackingcharacteristicsandcauses
Introduction
TheproblemoftypeIVcrackinghasexistedformanyyearsinpowerplantoperatedatelevatedtemperatures.As
earlyas1974,intestscarriedoutat550C,SchullerinGermanyreportedthelowcrossweldstrengthofweldments
inDIN10CrMo910(equivalenttoAISIA182gradeF22225%Cr1%Mo).6Heobservedthat,intestsextendingto
morethan104h,thecrossweldstrengthfellmorethan20%belowthatoftheparentsteel.IntheUK,manypower
stationsbuiltinthe1960sand1970sincorporatedalargeamountof05%Cr05%Mo025%Vsteel(BS3604
grade660)thatallowedasubstantialriseintheoperatingtemperature(fromaround540Cupto565C)forcoal
firedplant.7ProblemswithfabricationcrackingwerefollowedbylongtermfailuremechanismssuchastypeIV
cracking.Meanwhile,continentalEuropedeployedthe12%CrsteelX20CrMoV121(X20),withmodestservice
temperaturesinthinnersectionsizes,andencounteredfewproblems,thankstoaninherentresistancetoreheat
crackingandaresistancetotypeIVcrackingatthelowerservicetemperatures.7Grade91,providedacheaperand
strongeralternativetoX20thatcouldbedeployedinhighertemperatureplantwithtargettemperaturesof600C.
Unfortunately,atthesehighertemperatures,theresistanceofbothX20,grade91,andofsubsequentlydeveloped
creepresistantsteelstotypeIVcracking,fallsinamoredramaticwaythanfortheirloweralloypredecessors.Early
determinationsoftheratioofcrossweldcreepstrengthtothatoftheparentsteelrevealedvaluessubstantiallybelow
unity.Townleygavea10000h/570Cvalueof065,andEtienneandHeeringsgavevaluesat550,600and650C,
determinedbyextrapolationtothedesignstressesof10,068and070respectively.8,9(Theseauthorsalsolisted
valuesformanyothermaterialsinelevatedtemperatureservice,includingX20.)AwarningnotewassoundedbyBru
hletal.,whomeasuredcrossweldcreepstrengthsthatweresubstantiallylowerthanparentsteelvalues.10,11This
andthefollowingwarningnoteofMiddletonappeartohavebeenlargelytonoavail:Theoperationofsupercritical
plantconstructedfromeithergrade91orX20steelsaty600uCwouldthereforeinvolveadegreeofriskoftypeIV
cracking,theleveldependingonthemediumtolongtermstrengthlossfoundforcrossweldtesting,unlessamodest
overdesignwereapplied.12Fromacomparisonofknowncreeprupturestrengthsandobservedfailuretimesofpower
plantwelds,Middletonalsodeducedthelikelylevelofsystemstresses.HecommentedthatAt600uCthesuperior
rupturestrengthofP91rendersitmoreresistanttotypeIVfailuresthanX20beyondy30kh.Thepresenceofa
creepweakHAZleadstoacrossweldrupturestrengththatisseverelyreduced,however,leadingtoamuchlower
toleranceofsystemstress,totheextentthatP91systemsoperatedat600uCarepredictednottosustainsystem
stresses>16MPawithoutriskoffailurefora40%strengthloss.Bruhletal.10,11alsonotedthat,whileweldmetal,
HAZandparentsteelaresubjectedtothesamestrainforcircumferentialwelds,thelowerHAZcreepstrengthofP91
weldmentsisofconcernforlongitudinalwelds,astheyaresubjectedtothesamestressastheparentsteel(whichis
twicethecrossweldpressurestresstowhichthegirthweldsaresubjected).
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Almostalltestinginalloydevelopmentprogrammesisforparentsteels,andextensivetestingprogrammeshavebeen
usedtooptimiseparentsteelcompositions.13Anycrossweldtestingappearscommonlytobeanafterthought,
althoughthepresenceofacreepweakHAZina9%Crsteelwasreported,asdiscussedabove,anddemonstratedon
simulatedHAZsaslongagoas1990byMiddletonandMetcalfe,whocarriedoutcreeprupturetestingongrade91
samplesthathadbeenheatedtotemperaturesbetweenAc1andAc3(intercriticalandausteniticphasefields)see
Fig.5.12Sincethen,similarstudieshavebeencarriedouthighlightingthepoorcreepstrengthofmaterialheated
abovetheAc1temperatureseeFigs.6and7.Agrowingbodyofdata,reviewedin1993byEtienneandHeerings,
revealedthelowercreepstrengthofweldments,withtheratioofcrossweldcreeprupturestrengthtothatofthe
parentsteelfallingintherangefrom05tounity.9However,asdiscussedinthesectiononDesigncodes,published
weldstrengthfactorsandextrapolationofdata,withafewexceptions,suchinformationhasbeenslowtofinditsway
intodesigncodes.
InterestintypeIVcrackinghasintensifiedinrecentyears.Serviceexperiencewithgrade91steelcomponentshas
revealedmanyearlyfailuresintheHAZ.14,15TheneedtoassessHAZcreeprupturestrengthhasbeenrecognisedin
JapanwhereextensivecrossweldtestingortheimpositionofsimulatedHAZheattreatments,followedbycreep
rupturetesting,havebeencarriedout.EuropeaninstitutesthathaveparticularinterestintheproblemoftypeIV
crackingincludetheUniversityof
Table2Chemicalcompositionofnew912%CrsteelsandexperimentalEuropeansteelFB2179
Element
Grade
91
NF616
Grade
HCM12A TB12M
(grade92)
911
Grade
122
FB2
0.08
0.12
0.070.13
0.07
0.14
0.10
0.15
0.09
0.13
0.07
0.14
0.13
Mn
0.20
0.60
0.300.60
0.70
0.40
0.60
0.30
0.60
0.70
0.82
Si
0.20
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.10
0.50
0.50
...
0.010 0.010
0.010 0.010 0.010 0.010
...
0.020 0.020
0.020 0.020 0.020 0.020
...
Cr
8.00
9.50
8.509.50
10.00
12.50
11.0
11.30
8.50
10.50
10.0
12.5
9.32
Mo
0.85
1.05
0.300.60
0.25
0.60
0.40
0.60
0.90
1.10
0.25
0.60
1.47
...
1.502.00
1.50
2.50
1.60
1.90
0.90
1.10
1.50
2.50
...
Co
...
...
...
...
...
...
0.96
Ni
0.40
0.40
0.50
0.701.0 0.40
0.50
0.16
Cu
...
...
0.30
1.70
...
...
0.30
1.70
...
0.18
0.25
0.150.25
0.15
0.30
0.15
0.25
0.18
0.25
0.15
0.30
0.20
Nb
0.06
0.10
0.400.09
0.09
0.10
0.04
0.09
0.06
0.10
0.04
0.10
0.05
0.030
0.070
0.030
0.070
0.040
0.100
0.04
0.09
0.040
0.090
0.040
0.100
0.019
Al
0.04
0.040
0.040 0.010 0.04
0.04
...
...
0.001
0.006
0.005 ...
0.0005
0.0083
0.005
...
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Sn
...
...
...
0.010 ...
...
...
As
...
...
...
0.010 ...
...
...
Sb
...
...
...
0.005 ...
...
...
105h
creep
600uC 94
(115)*
(115)
[150
(115)
(105h)]
...
...
rupture
strength
/MPa
650uC 50
(60)*
(60)
[80(105
(65)
h)]
...
():estimated...:notspecified.
*RobertsonandHoldsworthgive113MPafor100000hat600Cand56MPafor100000hat650C.180
5Inuenceofabriefholdatdifferentaustenitisingtemperatures,plus
subsequentPWHTat570or600Concreeprupturelifeforgrade91steel12
6PlotofcreeprupturestressdisplayingdataforP91parentmaterial,simulatedne
grainedheataffectedzoneandweldedjoints:allspecimensweresubjecttoa
760C/2hPWHTandweretestedatatemperatureof600C53
Nottingham,theUniversityofLoughborough,ImperialCollege,MPAStuttgartandtheTechnicalUniversityofGraz.
Thepoorcreepstrengthofweldedjointsgreatlyunderminestheadvantagesgainedthroughalloydevel
opments,andhasresultedinmanyunexpectedrepairs,severallargescalefailuresandasubsequentlossof
confidenceinthenewmaterials.ParticularlyintheUK,existingplantsintowhichgrade91steelhasbeenintroduced
inreplacementcomponents,commonlyheaders,orpowerplantconstructedinrecentdecadesmaycontainunder
designedcomponentsthatneedcarefulmonitoringand/orrepair.Itisonlyrecentlythatvaluablelongtermdataare
startingtobeincorporatedintodesigncodestohelppreventprematurefailures.InitiativessuchastheEuropean
CreepCollaborativeCommittee(ECCC)andthestatefundedanalysisofdatacarriedoutattheNationalInstituteof
MaterialScience(NIMS)inJapanhavebeensetuptocollectdatafordesignpurposes.However,althoughreliable
performancemaynowbedesignedinmoreeasilybywayofincreasedthicknessofmaterial,thepoorcreepstrength
ofweldsthatleadstotypeIVcrackingremains,andpreventstheimpressivepropertiesoftheparentalloysbeing
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ofweldsthatleadstotypeIVcrackingremains,andpreventstheimpressivepropertiesoftheparentalloysbeing
takenadvantageoftotheirfullextent.
Failurelocation
TheclassificationofservicecrackinginweldmentsdevisedbySchulleretal.,whichdescribesthelocationof
crackingrelativetotheweld,isstillusedtodayandisshowninFig.8.6,16TypesIIIIareassociatedwiththe
fabricationofajointandmaybesolidification,hydrogen,reheat,temperembrittlementandoccasionally
longtermcreeprelatedcracks.TypeIVcrackingformstowardstheouteredgeofthevisibleHAZ,besidetheparent
metal(Fig.9),andisexclusivelyacreepcrackingmechanismthatoccursafterlongdurations.
ToexplainthelocationoftypeIVcracksmorepreciselyinrelationtotheHAZmicrostructure,itisusefultoillustrate
thedifferentsubzonesthatcommonlyexistintheHAZ.Figure10showsasectionofthephasediagramforgrade91
steel,andhowdifferentpartsof
7RupturetimesforHAZsimulatedcouponsforASMEgrade
122steel:openpointsarefurnaceheattreated,andclosed
pointsrepresentcouponstreatedinaweldsimulator108
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8ClassicationofcrackinginweldmentsfromBrearandFleming,16according
toSchulleretal.6
thephasediagramrelatetothedifferentmicrostructuralregionsoftheHAZ.17WhileitiswellestablishedthattypeIV
crackingoccurstowardstheouteredgeofthevisibleHAZ,theexactlocation,intermsofmicrostructurehasbeen
reportedtooccurinboththeintercritically(IC)heatedHAZandthegrainrefinedorfinegrain(FG)HAZ.Thus,
thereisnotasingleHAZmicrostructuralregionassociatedwithtypeIVcracking.
9TypeIVcrackinginelectronbeamwelded9%Cr
1%Mosteel
amacrobmicroimage.mmscaleshown
Thedistinctionbetweenthetwozonesisnotasimpleonetoobserveinpractice.Figure11showstheHAZ
microstructureofarecentlydevelopedboroncontaining9%Crsteel(FB2),andillustratesthedifficultyof
distinguishingthedifferentpartsoftheHAZ.18Differentmaterials,weldingthermalcyclesandtemperaturestress
regimesmaybringaboutdifferencesintheobservedfailurelocation,althoughthefailurelocationinlongterm(low
stress)serviceismostcommonlyreportedtobethefinegrainedheataffectedzone(FGHAZ),ifstressestransverse
totheweldarethemostsignificant.Itisworthnotingthat,inmultiplepasswelds,thefinegrainedandintercritical
HAZregionsareessentiallyalmostcontinuousthroughthickness,unlikethecoarsegrainedheataffectedzone
(CGHAZ),whichmayexistindisconnectedregionsbesidethefusionboundary.Thisprovidesacontinuousregionthat
issusceptibletothephenomenon.Itshouldbenotedthatthenumberdensityofcavitiesisnotuniformacrossthe
section.Thehighestdensityofcavitiesisexpectedtooccuratmidsection,asobservedbyYaguchietal.,wherethe
triaxialityishighest.19Thisobservationclearlyhasimplicationsfortheuseofsurfacereplicastoinvestigatethe
extentofcreepcavitation.
TypeIIIaisanotherlongtermcreepfailuremechanism,associatedwithcarbonmigrationfromtheCGHAZnearthe
fusionboundaryoverthelifetimeoftheweldment,resultinginacarbidedepletedzonewithloweredcreepstrength
thatsubsequentlyleadstocracking.20Thistypeofcrackingisassociatedwithdifferencesinthecarbonactivityofthe
weldandHAZ,whichisoftenduetodifferencesintheCrconcentration.Ittendstobemoreprevalentinbuttwelds
wherelessinspectionisfocused,andconsequentlymoretimeisavailablefordiffusionanddevelopmentofcracksat
typicallylongerdurationsthantypeIVcracks.Themostcommonlyassociatedcombinationofmaterialsaffected
[Zoom]
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10SchematicrepresentationofthesubzonesoftheHAZcorrespondingtothe
calculatedphasediagramofX10CrMoVNb91(grade91type)steel.17
TheHAZassociatedwithasingleweldbeadisshown.TypeIVcrackingisassociatedwiththeintercritical
zoneortheadjacentfinegrainregion
bytypeIIIacrackingare1/2Cr1/2MoVsteelweldedwitha2Cr1Moweldmetal.However,denudedCGHAZsareof
muchconcernfor9Crjointsinvolvingloweralloybainiticorhigheralloyedmartensiticandausteniticsteels.21As
discussedinthesectiononTechnologygapsandfuturetrends,EPRIandMetrodeProductsLimitedhavedevelopeda
fillerfortheavoidanceofthisproblemwhichhasalowercarbonactivity,andisespeciallyusefulforweldingaustenitic
steelstoferriticormartensiticsteels.
CircumstancesgivingrisetotypeIVcracking
ServicefailuretimesfortypeIVcrackinghavebeenreportedtobetypically610years,buthavebeenasshortas35
000h.7,15WhilemuchoftheearliesttypeIVcrackingdetectedoccurredinheatswithlowN/Alratios(15),many
exampleswerefoundforwhichcrackingwasobservedafter58000hserviceinheatswithmuchhigherN/Alratios
(some>10,atnitrogenlevels>005%).Consequently,BrettcommentedthatBecause
thecrackingobservedtodatehasoccurredatsuchanearlystage,thereisunfortunatelyamplescopeforthisprocess
tocontinuewithevenmaterialwithquitehighN/Alratiopotentiallycrackingwithinthedesignlife(typically150,000
hours).WhetherornottypeIVcrackingwilloccurisinfluencedbythemicrostructuredevelopedbythequalityheat
treatment,theoperatingtemperatureandmostimportantlythestressstateofthecomponent.Fortransversetests,
themechanismisfavouredathighertemperaturesandlowerstresslevels.Athigherstressesandlower
temperatures,failuresaremorecommonintheweldmetalorparentmetal.Asthetemperatureisincreasedandthe
stressreduced,therecomesapointatwhichtypeIVcreepcrackingbecomesthedominantmechanism,asillustrated
schematicallyinFig.12andforexperimentalsteelFB2inFig.13.Thisimpliesthat,wheretheprimarystressisacross
theweld,belowacriticalorthresholdstresslevel,thecreepstraininaweldmentislocalised,andcreepfailureoccurs
inthetypeIVregionoftheHAZmuchearlierthanwouldbe
[Zoom]
11Heataffectedzoneregionofarupturedcreepcrossweldspecimenthat
failedbythetypeIVmechanism.
ThespecimenwasextractedfromafluxcoredarcweldmadeinapieceofFB2rotorsteel.Thetest
conditionswere625Cat110MPa.18Therupturetimewas9664h
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aHAZregiononnonrupturedside.Etchedin1:5v/vHcl(35%)anddistilledwaterwith051gK2S2O5,2g
NH4HF2per100gofsolutionbHAZregionbesiderupturewithanattemptatdefiningthedifferentregionsofthe
HAZ.Etchedin25%picric25%Hclv/vinethanol
12Schematicrepresentationofthereductionincreeprupturestrengthbeyondthe
onsetoftypeIVcrackingforweldmentsataxedtemperature.
Theexpectedfracturelocationforacrossweldspecimenisindicated.TypeIVcrackingoccursmuch
earlierthanforaparentorweldmetalspecimenunderthesametestconditions
expectedfortheparentsteel.Figure14showsthedependenceofcreeplifeontemperatureforweldmentsin
ASTM/ASMEgrade91steel,withalinedistinguishingtheboundaryconditionsfortypeIVcracking.Anapproximate
equationforthisboundaryis
log10(tf)=00235|(733T)(1)
wherelog10(tf)isthelogarithtobase10ofthetimetoruptureinhours,andTisthetemperatureinC.
Similarbehaviourisobservedingirthweldssubjecttohighsystemstressesthatincreasetheaxialloading,andseam
weldssubjecttopressureloadingwithhoopstressasthemaincomponent.12Itwasnotedinthesectionon
IntroductionthatlongitudinallyweldedpipeisnotspecifiedinUSAandmostEuropeancountries,duetohistoric
failuresofpipesthatresultedinfatalities.However,longitudinalseamsinheadersandotherpressurevesselsare
inevitable.
FromtheirexperimentalmeasurementsandsubsequentcomputationofthecreepofanX20vesselloadedat610C
withaninternalpressureof200bar,Steenetal.concludedthatthenormallyexpectedfailuremodeinapipeunder
pureinternalpressurewillbeHAZcrackingperpendiculartothehoopdirection.22Thelifetimeoftheweldjointwillfall
belowthelowerboundofthebasematerialscatterband,althoughwhennoweldefficiencyfactorisadopted,thetime
safetymarginmaybeverysmall.
CoussementanddeWitteinvestigatedtheseeffectsinX20andP91pressurisedvesseltests,andfoundthat
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TheexperimentallyobserveddependenceoftypeIVcrackingontemperature
andstressforweldmentsmadebyvariousprocessesinFB2steel.18
ThepointsboundingthedarkershadedredareatotheupperleftrepresenttypeIVfailures,i.e.fractures
locatedmainlyintheouterHAZregionandfeaturinglimitedductilitythoseboundingthegreyarea
representfailureslocatedintheparentorweldmetal,withhigherductility
14Failurelocationsforcrossweldsamplesofgrade91steelfordifferent
rupturelivesandtemperaturesdescribingthetemperaturedependenceoftype
IVcracking7
poorplacementofwelds,e.g.ontightradiiofendcaps,resultedinreducedfailuretimesduetoincreasedaxialstress
acrossthewelds.23Girthweldsthatweresubjectedtopurepressurefailedduetotransversecrackingoftheweld
metalorparentmaterialratherthantheHAZregion,andtheimportanceofcreepductilityinsuchsituationswas
highlighted,i.e.thecapacitytostrain,offloadandredistributestressesovertheweld.Evidenceoftheimportanceof
creepductilitywashighlightedwhencomparinggirthweldsinX20madewithmatchingandhighNifillers.The
matchingfillerfailedbyaxialcrackingintheweldmetal,whilethehigherductilityNibasedfillerweldfailedinthe
parent,againbyaxialcracking,butwitha54%improvementintimetorupturecrackingdidnotoccurintheHAZ.
SimilarconclusionsweredrawnbySmithetal.,whoreportedthatifweldedcomponentsaresubjectedtoaloading
conditionwherebendingpredominates,andtypeIVcreepstrainaccumulatesinalocalisedregion,failurethrough
discretecrackgrowthwillprevail,whereaswithlessconstrainedloading,longerplantlifetimeswillresult,withthe
tendencyfornetsectioncreepstraintoaccumulateinthetypeIVzone.24
Forweldsunderpurepressure,theprincipalstressfortheseamwelds,whichisinthehoopdirection,istwicethatto
whichthegirthweldsaresubjected.Moreover,thefailureofaseamweldislikelytohavemuchmoreserious
consequencesthanthefailureofagirthweld.However,thesuperpositionofsystemstressescananddoesallowtype
IVfailuretooccurintheHAZsofgirthwelds,forexamplethoseattachingheaderendcaps.Multiaxialconstraintis
expectedtoincreasewithspecimensizeandimprovecreeprupturetimes.Itfollowsthathighstrength,lowductility
weldmetalsandhighanglefusionlinesshouldincreaseconstraintandcreeprupturetimesfortransverselyloaded
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crossweldspecimens.TheseeffectshavebeendemonstratedbyMasuyama,whoconsideredtheeffectsofspecimen
size,shapeandloadingconfigurationinhighchromiummartensiticsteels.25Itwasreportedthatdoublepenetration
buttwelds,Xtype,performworsethanUgroovegeometriesforlargescale(30mm2)uniaxialcrossweld
specimens,andwhentestedinhotpressurevessels(seamweldssubjecttohoopstresses)forgrade122steelat
650C.Theresultspresentedalsoshowedalargereductionintimetoruptureforseamweldscomparedwiththe
largeuniaxialspecimens,althoughnoexplanationforthiswasoffered.Incontrast,Yaguchietal.observedsimilar
creeprupturelivesforconventionalcreeprupturespecimensandinternallypressurisedweldedpipe,illustratingthe
conflictingfindingsthatcanfoundintheliterature.19TheirstudyinvolvednarrowgaplongitudinalseamweldsinaU
shapedpreparationin9%Crand12%Crsteels.TypeIVfailurewasreportedasoccurringintheFGHAZ.Theplane
stress/plainstrainfiniteelementmodellingofKimminsandSmithindicatedonlyasmallchangeinthestraininthe
typeIVregionwhenitsinclinationtothestressaxis,initiallyperpendicular,waschangedby1015.26Theinfluence
ofweldangle,andthustheinclinationofthefusionboundarytothestressaxis(between0and45),oncreeplife
wasmodelledbyTanneretal.,whoshoweduptoa60%reductioninacreeplife,withtheminimumataninclination
of~25.TheyalsocomparedtheircomputedvalueswiththeexperimentaldataofFrancisetal..27,28
Hydeetal.havealsousedelementmodellingofbiaxialloadingon2Cr1MogirthweldsinCrMoVpipeto
considerseveralaxial(endload)andhoopstressconfigurationsforweldanglesbetween0and375foraweldwith
uniformHAZproperties.29Theanalysissuggestedaninteractionbetweenappliedstressstate,weldangleandtimeto
rupture.Atalowaxialtohoopstressratio,ahighweldanglegaveimprovedcreeprupturelife.Acrossoverpoint,
wherenobenefitwasderived,wasidentified(atanaxialtohoopstressratioofy0?6),andthetrendwasreversedat
higherratios,butwithalesserdifferencebetweenthepredictedcreeplives.Furthersimilarstudieshavesincebeen
madeforgrade91steel,highlightingtheeffectofstressstate.30
Weldstrengthfactor(WSF)andstrengthreductionfactor(SRF)
Asnotedearlier,Bruhletal.pointedoutthatthelowerHAZcreepstrengthofP91isofconcernforlongitudinalwelds,
astheyaresubjectedtothesamestressastheparentsteel.10,11Inshorttermlaboratorytests,thecrossweldand
parentcreepstrengthsareusuallyvery14Failurelocationsforcrossweldsamplesofgrade91steelfordifferent
rupturelivesandtemperaturesdescribingthetemperaturedependenceoftypeIVcracking7AbsonandRothwell
ReviewoftypeIVcrackingofweldmentsin912%CrcreepstrengthenhancedferriticsteelsInternationalMaterials
Reviews2013VOL58NO8445similaruntiltheonsetoftypeIVfailure.WiththeonsetoftypeIVfailurecomesa
degradationofcrossweldcreepperformancecomparedwiththatoftheparentsteelunderthesameconditions.Ona
plotofcreeprupturestressversusduration,aninflectionisobservedforcrossweldspecimens,asillustratedinFig.
12.Thisinflectionoccursatathresholdstresslevelforagiventemperatureandmaterial.Belowthethresholdstress,
thedifferencebetweenparentandcrossweldcreepstrengthwidens,sothataprogressivelygreaterdiscrepancy
existsatlowerstressesandlongerdurations.Thedifferencebetweentheweldmentandparentcreepstrengthata
givendurationisexpressedinanumberofways,butcommonlyastheWSFortheSRF.Theseareoftendefinedas
WSF(t,T)=Ru(w)/t/T/Ru/t/T(2)
SRF(t,T)=(R/ut/TRu(w)/t/T)/Ru/t/T(3)
whereRu/t/TisthecreeprupturestrengthofparentmaterialspecimensattimetandtemperatureT,andRu(w)/t/Tis
thecreeprupturestrengthofcrossweldspecimensattimetandtemperatureT.31Theterminologyfordescribingthe
reducedcreepstrengthofweldmentscomparedwiththatoftheparentsteelissometimesconfusing.Itisdesirableto
achieveahighWSFandalowSRF.ExamplesofsomeofthealternativeparametersaregiveninTable3.Allenetal.
identifiedthatthereisabroad(butbynomeansperfect)correlationbetweenHAZandparentmaterialcreepstrength
betweenheats.32However,thereisalsoatrendfortheWSFtodecreasewithimprovedparentperformancebetween
grades,therebystronglyreducingtheeffectivecreepstrengthofafabricationcomparedwithasinglepiece
component.Insomecases,theimprovedcreepstrengthoftheparentmaterialhasbeenshowntobecompletely
counteredbythedetrimentaleffectofwelding,whencomparedwithloweralloypredecessors.Forexample,intheir
indepthstudyofdatafromparentandcrossweldspecimensofthe912%Crfamily,Kimuraetal.indicatedthat
employingahigherstrengthparentsteelwillbringnofurtheradvantageintermsofcrossweldcreepperformanceat
thehighertemperaturerangesdesiredforoperation.33Theydemonstratedthatforgrade92(whichwasthe
strongestofthecodedCSEFsteels)at625C,theestimated105hcrossweldcreeprupturestrengthis462MPa
comparedwithweldedjointsingrade91(thathasalowerparentcreepstrength)thathaveacreeprupturestrength
of499MPaforthesametemperatureandduration.Suchfindingshavemadethefurtherdevelopmentofcreep
resistantsteelslessattractiveunlesssusceptibilitytotypeIVcrackingiseliminated.
Designcodes,publishedWSFsandextrapolationofdata
Therelativelypoorcreepstrengthofweldmentsatlongdurationswasnotunderstood,andgenerallynotfully
accountedforbydesigncodesuntilmanyyearsaftertheintroductionofsteelssuchasgrade91intothemarket
place.Figure15showscreeprupturedataforparentandcrossweldgrade92specimens,andillustratesthepoint
thatifplantweredesignedtotheallowablestressspecifiedbyASMEalone(before2008),weldmentfailurecouldbe
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expectedbeyond20000hofserviceforweldedgrade92material,iftheallowablestressfor100000hservicewas
employed.34Severalofthestandardsthatrelatetooutofcorenuclearcomponents(ASMESectionIIICodeCaseN47,
theFrenchCodeRCCMRandtheJapanesecodeETSDG)werereviewedbyBhojeandChellapandi,whoobservedthat
comprehensivecreepSRFsforweldmentsareprovidedintheFrenchcodeRCCMR.35Weldmentsarediscussedin
Section4/5oftheR5assessmentprocedure.InadditiontostatingthatAparticularproblemwithweldmentsisthe
presenceofresidualweldingstresses,thereisashortsectionontypeIVcrackingin05CrMoVweldments,which
discussescrackgrowthinthetypeIVregionofgirthwelds,withnoexplicitmentionoflowcrossweldcreepstrength.
Thetimetoruptureofthecompleteweldmentistakentobethelowestofthetimestorupturefortheconstituent
zones.36
AsnotedinthesectiononIntroduction,therewasacomparativelyearlyawarenessinGermanyandintheUKthat
thecrossweldcreepstrengthcanbesubstantiallylowerthanthatoftheparentsteel.Thisawarenesswasreflected
asearlyas1988intheGermancode.37AsnotedbyGomesetal.,thiscodeincorporatedafactorinthestressof80%
forfullyloadedlongitudinalseamwelds.38However,inthelightofthedatanowavailableforgrade91steel,itisclear
thatthisallowancewasnotsufficientlyadequate.Untilrecently,nofactoraccountingforpoorcrossweldcreep
strengthwasincorporatedintomorewidelyuseddesigncodessuchastheASMEcode,whereallowablestressis
baseduponsafetyfactorsforparentmaterialperformance.TheASMEcoderelatingtohightemperaturepressure
vesselswas,however,updatedin2008toreflectcrossweldperformance.MorepreciselyASMEIintroducedarange
ofweldSRFswusedforcalculatingcomponentthicknesses.34Thegeneralequationforcalculatingthethicknessof
drumsandheadershasnotchanged,butthedefinitionoftheefficiencyfactorEhasbeenexpandedtoincorporatew
fortheseamweldedcondition
(4)
wherePisthepressure,Distheoutsidediameter,Sisthemaximumallowablestressvalue,Eistheefficiency,yis
Table3SomeexamplesofterminologyusedforWSForSRF
Descriptiongivenbyauthors
Designationaccordingtoequations(2)and(3) Author(s)
Weldreductionfactor
SRF(t,T)
Middletonetal.,20017
SRF
WSF(t,T)]
ASMEB31.3
Weldmentparentcreepstrengthratio WSF(t,T)]
Absonetal.,200783
WeldSRF
Kimuraetal.,200833
WeldcreepSRF
WSF(t,T))
EN134452,200244
*Weldstrengthreductionfactor(WSRF)50?86crossweldcreepstrength/allowablestress33
15CreepruptureplotshowingtheperformanceofASTM/ASMEgrade92parent
materialandweldments.
TheallowablestressSat10000hforP92seamlesspipe,andSmultipliedbyweldSRFwforN+T(077)
andpostweldheattreatment(PWHT)(05)areillustrated.ThewmultiplierwasintroducedintoASMEI
2008codeinrecognitionofthepoorcrossweldcreepperformanceofjoints.34Thisfactoreffectively
increasesthethicknessesrequiredbythecodeforseamweldedpressurecomponents
thetemperaturecoefficientandCistheminimumallowanceforthreadingandstructuralstability.Theefficiencyfactor
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Eforseamweldedcomponentsisequaltow,ortheligamentefficiency,whicheverislower.Inthecasewherethe
weldseamispenetratedbytheopeningsformingtheligament,Eistakentobetheproductofwandtheligament
efficiency.
Thevalueforwisprovidedinatableinthecode,andisdependentonheattreatmentofthecomponentafter
welding,thesteeltypeandtemperaturerangeofoperation.Forgrade91andsimilarsteelsinthePWHTcondition,
between510and649C,thevalueofwis05.Overthesametemperaturerange,forthesamesteelsinthe
normalisedandtemperedcondition,thevaluefallsfrom086to077.Theintroductionofweffectivelyreducesthe
maximumstress(S6w),asindicatedinFig.15,andincreasestherequiredthicknessforseamweldedcomponents,as
indicatedinFig.16.
Nospecificguidanceisgiveninthecodeforothertypesofwelds,suchasgirthwelds.However,forgirthwelds,the
crossweldstressarisingfromtheinternalpressureishalfthattowhichalongitudinalweldissubjected.Moreover,
thedeformationofagirthweldinresponsetothepressurestressislimitedbythestrainproducedintheadjoining
parentsteel.Hence,girthweldsgenerallypresentasubstantiallylowerriskof
16SchematicshowingthecalculatedpipethicknessaccordingtoASMEI2007
and2008
highlightingthedifferencethataweldSRFEmakesforseamweldedpipe:P55MPa,T5572C,y507,
C50,D5864mm(Ref.181)
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17CreepruptureWSFsforgrade92,115grade122107andgrade91.68Values
derivedfromcreeprupturedataofcrossweldorsimulatedFGHAZspecimens
testedat650uC.Alinearextrapolationupto300000hhasbeenmade
sufferingtypeIVcracking,althoughsChweldscouldbeaffectedadverselybylocalstressconcentrationsand,as
discussedbyMiddleton,byhighsystemstresses.12AweldjointSRFWwasintrodCedintoANSIB313in2004
[clause30235(e)],asdiscussedbyBechtIV.39Withageneraldearthofexperimentalcrosswelddata,itspecified
linearinterpolationbetweenvaluesof10at510Cand05at815C,forallmaterials.Sincethe2008issue(Table
30235),valuesofWrangefrom1to05fordifferentmaterialsandservicetemperatures.ForsocalledCSEFsteels
inthepostweldheattreatedcondition,itis05forthetemperaturerangefrom510to649C.Forweldmentsinthe
N&Tcondition,itdecreasesfrom1to077overthesametemperaturerange,varyinglinearlywithtemperature.
Unfortunately,theWSFisworseforthenewerhighchromiumcreepresistantmaterialsattheirtargetoperating
temperaturerangethanitwasfortheolderlessalloyedsteels,asindicatedinFigs.17and18,whichshowsan
extrapolated100000hWSFofy04forgrade122(12%Cr)steelat650C.Grades92and122showbroadlysimilar
behaviour,namelyastrongerdownwardtrendthanthatshownbygrade91.40Asnotedabove,thisissupportedby
datapresentedmore
18Weldstrengthfactorspredictedforvariouspowerplantsteelsafter100000
h41
recentlybyKimuraetal.33Schubertetal.41show600C/100000hWSFvaluesofapproximately075for
9%CrMoVsteelsand05for12%CrMoVsteels.41ThegraphsshowclearlythattheWSFisnotconstant,butrather
decreaseswithincreasingrupturelife(decreasingappliedstress),andwithincreasingtemperature,reachinglevels
wellbelowunityforexposuretimesoftheorderof100000hattemperatures600C.
ThisbehaviourisalsoillustratedbytheanalysisofECCCcrosswelddataforgrade91andE911steelscarriedoutby
HolmstromandAuerkari.42TheirplotofstressversusWSFforgrade91steelattemperaturesrangingfrom575to
650C,Fig.19,showsWSFvaluesfallingfrom~09to~06asthestressdecreases.Datapointsaddedtothe
originalgrapharetheWSFsgiven
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StressversusWSFforgrade91steelderivedbyHolmstrom
andAuerkari42from2005ECCCdata,towhichthefollowing
datapointshavebeenadded:
sun=100000hWSFvaluesfromSchubertetal.,41whichindicateassociatedstrengthvaluesstar=
2009ECCC100000hstrengthvalues,withassumedWSFplottedinaccordancewithunderlyingdata
bySchubertetal.,41whichfittheunderlyingdatasetwell,and2009ECCC100000hstrengthvalues,fromwhich,
relevantWSFvaluescanbeestimated.TheseaddeddatapointsrevealclearlytheprogressivedecreaseinWSFat100
000hwithincreasingservicetemperature.SimilarbehaviourisreflectedingraphspresentedbyLahaetal.43They
showedtheSRF(ofequation(3)),derivedfromdataextrapolatedto100000h,increasinguptoapproximately30%
at600Candtoapproximately45%at650C.InthelightofthisdecreaseinWSF,itisclearthatvaluesofWSF
cannotbedeterminedasasimpleratiofromshorttermcreeptestdata.Rather,carefulextrapolationmustbemade
tostressesandlifetimesthatarerelevanttotheintendedapplication.Theimplicationofthepoorcrossweldcreep
strengthandtheweldSRFsintroducedbyASMEdescribedaboveisthateitheroperatingtemperaturesorpressures
willhavetobeloweredorthepipewallthicknesseswillneedtobeincreased,unlesstheproblemoftypeIVand
associatedpoorcrossweldcreepstrengthisresolved.34
Allowanceforthecrossweldcreepstrengthatelevatedtemperaturebeinglowerthanthatoftheparentsteelislikely
tofeatureinfurtherstandardsinthefuture.Towardsthisend,reliableextrapolationsofWSFareneeded,preferably
upto200000h.EN134452:2002(E)Issue35(200901),AnnexC,Procedurefordeterminationofweldcreep
strengthreductionfactor(WCSRF),whichisbasedonVdTUVMerkblatt1153,requirestestingatstressesselectedto
givedurationsuptoonethirdofthecreepdesignlifeattwotesttemperatureswithinarangeof30Cofthemean
designtemperature.44,45Hence,ifsteelsaretohaveadesignlifeof20years,thena7yeartestingprogrammewill
berequired.ThestandardstatesthatifthefailureislocatedintheHAZextrapolationisnotallowedwithoutfurther
testingatlongertimesshowingnofurtherapparentdecrease(intheWSF)seeAppendix1.However,formaterials
operatingatthehightemperatureendoftheirapplicationranges,thereisampleevidencetoshowthatthe
weldment/parentcreepstrengthratiocontinuestodecreasewithincreasingtime(andhencedecreasingstress).
Hence,testdurationsforqualificationtothiscodearelikelytobesimilartothatoftheintendedservicelife!
TheguidanceincorporatedintheVolume5PartIIboftheECCCRecommendations(2001)ismorerealistic.The
criterionforallowingextrapolationofthecreeprupturestrengthRu(W)/t/Tbyafactorof3onlife,beyondthelifeof
thelongesttest,tu(W),max,is:
IfWSF(t,T)>01.WSF(t,T)between086xtu(W),max
andtu(W),maxthenRu(W)/t/Tmaybeextrapolatedto36tu(W),maxIfDWSF(t,T).01.WSF(t,T)between086x
tu(W),maxandtu(W),maxthenextrapolationisnotadvisable.WhiletheR5procedure,developedbyBritishEnergyand
SercoAssurance,andreviewedbyAinsworth,hasasection(Volume4/5)thatprovidestwomethodsforcalculating
creep/fatiguecrackgrowth.ItincorporatesfatigueSRFstomodifythestressrange,butitdoesnotappeartotreat
explicitlythelowercrossweldcreepstrengthcomparedwiththatoftheparentmetal.46Furtherdiscussionofthe
allowancesmadeinnationalcodeshasbeengivenbyRef.47.
Microstructuraldegradationandfailuremechanism
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TypeIVfailureistheresultoflocalisedstrainandvoidformationintheouterregionoftheHAZ(FG/ICHAZ).This
creepweakregionaccommodatesthevastmajorityofstraindetectableinthecreepspecimenand,assuch,
specimensfailwithmarkedlylowtotalstraintofailurecomparedwithparentsteelspecimensorsimulatedHAZ
specimens.Voidsnucleateonprecipitatesmainlyatprioraustenitegrainboundariesand,atanadvancedstage,the
voidscoalesceorunziptoformacrack.Oncethisfinalstagebegins,creepcrackgrowthprogressesrapidlytofailure,
andimmediaterepairorreplacementisrequired.Investigationofcreepcrackpropagationingrade91steelwill
ultimatelyhelputilitiestotakedecisionsonthesafestandmosteconomicalwaytooperate,onceatypeIVcrackhas
beendetected.48
Creepresistantsteelsrelyonalloyandprecipitatestrengthening,withthemostimportantfractionofstrengthening
understoodtobeduetofineMXprecipitatessuchasVNandNbC.Duringthelifeofthesteel,manyintermediate,
metastableprecipitatesexistwhich,duringtempering,PWHTorservice,transformtoequilibriumphases,sometimes
viaanotherintermediateprecipitate.M23C6accountsforalargevolumefractionoftheprecipitatespresentearlyin
thelifeofsuchsteels,butitisknowntocoarsenquickly,therebyremovinganyprecipitatestrengtheningit
contributed.Similarly,M2Xprecipitatesgrowquicklyandalsohaveapassingcontributiontostrengthening.The
dislocationdensityreducesduringtempering,PWHTandservice,andthemartensiticlathsbreakdownintosofter
equiaxedsubgrainsasthemartensitetempersfurthertoferrite.49TheMXprecipitatesNbCandVNarerelieduponas
themainstrengtheningphasesinthesesteels,duetotheirlowcoarseningratesandtheirabilitytopingrain
boundariesanddislocations.NbCformsathightemperatures,whereitcanpreventgraingrowthandistherefore
importantduringthesteelworkingoperation,aswellasduringservice.VNformsduringtempering,precipitating
throughoutthematrix.MXprecipitatesareobstaclestodislocationmovement,butpossiblyofsimilarsignificanceis
theirroleinpinningsubgrainboundariesandpreventinglossofstrengththroughgrainrecoveryandgrowth.50
AhighchromiumcontentcanpreventMXprecipitatesbeingtheequilibriumphases,andinsteadZphasecanform.
DissolutionofthestrengtheningMXphasesintoacomplexnitrideCr(V,Nb)NknownasZphasecantakemanyyears,
andisusuallyaccompaniedbyasharpfallincreepstrength.51Anotherprecipitatethatformsduringserviceisthe
intermetallicknownasLavesphase,Fe2(W,Mo).ThisphaseisfoundinMoandWcontainingsteels,andisgenerally
thoughttoweakenthesteelthroughreductioninsolidsolutionstrengtheners,butadegreeofprecipitate
strengtheningfromLavesphasemaycounteractthistosomedegree.Therangeandscaleofthephasesthatexistat
anytimearedependentonthetemperatureofoperationandthesequenceofprecipitationreactions.52,53Coarsening
kineticsleadtosharpchangesincreepbehaviour,forexample,dualphasesteels(containingretainedferrite)
demonstrateasuddendropoffincreepstrengthatlongdurations,associatedwiththeacceleratedgrowthof
20CreeprupturestrengthoftheCOSTdevelopmentsteels
FB2,FB6andFB8asafunctionoftimetoruptureat650C.
FB6andFB8bothsufferedfromshorttermonsetofZphase
causingthecreeprupturestrengthtofalldramatically40
precipitatesatthedeltaferrite/martensiteinterface.AlsoZphase,precipitatedinvarioushighCrsteels,isknownto
formafterextendedcreepservicedurationsasthefinalequilibriumphase.Untilrecently,thisphasewasunknownin
creepresistantmartensiticferriticsteels,andnoneofthethermodynamicdatabasesavailableevenpredictedits
occurrenceinthesesteels.TheonsetofZphaseformationafterlongtermexposureresultsinarapidreductionin
creeppropertiesseeFigs.20and21.SignificanteffortstowardsdevelopingaseriesofhighCralloys,withimproved
creepresistance,havebeenthwartedduetotheinabilitytopredicttheexistenceandonsetofZphaseformation.
Thisexampleshowshowthedebilitatingeffectsofunexpectedphasescaninvalidatepredictionsmadefromshort
termdataordataacquiredunderdifferentoperatingconditions.Itisforjustsuchreasonsthatdevelopment
programmesshouldalwaysemployextensivelongtermtesting.
ThethermalcycleimposedbyweldingthatproducestheFG/ICHAZtypeIVregionhasastrongadverseeffectonthe
optimumdistributionoftheprecipitatesandtheirinterparticlespacing,whichthemanufacturergeneratedbyjudicious
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alloyingandcarefulprocessing,andwhicharevitalforhighcreepstrength.54
Commonly,theFGHAZisreportedasthemostcreepweakregionandlocationfortypeIVcracking.Thisisoften
supportedbyminimumcreeprupturestrengthdatafromsimulatedspecimens.Inthisregion,wheretemperaturesare
typicallybetween900and1100Cduringwelding,55completereversiontoausteniteoccurs.Partialdissolutionofthe
M23C6phaseisexpectedfollowedbyrapidgrowthaccordingtoequilibriumandkinteticscalculationsanddiagramsfor
912%Crsteels.MXparticleswouldalsobeexpectedtogrowatasomewhatincreasedrate.AnindepthTEMstudyof
thedistributionandcompositionofprecipitateswithinthisandotherregionsoftheHAZviasimulatedthermalcycles,
intheaswelded,postweldheattreatedandcreepexposedcondition,confirmedthatthedissolutionofM23C6
precipitateintheasweldedstatewasmoreevidentintheFGHAZcomparedwithICHAZandparentspecimens.The
studyshowedthatprecipitatedistributionsinthePWHTstateweresimilarforallspecimens,butafterfurther
temperatureexposureduringcreeptests,thenumberdensitydecreasedrapidly,i.e.growthrateswerecomparatively
high,intheFGHAZ.Furthermore,theyfoundthattheMXparticlescontainedrelativelyhighamountsofCr,leadingto
theconclusionthatCrdiffusion(ratherthanV)wascontrollingthegrowthrateofMXparticlesfollowinggreater
dissolutionofCrcontainingM23C6particlesduringsimulationheattreatment.Hence,thefastergrowthrateand
demiseincoherencyandcreepresistanceoftheFGHAZ.Itshouldbenotedthatthesteelcontainedapproximately
3%Coand3%Wandnoboron.Thereorganisationofaustenitegrainsisalsoanimportantfactorasitisthepreferred
siteforM23C6nucleation.Duringtheweldingthermalcycle,theboundarieschangeposition,andthecarbidelocations
remainthesame,andcannolongerprovidegrainboundaryhardeningbenefits.56
Asmentionedpreviously,theICHAZregionhasalsobeensuggested,albeitinfewerreferences,astheleastcreep
resistantandthereforemostlikelytypeIV
21Predictedreductioninbackstresswithtimeassociatedwiththegrowthof
differentprecipitatesforCOSTalloyCB8.Themarkedreductioninbackstress
duetoZphaseexplainsthepoorcreepstrengthofalloysthatsufferfrom
precipitationofthisphaseduringextendedservice101
location.TheappearanceofM23C6inthisregionhasbeenfoundtobemuchmorespheroidisedcomparedwiththose
intheFGHAZorparentsteel,makingforastrikingdifferencebetweentheTEMimagesoftheregions.68Inthis
region,someausteniteexistssomeprecipitatesaredissolving,whileothersarecoarseningatrelativelyhigherrates
comparedwiththesurroundingparentsteel.Concentrationgradientsbetweenausteniteandaquicklytempering
martensiteareformedandalesshomogenousmicrostructureresultsoncooling.Leeetal.reportedasubstantially
highergrowthrateforM23C6precipitatesintheICHAZ.57Thegrowthofcreepcavitiesthatnucleateontheseparticles
isassistedbythecreepdeformationoccurringinthisHAZregion.Francisetal.andSmithetal.quantifiedthenumber
ofcreepcavitiesasafunctionofthefractionofrupturelife.24,58Kimuraetal.attributedthelowcreeprupture
strengthofgrade122steelcrossweldspecimenstotheconcentrationdifferencesarisingbetweenausteniteand
martensiteexistingintheintercriticalrange.59,60Thisincreasesthedrivingforcefordiffusion,andpromotesrecovery
ofmartensitethatcontainslesssolidsolutionstrengtheningandlesseffectiveprecipitatesatboundariesdefinedby
thephaseinterfacesthatexistedduringwelding.
Insummary,themicrostructureofcreepresistantsteelsisafinelytuneddynamicsystem,withchangesinthe
characteroftheprecipitatesoccurringalongsidethemovementofdislocations,subgrainboundariesandgrain
boundariesduringPWHTandsubsequentcreepservice.TheweldthermalcycleimposedupontheHAZcreatesa
severedisturbanceinthefinelybalancedmicrostructure,withaseveredetrimentaleffectoncreepstrength.Although
simulatedspecimensdemonstratefairlyconsistentlythattheFGHAZhasthepoorestcreepresistanceacrosstheHAZ,
inpractice,itisdifficulttodifferentiatebetweenFGandICHAZwhentryingtodefinetheexactmicrostructurethata
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typeIVcrackhasnucleatedinandpropagatedthroughinarealweldedjoint.
Hardness
Hardnessisoftenusedasaquickqualityassessmentforparentsteel,beforeandduringservice.Measuringthe
hardnessindifferentpartsoftheHAZandlinkingthistoperformanceismoredifficult.61Hardnessmeasurements
madeonpolishedsampleswillrevealchangesquitewell.Forgrade91parentsteel,ithasbeenassertedthat,ifthe
correctheattreatmenthasbeenreceived,thenhardnessresultsshouldfallintherange200270VHN.62Fora
properlyheattreatedgrade91weldment,Cohnetal.indicatedthat,thenormalhardnessrangeis200295HV,i.e.
quitesimilartotheparentsteelrange.63Hardnessgenerallydecreasesacrosstheweldfromthefusionlinetowards
parentmaterialwithrespecttothepeaktemperatureoftheweldingthermalcyclethattheregionhasexperienced.
However,definingtheparticularregionoftheHAZ(CGHAZ,ICHAZ,etc.)thattheindentismadeinisoftennot
straightforward.SomeweldmentsdonotdisplaythetypicalHAZcharacteristicsasclearlyasothers.Relationships
betweenroomtemperaturehardnessandthetimetorupturehavebeenreportedforgrade91parentsteel.
Masuyamademonstratedthattheinstantaneous(roomtemperature)hardnessHofthegaugeportionofacreeptest
specimen,whennormalisedbybeingdividedbythehardnessH0ofthe(agedbutnotstrained)gripregion,isas
follows64
H/H0=098015t/tr(5)
wheretisthetestdurationandtristhetimetorupture.Thisequationgivesanapproximateindicationofthe
hardnesschangethatcorrespondstoendoflife,whichoccurswhenthehardnesshasfallenbyapproximately17%
(whent/tr=1andH/H0=083).Thecreeprupturelifetrcanbepredictedfromaknowledgeofthetestdurationtand
determinationofthehardnessvaluesHandH0
tr=015t/(098{H/H0)(6)
Endoetal.havegivenafurtherexampleofanequationforthe(roomtemperature)hardnessofgrade91steel
H=207{294(t/tr)(7)
Thisequationcanbewrittenas
H/H0=1014t=tr(8)
withthevalueofH0(207HVfortheirparticularsteel)beingtheinitialhardness,withendoflifecorrespondingtoa
14%dropinhardnessfromitsinitialvalue.65Spositoetal.statethatVickershardnesscorrelatesverywellwith
creeplifeifcareistakentopreparethesurfacebeforeinspection,butlargemeasuringerrorslimittheapplicabilityof
thistechniqueinthefield.66
Inastudyofcreepdegradationingrade91steelweldments,MasuyamanotedthatthelowesthardnessintheHAZ
wasapproximately10HVbelowthatoftheparentsteel,andthatthishardnessdifferencepersistedthroughout
almostthewholeofthecreeplife(forcreeplifefractionsfrom02to09),asbothparentsteelandHAZsoftened,
displayingalinearrelationshipwiththecreeplifefraction(t/tr).64,67
HardnesstestingofspecimenssubjectedtothermalcyclesrepresentativeofdifferentregionsintheHAZ,followedby
PWHTindicatedthatthelowesthardnessfollowingPWHTisintheintercriticallyheatedspecimens
(Ac1>temperature<Ac3)correspondingwelltothetypeIVlocationinthesametestspecimens.68However,thecreep
rupturelifeofsimulatedHAZspecimenshasnotalwaysbeenshowntocorrespondwiththehardnessminima.Ithas
beenshownthattheteststresshasaninfluenceontherankingoftheeffectofheattreatmentwithrespecttorupture
time.
Forgrade122steelsubjectedtoasimulatedHAZthermalcycleplusPWHT,ithasbeendemonstratedthatnotonly
doesincreasingthestressreducetheoveralltimetorupture,butitshiftstheshortesttimetorupturefromspecimens
simulatingtheFGHAZtothosesimulatingtheICHAZ.Thus,thehigherstressedspecimensrupturesoonerinlower
temperaturesimulatedspecimensoflowinitialhardness,asseeninFig.22.69,70
ThismaygosomewaytoexplainingwhytypeIVfailurehasbeenreportedinbothregions,butitfollowsthatthe
FGHAZistheweakestincreepforthelowloadsexpectedduringserviceconditions.Albertetal.alsoobservedcreep
ruptureminimainspecimensheatedaboveAC3forgrade122steel,anddetectedhardnessminimaatintercritically
heatedtemperatures.71Bycontrast,Lahaetal.foundthat,afterPWHTofsimulatedgrade91specimens,thecreep
weakregion
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PlotofVickershardness(opensymbols)andcreeprupture
time(closedsymbols)forgrade122HAZpeaktemperature
simulatedspecimensafterPWHT70
correspondedtothelowesthardnessandanintercriticalheattreatment.68
Insummary,hardnessminimaacrosstheHAZdonotalwaysrepresentthemostcreepweakregion.However,the
overallfallinHAZhardnessduringservicemaybeusedtoestimateremaininglifeinawaysimilartothatinparent
material.TheestimationofremaininglifeisdiscussedinAppendix2.
Reportedexamplesoffailures,mainlybytypeIVcracking
Asnotedabove,thecrossweldpressurestressinlongitudinalseamweldsistwicethatinagirthweld.Itistherefore
theformerthatispotentiallyatgreaterriskoftypeIVcrackingandthatposesthegreatestrisktosafety(although
theweldstrengthfactorwillbehigherfortheseamweldthanforagirthweldinthesamepipe).However,typeIV
failureshaveoftenoccurredinotherweldconfigurations,includingatleastoneexampleofaweldattachinganend
captoaheader.72
Thedeploymentofgrade91steelinutilitypowerboilersasthicksectioncomponentsbeganintheUKinthelate
1980sonthebasisoftheperformanceoftheparentmetalstrength.7274Onlysincethelate1990shasattention
movedtoweldmentperformance,oncethesusceptibilityofthissteeltotypeIVcrackingwasrecognised.TypeIV
failuresingrade91componentshavebeenmorecommonintheUKthanintheUSA,asthissteelgradehasbeenin
servicelongerintheUK,62althoughithasfoundwidespreaduseinpowerplantintheUSA,whereseveralfailures
haveoccurred,althoughthesehavelargelybeeninloweralloysteelgrades.62,75AtleastoneinstanceoftypeIV
crackinginagrade91longitudinalseamweldisknowntohaveoccurredinJapan.
ReportsofatleastsixfailuresattheWestBurtonpowerplantintheUKandoverahundredinstancesoftypeIV
crackingareknown.Itisalsoclearthatolderunitsdesignedforbaseloadoperationandusedinthiscapacityover
manyyearsareverysusceptibletocomponentfailurewhentheyarethencycledregularly.OneoftheWestBurton
failuresoccurredinaforgedheaderendcap,andfouroccurredinbottletypejoints,thefirstafteronly20000hof
serviceat565C.Acontributoryfactorwasreportedtobethecomparativestrengthoftheparentsteel,impliedby
thelowhardnessofthegrade91steel.Thesteelcontainedalownitrogentoaluminiumratio,whichgaverisetoAlN
precipitates,andreducedtheamountofnitrogenavailabletogivethefineMXintragranularprecipitates,thereby
reducingthecreepstrengthofthesteel.Thespecificationforthealuminiumcontenthassincebeenrevisedfrom
#8804004to#8804002%intheASTMmaterialstandards,butnotyetintheequivalentEuropeanstandards.On
aretrofitheaderinstalledona500MWunitin1992,andoperatingfor58000hat568uC,over100stubweldsare
reportedtobeaffectedbytypeIVcracking.Againalownitrogentoaluminiumratiowasimplicated.7678Asharp
changeinsectionwasafurthercontributoryfactortoanendcapfailureafter36000hofservice.Theseriousnessof
theproblemanditsfrequentoccurrenceisillustratedbythereportof100instancesofcrackingduring2004in
outagesinpowerstationsoperatedbyInnogy/RWEnpower.61TypeIVcrackingingrade91retrofitheadersthathave
beenfabricatedtothehigheststandardshavebeenreportedmorerecently,withthepredominantlocationbeingthe
stubwelds.15,79Clearly,insomeinstances,thecompositionandgeometryofsteelconstructionshavebeen
responsibleforpoorperformance,andincorrectheattreatmentisalsosuspectedtohavecontributedinsome
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instances.However,asnotedearlier,warningsoflikelyproblemsfromfailureinthetypeIVregion,ifadequate
provisionforthesystemstresseswasnotmade,werenotheeded.Moreover,theconstructioncodesdonotyetall
requirethatadequateprovisionbemadeforthereducedcrossweldcreepstrengthcomparedwiththatoftheparent
steel,andhencesystemsinsteamservicehavesufferedfailures,andothersmaystillbeatriskoftypeIVfailure,
eventhoughtheywerecodecompliantwhenfabricated.
AcomprehensivereviewontypeIVcrackinghasbeenpresentedbyEllisandViswanathan.80Theyincluded
considerationofserviceexperienceoftypeIVcrackingingirthweldsandinseamwelds,withseparateconsideration
ofsteamlinesandheaders.SeamweldedpipefailureshaveoccurredintheUSA,forexamplethe1985failureofa30
inch(760mmdiameter)steamreheatlineoftheMohavepowerstationthathadbeeninservicefor14years.This
failure,however,wasnottypeIVcracking,butratheroccurredbecauseofthepoorercreepperformanceoftheweld
metalcomparedwiththatoftheparentpipe.However,thethirdandfourthfailuresattheMountStormpowerplant
wereattributedtotypeIVcracking.80WhileseamweldedpipeisnotincommonuseintheUK,clamshellseam
weldedgrade91elbowshavebeeninstalledinatleastoneUKpowerstation(presumablybecausethisrequiredone
mouldforthepressing,ratherthantwo).Sincetheseamweldsoccuralongtheextradosandintrados,stressesonthe
weldsarisingfromflexureofthepipeinducedbyanytemperaturefluctuationswillbehigherontheextradosthanif
theweldsweresituatedontheneutralaxis,andwillbeinadditiontothepressurestress.Suchadesignofelbow
requirescarefulevaluationtoensurethatitdoesnotgiveanunacceptablyshortlife.Severalfailuresduetocreep
rupturewerereportedintheUSAasearlyas1996,81andthemidspanoftheweldmentontheextradoshasbeen
identifiedasaregionfortheearlyformationofcreepcavities.82
InChina,therehavebeenatotalofsixdeathsinthreeseparateincidentsduetofailuresofseamweldsingrade91
pipe.Thebestdocumentedfailureoccurredduringcommissioningofunit2atDatongPowerStationin2006,and
resultedintwodeaths.Themainstemlinewasnotmanufacturedingrade91steel,ashadbeenbelievedatthetime
ofinstallation.Similarfailureshaveoccurredelsewhere,withanadditionalfourdeaths,andtherearebelievedtobe
anadditional30plantscontainingthispipe.SuchshorttermfailuresareunlikelytohavebeentheresultoftypeIV
crackinghowever,theydoillustratethepotentialdangerarisingfromtheuseofseamweldedpipeinpowerplant.
TypeIVcreeplifeprediction
Introduction
Theabilitytopredictaccuratelythecreepstrengthofspecimens/componentssubjecttolongtermexposureishighly
desirable,sinceitwouldavoidtheneedforlongtermtestingduringthedevelopmentofcreepresistantsteels,and
alsoallowplantoperatorstomakemoreconfidentdecisionsonmaintenanceschedules.Despiteadvancesinmethods
ofprediction,confidenceinaparticularalloyisonlybuiltupafteradegreeofverificationthroughtesting.Clearly,
adequateappropriatelylongtermcrossweldtestingisvitalbeforetheacceptanceofanynewcreepresistantalloy.
Parametricstudies
Parentsteel
Theequilibriumphasesthatexistinasteelandthekineticsofformationvaryaccordingtothecomposition,
temperatureandstress,whichinturnaffectcreepperformanceandmaycausesignificantchangesinperformance.
Therefore,extrapolatingresultsobtainedatonetemperaturetopredictresultsatadifferenttemperaturewillnot
alwaysbevalid,asdifferentphasesmayexist,anddifferentmechanismsmaybeoperational.Forthesereasons,the
useoftheLarsonMiller(LM)parametertopredictperformanceatdifferenttemperaturesisnotencouraged,asit
canyieldnonconservativelifetimepredictions.Thus,theLMparameter,althoughusefulinsomeinstances,donot
alwaysprovideareliablemethodfortheinterpolationandextrapolationofdataoverlongdurationsorinterpolation
betweendifferentconditionsoftemperatureandstress.Thisisfundamentallyduetothedifferencesinmicrostructure
developedunderdifferentconditions,andoverthelifetimeofaspecimenthatcangivedifferencesincreepresistance
anddifferencesinfracturemechanismbetweenshorttermandlongtermcreeprupturetestsorservice,asdiscussed
below.However,theLMparameteriswidelyused
LM=T(C+logt)/1000(9)
whereTisthetemperature(K),tisthetime(h)andCisthematerialconstant,commonlysetat20,asempirically
valuesveryclosetothishavebeenfoundtobequiteaccuratefor912%Crcreepresistantsteels.Usingvaluesof30
andabove,asissometimesdoneforCrMosteels,
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23Creeprupturetestresultsforgrade122showinga
distinctivesharpinflexionincreeprupturestress.This
inflexionisassociatedwiththepresenceofdeltaferriteand
Zphase88
canintroducelargedifferencesintheestimatedvalueofequivalenttimesatdifferenttemperatures.83
Inhisdiscussionofparametricmethodsfortheextrapolationofhightemperaturedata,Goldhofffavoured
determinationoftheLMconstantfromthedatasetbeinganalysed.84However,heobtainedsmallererrorsin
predictedvaluesofrupturestressfromtheMansonHaferd(MH)analysis,thanfromtheLMorDornmethods.The
MHparameterisgivenby
MH=(TTa)/(logtrlogta)
Itisderivedfromplotsoftemperature,Tversuslogtr,atconstantstress,wheretristhetimetorupture,andTaand
logtaarematerialconstantswhichdescribethepointofconvergenceoftheisostresslines.85OneformoftheDorn
equation,relatingstrainrateandstress,hasbeengivenbyEvans86
(10)
whereDListhelatticediffusioncoefficient,istheshearmodulus,bistheBurgersvector,aistheeffectivestress,k
isBoltzmannsconstant,TistheabsolutetemperatureandAandnarenumericalconstantsdeterminedby
experiment.
Bysplittingthedataintoregions,andassigningdifferentconstantstoeachpart,time/temperaturepredictions
becomemoreaccurateanduseful,butdifficultiesstillexistwhentryingtopredictbehaviouratdifferenttemperatures
wheredifferentmicrostructuralregimesareoperating.Kimuraandresearchershavecoinedthetermregionsplitting
analysisforoneoftheveryfirstmethodsusedtoseparateoutdifferentregionsofacreepruptureplot.59,60,87,88
Theyobservedthat,whencreeprupturestrengthisplottedagainsttime,thereisaninflectioninthecurve,which
occursatastressthatisapproximately50%ofthe02%offsetyieldstrengthseeFig.23.Creepdeformationinthe
lowstressregimeisgovernedbydiffusioncontrolledphenomena,whileinhigherstressregimes,itiscontrolledby
dislocationglide.Fordualphasesteels,i.e.thosecontainingferrite,suchasgradeP122,thisinflectionismore
pronounced.
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24Normalisedrupturestressasafunctionoftimeforfailure
forgrade122.
iscreeprupturestress,TSistensilestrengthattesttemperature,tfistimetofailure,Qisactivation
energyfordiffusionthroughthematrix(300kJmol1),Risuniversalgasconstant(8314JK21mol1),T
istemperature89
Intheiranalysisofgrade122(parentsteel)creeprupturedata,WilshireandScharningnotedthat,notonlyarelong
termtestsrequiredinordertoprovideextrapolateddesigndata,butthattheallowable(parentmaterial)stress
estimateshavebeenreducedprogressivelyaslongertermmeasurementshavebecomeavailable.89Theyshowed
that,ifcreeprupturestressvaluesforgrade122steelarenormalisedbydividingbythetensilestrengthatthetest
temperature,dataderivedatdifferenttemperaturescanbesuperimposedusingafunctionincludingtimetorupture,
temperatureandtheactivationenergyformatrixdiffusion(300kJmol21)seeFig.24.Thisappearstobeamore
reliableandfundamentalwayofrelatingdatacollectedatdifferenttemperaturestoeachotherthantheusual
approachofapplyingtheLMparameter.Takinglogarithmsyieldsastraightlineplotthatallowssimpleextrapolation
ofdata.Forgrade91parentsteelcreeprupturedata,theyproducedextrapolationsfrom5000handfrom30000h
outtotimesupto200000h,andpresentedcomparisonswithmeasureddataat550,600and650C.9092Suchan
approachcouldpotentiallyreducethenumberofcreeprupturetestsrequiredtocharacteriseaparentsteel,andgive
greaterconfidenceinextrapolationstolongerlifetimes.Asimilaranalysis,withstressnormalisedbydividingby
(initial)Vickershardness,hasbeenappliedtoweldmentsof225%Cr1%MosteelsbyBrearetal.93Complex
polynomialparametersarebeingrefinedusingextensivedatasetsinarigorousmathematicalfashiontogiveasingle
bestfitcurve.However,suchanexerciseisparticulartothesteelgradesinvolved,andseemstoaddlittletothe
accuracyofextrapolationswhenthereisalreadyavastdatasetavailable.Suchaparametricanalysisservesonlyto
givethemostprobablelifetimeestimates,basedonexistingdata.Extensivenumericalmanipulationofdatahasbeen
performedbyorganisationssuchastheECCC.Asaconsequenceoftheavailabilityofincreasedamountsofdataand
ofmorereliableextrapolationmethods,greaterconfidencecanincreasinglybegiventolongtermcreepstrength
extrapolationsforparentsteels.Itisimportanttoestablishreliablerepresentationsofparentsteelcreepbehaviour
notonlyfordesignpurposes,butalsotoassistinthederivationofmorereliableextrapolationsofweldstrength
factorsseethesectiononDesigncodes,publishedweldstrengthfactorsandextrapolationofdata.
Weldments
Theinflectionobservedinparentsteels,asmentionedabovefordualphasesteels,isrelativelyminorcomparedwith
themorepronouncedchangeinperformanceseenatthetypeIVthresholdstressforweldedspecimens.Asnoted
earlier,agraphshowingtherupturelifeatwhichthetransitionoccursingrade91steelweldmentsasafunctionof
temperaturehasbeenpresentedbyMiddletonetal.seeFig.14.7EquationsdefiningthetransitiontotypeIVin
termsoftime,temperatureandstresshavebeencreatedforgrade91steelbyvariousauthors.Bellgaveanequation
thatdefinedthetransitionfromparentmetaltotypeIVfailureofcrossweldcreepspecimensin9%CrsteelseeFig.
25a94
(11)
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NathandMasuyama,havinghadsightofBellsreviewbeforeitspublication,derivedabroadlysimilarexpressionto
representtheirexperimentaldata95
(12)
wheretfistherupturelifeinh,TkisthetemperatureinKandsisthe(uniaxial)creeprupturestrengthinMPa.The
reportedapplicationrangesare8431005K(570732C),4075MPaand411600h.Theequationwas
subsequentlyrecastinaformsimilartothatofBellsoriginalequationbyBrearandFleming16seeFig.25b
(13)
AsFig.25bshows,equation(12)givesabetterfittothespecificexperimentaldatapresentedthandoesBellsoriginal
equation.Nevertherless,Bellssimpleversiondevelopedusingmanydatapointsfromdifferentweldtypesisoften
usedasagoodroughguideforstudiesoftypeIVcracking,withgoodreason.
Modelling
Thelimitationsofparametricmethodshavemeantthatmorefundamentalphysicalmodelsbasedonmicrostructural
evolutionarebeingdevelopedforlifetimeprediction.Variousinstitutionshavebeeninvolvedinthedevelopmentof
physicalmicrostructuralmodelsforcreepresistantsteelsthatpredicttheevolutionofmicrostructureandpropertiesat
specifiedtimesandtemperatures.Thefusionzoneitselfinmultiplepassweldsisrecognisedasanextremely
inhomogeneousentity.ThisisreflectedinthestudiesconductedbyHydeandcoworkers,forexampleHydeandSun,
whosemodelsreflectthepresenceofcolumnarasdepositedandequiaxedreheatedweldmetalregions.96Thestudies
oftheseauthorsincludethedeterminationoflongitudinalandtransverseallweldmetalcreepdataforincorporation
intotheirmodel.
MuchofthisreviewhasconcentratedonthelowercreepstrengthoftheHAZ,andtheconsequent
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25Creeprupturedataandthelowerboundcreeprupturestrengthforparent
steelandtypeIVcracking
atheequationduetoBell94btheequationduetoBrearandFleming16
prematuretypeIVfailures.Hence,modellingstudiesthataddressthisissueareofparticularrelevance.Kimminsand
Smithreviewedexperimentalstudiesandfiniteelementmodels.26Recognisingthatthecreepdamageisconfinedtoa
narrowregionintheHAZ,theydevisedanovelfiniteelementmodelofthebehaviourofacreepweaklayerbesidea
singleVweld(simulatingthetypeIVregion)inclinedtothestressaxis.Theirmodelgavegoodagreementbetween
theoryandexperimentalobservationswhentheyallowedforrelaxationofconstraintviatheslidingofadjacent
elements.TheyconcludedthatthecreepweaktypeIVlayerexperiencesnomeasurableconstraintfromtheadjacent
material.Inalaterexperimentalprogramme,SmithandcoworkersconcludedthatcavitationinthetypeIVregionis
aconsequenceofgrainboundarysliding,leadingtorelaxationofconstraintandmultiaxialrupturegovernedbythe
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vonMisesstress.24Hence,ratherthanusingconventionalcontinuumdamagemodelsinfiniteelementanalyses,
alternativemodelsinvolvingmechanismsofgrainboundaryslidingrequiredevelopment.Theyfoundthatthe
maximumfractionofcavitatedboundariesinthetypeIVregion,attimesclosetofailure,wasonlyapproximately1%
(4000cavitiespermm2)thisproportionmustthereforeincreaserapidlybeforerupture.Withsuchasmallproportion
ofatheequationduetoBell94btheequationduetoBrearandFleming1625Creeprupturedataandthelower
boundcreeprupturestrengthforparentsteelandtypeIVcracking,accordingtotwodifferentequations,fromBrear
andFleming16AbsonandRothwellReviewoftypeIVcrackingofweldmentsin912%Crcreepstrengthenhanced
ferriticsteelsInternationalMaterialsReviews2013VOL58NO8455cavitatedboundaries,itislikelytobebeneficial
tokeeptheHAZasnarrowaspossible,whichmaybeoneofthereasonsforthebettercrossweldperformanceofEB
weldscomparedwithtungsteninertgas(TIG)welds,asnotedinthesectiononImprovedperformancethrough
weldingprocedure.
Thefiniteelementbasedcreepcontinuumdamagemechanics(CDM)methodformodellingthehightemperature
creepdamageinitiation,evolutionandcrackgrowthbehaviourofcrossweldspecimenshasalsobeenusedby
HayhurstandcoworkersandbyHyde.30,97,98Baueretal.99havebeenmodellingtheuseofmatching,
overmatchingandundermatchingfillermetal,togetherwiththeeffectsofpipewallthickness(4247mm)andweld
edgeangle(022)forlongitudinallyweldedpipesinE911steel.Theirmodellinghasindicatedthatusingan
undermatchingweldmetalisbeneficialbyreducingthemultiaxialityofthestressstate,andthustheextentofcreep
damage.Thus,modellingstudiesarenowcapableofdescribingseveralaspectsofcrossweldbehaviour.
Continuumdamagemechanicscanbecombinedwiththemicrostructuralmodelstopredictcreepstrengthandother
properties.TheUniversityofLoughboroughandtheTechnicalUniversityofGrazappeartobeleadingthe
developmentofsuchmodels,whichusethermodynamicandkineticmodelstopredictthegrowthanddistributionof
precipitatesconsideredmostimportantforperformance.TUGrazhavegoneonestepfurtherbytheapplicationof
backstresscalculationstotheirCDMmodel.101Clearly,progressisbeingmadeinmodellingthegrowthofprecipitates
which,inthefinegrainregionoftheHAZisaprecursortovoidformationandlinkagetoformcracks.Hence,itshould
eventuallybepossibletointroduceintothemodelsparametersderivedfromthecharacteristicsofaparticular
material,andtopredictitstypeIVbehaviour.Amongthecomplexitiesthatdonotyetappeartohavebeen
incorporatedintothemodelsisthechangeincarboncontentbesidethefusionboundarythatoccursduringelevated
temperatureexposureofweldmentswithdifferencesinalloycontent,asaconsequenceofthemigrationofcarbon
acrossthefusionboundary.
Neuralnetworkanalyses
Ifasufficientlylargedatasetexists,aneuralnetworkanalysiscanbecarriedout,topredictthevalueofoneormore
parameters(dependingonthesoftware)ifthevalueofalltheotherparametersisspecified.Additionally,byfixingthe
valueofallbutoneoftheinputvariables,thewayinwhichtheoutputvariablechangesastheremainingvariableare
changedcanbeexplored.Thequalityandapplicabilityofthedatabasebeingdrawnonisofgreatimportanceinorder
tobeabletomakefirmconclusions.
ThisapproachhasbeenadoptedbyFrancisetal.,whoseanalysisindicatedastronginfluenceonpredictedcreep
rupturestrengthofweldedjoints,notonlyofthetesttemperatureandtime,butalsoofthenormalisingand
temperingtemperatures,thetungstencontent,thepreheattemperatureandthePWHTtemperature.58,102
ExperimentalsupportforsomeofthisworkisdiscussedinAppendix1.Asubsequentstudydemonstratedthe
beneficialeffectsofincreasingthepreheattemperatureandhavingasteepsidetotheweldpreparation,withthe
influenceofheatinput,intherange0824kJmm1,beingsmall.28Itis,ofcourse,recognisedthatarangeofeach
oftheinputvariablesisrequiredinorderfortrendstoberevealed.Asmoredatabecomeavailable,thisapproachwill
becapableofdemonstratingtheeffectsofthevariableswithgreaterclarity.
Sincegrade91steelisstronglyresistanttotempering,aPWHTtemperatureof760Cisgenerallyusedforpipingand
pressurevesselstoreducethelevelofresidualstressandtoimproveweldmetaltoughness.However,withalesser
improvementinweldmetaltoughness,PWHTat680Chasbeenusedforitsderivativesinexploratorystudieswhen
weldingturbinerotors.Whilethisgivesaninitialbenefitintermsofincreasedshorttermcreeprupturestressin
laboratorytests,itislikelythatatleastsomeofthebenefitwillhavebeenlostwhensubjectedtolowerstressesin
longtermservice.
Despitedifficultiesinpredictinglongtermbehaviourofcreepproperties,itisreasonabletoassumefromtheavailable
evidencethat,aslongasonlytypeIVdataareused,theextrapolationofthesedataandignoringothershortterm
datashouldprovideasimpleandeffectivewayofpredictingfailuretolongerdurations.Datademonstratingaclear
departurefromparentmaterialcreepperformanceshouldbeusedforasingleparticulartemperature,ifsucha
simplificationistobeemployed.Datafromtestssomewhatinexcessof100hat650Cor300hat625Cwilldisplay
thecharacteristicdeparturefromparentmaterialdataforgrade91steelseeFig.14.
MitigationoftypeIVcracking
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Introduction
Therearefourprincipalwaysofimprovingthecrossweldcreeprupturestrengthofcreepresistantalloys:
(i)normalisingandtemperingtheweld
(ii)adjustingtheweldingprocedure
(iii)modifyingthetemperingtreatment
(iv)alloydevelopmenttoincreaseinherentresistancetotypeIVmechanisms.
Normalisingandtempering
Thisheattreatmentmaybecarriedoutbeforeincorporationintothemainpipingnetworkanditeffectivelyeliminates
theHAZoftheweld,causingthemicrostructuretorevertbacktoastatesimilartothatoftheparentsteel.Thesame
regimeoftemperaturesandtimesusedintheproductionoftheparentmaterialmaybeemployedand,aswithparent
manufacture,careincontrollingtheheattreatmentisessential.Becausetheentireweldedcomponent,whichmay
takevariousshapes,needstobenormalisedtopreventanHAZlikemicrostructureinanypartofthecomponent,
therearesignificantdifficultiesincarryingoutasuccessfultreatment,andvariouscompanieshaveinvestedheavilyin
theoptimisationoftheprocess.OnesuchexampleisMitsubishiHeavyIndustriesinJapanwhohavereportedthe
successfulnormalisingandtempering(NzT)ofnarrowgapseamweldedP91.Thereportedresultsshowlittleorno
differencebetweencrossweldandparentsteelcreeptestresultsatdurationsupto30000handtemperaturesofup
to700C.103Figure26showsthebasicdetailsoftheprocessusedandtheresultsobtained.Therearealsocompanies
inGermanyknowntobepractisingNzTforgrade91pipethatistoothicktobeproducedasseamless.Thetechnology
isalsoapplicabletothinwalledlargediameterpipes.SinceASMEintroduced
26Heattreatment,weldingdetailsandcrossweldcreepresultsfornormalised
andtemperedP91weldments103
theweldstrengthreductionfactormentionedinthesectiononWeldstrengthfactor(WSF)andstrengthreduction
factor(SRF),therehasbeengreaterinterestinNzTtreatments,becausethisallowsastrengthfactorof08instead
of05,andthusreducesthethicknessofmaterialneeded.Obviously,theadvantagesofthinnerpipeneedtobe
weighedagainsttheextratimeandcostoftheNzTprocess.Itisnotgenerallypracticaltonormalisetheattachment
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andsitewelds.However,suchweldsaregenerallycircumferentialweldshence,therewillstillbeweldswithHAZsin
thesystemthatcouldsufferfromtypeIVcracking,andcouldthereforecompromiseplantintegrity.Thepressure
stressesonsuchweldsarehalfthoseexperiencedbythelongitudinalwelds.Therefore,unlessinadequateallowance
hasbeenmadeforsystemstressesorlocalstressconcentrations,theyshouldpresentalowertypeIVcrackingrisk.
Insomeinstances,itmaybepossibletobuttertheendsofgrade91pipeworkwithaweldmetalofhighercreep
strengthandthencarryoutaPWHT,asnotedbyColemanandHainsworth.104Iftheweldingiscarriedoutina
fabricationshop,itmayevenbepossibletonormalisethewholecomponent.Thesubsequentweldingwouldthen
leavethesiteweldmentwithitsHAZlyingwithinthebutteringlayerofweldmetal.
Improvedperformancethroughweldingprocedure
AlthoughanHAZsusceptibletotypeIVcrackingwillalwaysbeproducedbyaweldingthermalcycleincurrentlyused
creepresistantsteels,thereappeartobeopportunitiestoimprovetheperformancebyadjustmentstothewelding
procedure.
AnovelapproachtoimprovingthecreeprupturestrengthofthetypeIVregion,asnotedbyBell,istocarryouta
partialtemperingoftheparentsteelbeforeweldingandtocompletethetemperingtreatmentasthePWHT,as
describedbySikka.94,105Thisapproachalmostdoubledtheshortterm(<10000h)creeplife,comparedwith
conventionallyheattreated9%Crsteelweldments.106Itwouldbeinterestingtoseetheeffectoveralongertest
period.Althoughitseemslogicalthatpartialtemperingoftheparentduringsteelmakingwouldreducethesizeof
precipitatesinthesteel,thisapproachisunlikelytobeadoptedwidely.Itwouldrequirecodechanges,anditwouldbe
necessarytopersuadesteelmakerstochangethetemperingtreatment,andacceptachangetothespecification
requirements.Unlessonlyshortlengthsofparentsteelwereinvolved,thefinaltempering,inthefield,would
presumablyrequireamobileinductionheatingunit,
27Plotshowingimprovedcrossweldcreepperformance
andthusthisapproachwouldhavelimitedapplication.However,itmayproveofbenefitwherethecreeprupturelife
cannotbeincreasedbyanyothermeans.OtherprocessvariablessuspectedtohaveastronginfluenceonthetypeIV
creeplifeofweldmentshavebeenhighlightedbyFrancisetal.withtheirBaysianneuralnetworkanalysis.28These
werepreheattemperatureandPWHTtime.TheeffectofPWHToninterparticlespacinghasalsobeenmodelled,
showinganegativeeffectoncreepproperties.
Afurtherstrategy,whichcouldpresumablybecombinedwiththehalftemperingapproach,istojoinmodified9%Cr
steelsbyweldingprocessesthatcancreateaverynarrowHAZ(andthereforeashorterthermalcycleandlesstimefor
overageingofprecipitates).Abe69reportedthatEBweldingwhichproducesaverynarrowHAZ,hadabeneficialeffect
onthecreepruptureperformanceofthetypeIVregionforHCM12Asteel,withmorerecentdataconfirmingthe
behaviourseeFig.27.107TheapproximateHAZwidthsofEBandTIGweldswere05and25mmrespectivelyand
thecrossweldcreeprupturelifeofEBweldswasfoundtobeapproximatelytwicethatofTIGwelds.Sincereduced
pressureEBweldingeliminatestheneedforthefabricationtobehousedinavacuumchamber,thisweldingprocess
appearsworthyofconsiderationforthefieldweldingof9%Crsteels.
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Albertetal.haveshownthatsimulatedFGHAZandrealweldmentsbehavesignificantlydifferentlyintermsoftheir
creepstrain.108Thisobservationwasattributedtothetriaxialityintroducedbythedifferentcreeppropertiesinthe
variousregionsoftheHAZ.Theypointedoutthatchangingtheweldpreparationanglecanalterthestressstateof
thejoint,andinfluencecreepresultssignificantly.TheyconcludedthatbyreducingHAZwidthorthegrooveangleof
thejoint,thisstressstatecanbealteredtoachievesignificantimprovementinrupturelifeoftheweldjoints.Intheir
reportofstudiesoftheHAZingrade91steel,Lahaetal.discussedmeasurestoimprovetypeIVcrackingresistance,
namelyheattreatment,changingtheHAZwidthandmodifyingthesteelcomposition.68
ModificationoftheweldmetalpropertiesalonehasbeenshowntobeineffectiveinavoidingtypeIVfailureingrade
E911steel.109Belowacertainstress,allfailuresweretypeIV.Nevertheless,thereareanumberofconsiderations
whenselectingaweldmetalforusewithcreepresistantsteels.Similarsteamoxidationresistanceisrequiredtothat
oftheparentsteel.However,sincethecreepweekregionislikelytobethetypeIVzoneproducedbythewelding,
thecreepstrengthoftheweldmetalneedonlytobecomfortablyinexcessofthecrossweldstrength.Santella
reportedtheeliminationofahardnessminimuminsurveysacrosstheHAZwhenthetemperingtreatmentwascarried
outat621C,followedbyweldingandaconventional760CPWHT.110Insubsequentcreeptesting,failureoccurredin
theparentsteel.WhilethisgivessomehopethatthetypeIVzonemayhavebeenlargelyeliminatedasaresultofthe
revisedtemperingtreatment,thecreeptestconditionswerenotdisclosedfully,anditappearspossiblethatthe
testingwasoftooshortadurationfortypeIVcrackingtodevelop.Itis,however,possiblethattheextentof
precipitatesnucleationandgrowthduringthetemperingtreatmentwassosmallthattheweldthermalcycleplus
subsequentPWHTdidnotcausethemtocoarsengreatlybeyondtheiroptimumsize.Thisapproachclearlyhassome
similaritieswiththepartialtemperingproposedbySikka,whichwasdiscussedabove.105
Alloydevelopment
Boron
Inviewoftheseveredegradationincreeprupturestrengththatweldingintroducesincurrentlyavailablesteels,itis
desirabletodevelopsteelsinwhichsuchdegradationismuchdiminished.Oneapproachtoimprovingthecreep
rupturestrengthofthetypeIVregionistomodifytheparentsteelcomposition.Themostpromisingsteptowardsthe
eliminationofpoorcrossweldcreepstrengthhasbeentheadditionofboronasanalloyingelement,shownto
improvecreepstrengthingeneralfor9%Crsteelslowconcentrationsarepresentincodedsteelgrade92,for
example(thespecifiedrangeis00010006wt%).111Higherconcentrationshavebeenshowntoenhancethe
creepstrength,withtheTAFsteelsdevelopedinthelate1990sbyFujitaatNIMS(004%B)stillbeing
unsurpassed.112,113BoronisreportedtocombinewithM23C6precipitatesandpreventtheircoarseningandtheonset
oftertiarycreep.114Abeexplainedthattheoretically,boronwillsegregatetograinboundariesduringaustenitisingat
1100C.115,116Duringtemperingat~800C,boronattheboundariesisincorporatedintotheprecipitatingcarbides,
givingM23(C,B)6precipitates.Confirmationofthesegregationofborontograinboundariesanditspresenceinthe
carbideswasobtainedbyautoradiography.114Dasetal.comparedagrade91steelandaboroncontaining
variant.117InadditiontoauniformgrainsizeacrosstheHAZfortheboroncontainingsteelandasmallertroughin
thehardnessprofile,theyclaimedthattheconsequentreductioninthemetallurgicalnotchcontributedtothe
avoidanceoftypeIVfailure.
Unfortunately,TAFsteelswerenotconducivetoweldingorforming,butrecentexperimentalcompositionsappearto
haveovercomethesedifficulties.ThesenewexperimentalalloysincludeMARBNsteelsdevelopedatNIMSanda
similarversionNPM1producedatTU
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28CreeprupturedataofAbeforparentsteelandcrossweldspecimensof92
gradeandaboroncontainingsteeltestedat650C115
Graz.109Themostbeneficialaspectofthesesteels,whichcontain3%Co,3%W,highboronandlownitrogen,istheir
apparentimmunitytotypeIVcracking.Thecreepstrengthoftheweldmentinboroncontainingsteelappearssimilar
tothatoftheparentsteel,asillustratedinFig.28byAbeandbyKondoetal.,whofoundthatnotypeIVfailure
occurredinthehighboronsteel.115,118Thesesteelshavecarefullycontrolledboronandnitrogenadditionsandhave
beensubjecttoanormalisingtreatmentat1150C.Thesemeasurespreventtheformationofcoarseboronnitride
precipitatesthatareknowntobedetrimentalforcreepproperties.Also,theHAZregionisnotrefinedandappears
virtuallyunchangedfromitsstatebeforewelding,i.e.almosttheexactparentmicrostructurethatexistedbefore
weldingispresentpostweldingdowntothelocationofprioraustenitegrainboundariesandmartensiticlathssee
Figs.29and30.119Thepropensityforthisbehaviourisnotwellunderstoodbutisthoughttodependontherelative
concentrationsofboronandnitrogen.Figure31showsthesolubilitylineforboronnitrides,asdeterminedby
observationofthefracturefacesof9%Crsteelswithvaryingamountsofboronandnitrogen,aftertensiletesting.120
Itshowsthat,foragivenboronconcentration,thenitrogenmustbekeptbelowaleveldefinedbythelineinorderto
avoidtheformationofboronnitrides
29Microstructureinsteel'NPM1'beforeandafterweldingthermalcycle
simulationshowingthatthelocationandorientationoffeaturesremainthe
same119
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30Heatedaffectedzonemicrostructureinsteel'NPM1'afterPWHTshowinga
clearresemblancetotheparentsteelmicrostructure109
31SolubilitylimitforBNat1150CforhighCrsteel,withthecorresponding
informationfortheFeBNsystem,derivedbyFountainandChipman120
superimposed
AlsoshownisthecompositionspecificationforP92.ThefigurehasbeenadaptedfromSakurayaetal.121
andthustheformationofarefinedHAZ.ThesolubilitylimitofBNat10501100Cwasexpressedbythefollowing
equation121
log(%B)={245log(%N)681(14)
However,thetruepositionofthislineisnotwelldefinedandalloyswithrelativelyhighlevelsofboronandnitrogen
havebeenfoundtoexhibitthesameadvantageousqualitiesasthosewithcompositionsontheleftsideofthe
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diagram.Mayretal.122haveattemptedtofurthercharacterisethesolubilityofBNfordifferentaustenitising
temperaturesusingthermodynamiccalculationsandexaminationofadditionalmelts.Furthermore,theeffectof
varyingtheweldingthermalcyclehasnotbeeninvestigatedinthese,ratherspecial,boroncontainingsteels.
Nevertheless,thereismuchexcitementinindustrysurroundingthedevelopmentofthesesteelsbecauseoftheir
potentialtoeliminateproblemswithtypeIVcrackingthroughmuchimprovedcrossweldcreepstrength.The
EuropeanCOSTgroupareplanningtoscaleupacastofNPM1(a9%CrsteelcontainingBandN,andhighlevelsofCo
andW),andtoalsoadjustBandNlevelsinthefrontrunningsteelsFB2(a9%CrsteelwithBandNandlowerlevels
ofCoandW)andCB2(thecastequivalentofFB2thatisofessentiallythesamechemicalcomposition),inaneffortto
takeadvantageofthepositiveeffectsofcontrollingtheseelements.Itappearsthattheproductionoflargeheatsof
steelswiththesemodifiedcompositionsislikely.Informationontheperformanceofweldedjointsinthesematerialsis
thereforeclearlyrequired.Unfortunately,thepresenceofboronin9%Crsteelsprecludestheiruseinnuclear
applications.
912%CrsteelsstrengthenedbyZphase
Aseparateparentsteeldevelopmentinvolvestheformationoffinescaleprecipitatesoftheequilibriumphase(Z
phase),whichisthephasethat,whenpresentascoarseprecipitates,isnormallyassociatedwiththerapid
degradationofcreepstrengthatlongdurationsincreepresistantsteels.Previously,a12%Crsteelwouldhavebeen
expectedtosufferfromthereductionincreepstrengthassociatedwithdissolutionoffinerscalestrengthening
precipitatesandtheformationofcoarseZphaseprecipitatesduringlongtermservice,asnotedearliernowitis
possibletoprecipitateZphaseveryquickly,andinafinestabledispersion,withhigherCrlevelsactuallyservetoaid
thisprocess.IntheirEuropeanpatent,DanielsenandHalddescribedtheproductionofahighCrsteelinwhichcreep
strengtheningisachievedviaafinedispersionofZphaseparticles,withanaveragesizeof<400nm.123Thisisan
excitingdevelopmentinwhichthemoststablephaseisprecipitatedduringatemperingtreatmenttogiveasmall
interparticlespacing.Thismeansthatthesteelcannotsufferfromthecompetitivegrowthofdifferentphasesduring
itslifetime,andonlythecoarseningkineticsoftheverystableZphasecancausethelongtermdegradationofcreep
properties.AnotheradvantageofthistypeofsteelisthathigherCrlevelscanbetoleratedwithoutlimitingthecreep
life.HigherCrlevelsgivetheadditionaladvantageofimprovedsteamoxidationresistance.Informationonthecross
weldcreepperformanceofsuch
32Creeprupturestrengthat600Cofsomeexperimentalfluxcoredwire
depositsafterPWHT,containingvaryingamountsofTiandNb,showing
improvedcreepstrengthatTilevelsof~0.06%Ti.AdaptedfromAbsonetal.
83
steelhasnotbeenpublishedatthetimeofwriting,butitwillclearlybeofgreatinteresttoestablishthelevelof
susceptibilitytotypeIVcrackingandtoconfirmtheirexpectedgoodsteamoxidationresistance.Inviewofthe
stabilityofthefinescaleZphaseprecipitates,itisanticipatedthatthisnewtypeofsteelwillshowlessdegradationof
creepstrengthinthetypeIVregionthatother912%Crsteels,butthisappearsnotyettohavebeendemonstrated.
Weldmetaldevelopment
Weldmetalcompositionsusuallyfollowparentsteelcompositions.However,oftentheMnandNicontentsareraised
toimprovestrengthandtoughness.124Theseelementscandepresstheeutectoidtemperature.Itisnecessaryforthe
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PWHTtemperaturetobebelowtheAc1temperaturefortheweldmetal,andthereforecertainelementsthataffectthe
Ac1temperatureneedtobecontrolled.AsMnandNidepressthelowertransformationtemperature,thesumof
Mn+Nishouldnotexceed15%,orthePWHTtemperaturerangewouldneedtoberestricted.125Theseelementsalso
depresstheMstemperature,andthisincreasestheriskofgeneratingretainedaustenite.
AccordingtoSwanekamp,62theASMEIITaskGrouphasproposednewPWHTlimitsongrade91componentsbased
onNiplusMncontent,specifically:
(i)PWHTtemperaturerangemustbe13501425F(732774C)ifthechemicalcompositionofthefillermetalisnot
knownprecisely
(ii)ifthechemicalcompositionofmatchingfillermetalisknownprecisely,themaximumPWHTtemperaturecanbe
increasedto1470F(800C)(ifNi+Mn,10%)or1450F(788C)(ifNi+Mnisbetween10and15%).
InviewofthelowcreepstrengthoftheHAZcomparedwiththeparentsteelinmostcreepresistantsteels,thecreep
strengthoftheweldmetalisofsecondaryimportance.Asnotedabove,weldmetalcompositionsusuallyfollowparent
steelcompositionshowever,weldmetalsdonotdisplaytypeIVcracking.Inthelightofthepromisingresults
displayedbythenewgenerationofboroncontainingsteelsthatappeartohaveareducedsusceptibilitytotypeIV
cracking,thecreepstrengthoftheweldmetalcouldbecomethelimitingfactorforcrossweldcreepstrength.Further
developmentofweldingconsumablesmustawaitthecommercialrealisationofnewersteelcompositions,but
hopefullywillnotlagtoofarbehind.
AlthoughtitaniumispotentiallyausefuladditionfortheformationoffineMXprecipitates,whichenhancecreep
strength,highsolutiontemperaturesarerequiredduringsteelprocessing,leadingtoextracostsforthesteelmaker,
makingitunattractiveforparentsteels.Taneikeetal.andAbeetal.employedasolutiontreatmenttemperatureof
1300Ctotaketitaniumcarbonitridesintosolutionandobservedasubstantialreductionintheminimumcreeprate
at650Cin84%Crsteelscontaining0047%Ti,013%Cand0006%N.126,127
Whileitmaybeimpracticaltoemploysuchahighsolutiontreatmenttemperatureforparentsteels,duetocost
implications,weldsareeffectivelysmallscalecastingsthatundergorapidsolidification,sotheincorporationofsmall
additionsofTiinto9%Crweldmetalsismorestraightforward.SperkosuggestedthatTiisaneffectivesubstitutefor
Nb.125WhiletherecoveryofTiinweldmetalisdifficulttocontrol,partialsubstitutionforNbmaybebeneficial.Tihas
beenshowntobebeneficialforthecreepstrengthofweldmetalseeFig.32.However,thepotentialdetrimental
effectofTiontoughnessmustberecognisedandtheproblemaddressed.83
RepairoftypeIVdamageandavoidanceofPWHT
Onabasiclevel,repairingatypeIVcrackinaweldmentcanbedealtwithinasimilarwaytoanyotherweld
33EffectofPWHTonweldmetaltoughnessdemonstratedwithChromet9B9
129
repair,i.e.thedamagedareaisgenerallyremovedandeitherafillweldisusedoranewpieceofmaterialiswelded
in.MatchingfillersandPWHTarestandardpractice,andproceduresusedduringfabricationareusedforrepairof
serviceagedplant.However,thereareanumberofcomplicationsandissueswithcreepresistantsteelsthatrequire
consideration.TheintroductionofaweldandtheassociatedHAZrepresentsadisturbedpartofthemicrostructure
wheretemperaturesabovetheAc1andAc3haveresultedinaredistributionofelements,includingfullorpartial
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dissolutionofprecipitatesandtheformationofnewmartensite.OnepurposeofPWHTistotempermartensiteinthe
weldmetalandHAZ.However,ifaPWHTisimposed,themicrostructuredevelopedintheparentsteelduringthe
temperingstageofmanufacturecanbemodifiedandsoftenedbyoverheatingorprolongedPWHT,andthisisa
commoncauseforconcern.
Theeffectoncrossweldcreeppropertiesofan(inadvertent)incorrectPWHTduringfabricationisneitherwell
understood,norwelldocumented.Mostattentionhasbeengiventotheweldmetaltoughness,whichisimportant
duringstartup.TheeffectofPWHTonHAZtoughnessandcrossweldcreepstrengthhasnotbeenthoroughly
investigated,althoughShigaetal.119presentedlimiteddataforgrade91steelshowingthatthecreeprupture
strengthafterPWHTislowerthanthatintheasweldedcondition.128
TheimprovedtoughnessimpartedbyahigherPWHTtemperatureorlongerPWHTtimeforgrade91weldmetalis
showninFig.33.129Whilethisinformationrelatestothebehaviourofoneparticularweldmetal,itisparticularly
notablethatthetoughnessisapproximatelydoubledbyimposinga760C/2hPWHTratherthanaPWHTintheAWS
range.Theimprovedabsorbedenergylevelsimplythatthedislocationdensityisreducing,carboniscomingoutof
solution(temperingthemartensite)andprecipitatesareformingandcoarsening.WhilePWHTiscommonlyconsidered
necessarytoprecipitatefinescaleMX,thismightnotalwaysbethebestapproachforoptimisingthelongtermcreep
properties,asfurthertemperingoccursatservicetemperatures.Afternucleation,aprolongedheattreatmentmay
reducetheinterparticlespacing,whichisfundamentalininfluencingcreepstrength.100InpartsoftheHAZwherethe
temperaturehasnotbeenhighenoughtodissolveprecipitates(moreparticularlythefineVNprecipitates,which
dissolveattemperaturesabove1050C),theeffectofPWHToncreeplifemaybeconsideredtobeanegativeone.
However,crossweldcreeptesting(wherethefracturemodewastypeIVcracking)ofweldmentssubjecttoseveral
differentsubcriticalheattreatments(<Ac1),consideredtocovermostscenariosarisinginpractice)withatotalhold
timeofnomorethan9h,hasshownnegligibledifferenceintermsofrupturelife.130,131Itshould,however,be
recognisedthatsomewhatlongerholdtimesatsimilarsubcriticalheattreatmenttemperatureshavebeenshownto
affecttheprecipitatesandcreepperformancesignificantlyinparentmaterialsandarethereforelikelytoalsoaffect
weldmentstrength.132134ThesamestudiesdetailedthedeleteriouseffectsoftreatmentsabovetheAc1temperature.
Inagedmaterialwhereprecipitateshavealreadyundergonesomecoarsening,PWHTwillnothelptoimprovethe
creepstrengthoftheHAZ,andismorelikelytodegradeit,therebytendingtoincreasetheriskoftypeIVcracking.
Sincethecreeplifeofanagedmaterialmaybesomewhatdegraded,itmightbepossibletorelaxthecreepproperties
ofthefillermaterialusedforrepair,soitisessentialtohaveanunderstandingofthecreeppropertiesoftheaged
materialtoensureadequatestrengthintheweldmetal.WhileitisthetypeIVregionoftheHAZandnottheweld
metalthatistheweaklink,atleastforthecurrentgenerationofsteels,theweldmetalselectedmusthavesufficient
creepstrengthtosupportanyoffloadingthatmayoccurduringservice.
Sincethetoughnessofacomponentislikelytodegradeduringelevatedtemperatureservice,itisnotonlyduring
startupafterfabricationthatthereisariskofbrittlefracture.Forrepairsduringfabricationorearlyservice,where
thetoughnesspropertiesofthejointbeforeandafterPWHTareknown,adecisioncanbetakenastowhetheritis
safetoomitPWHT.Residualstressesandthechangesintoughnessduringprolongedserviceandduetorepairare
generallynotknown,andsoPWHTafterarepairinagedmaterialisgenerallyconsiderednecessary.
InviewofthedifficultiesassociatedwithPWHTinthefieldandthelikelydetrimentaleffectoncrossweldcreep
properties,aweldrepairmethodfor912%CrsteelsthatdoesnotrequirePWHTwouldbewelcomed,asitwouldsave
valuablehoursduringmaintenanceshutdownperiods.Suchtechniquesarewellestablishedforloweralloysteels,as
discussedbyFriedman,126whopresentedafourlayerMMAtechnique,andbyMitchellandTolaini,127whodescribed
theuseofalowcarbonCrMofluxcoredwirefortherepairoftypeIVcracking.135,136Forlowalloysteels,careis
requiredtoensurethatstresscorrosioncrackingdoesnotoccurbeforesometemperingofthehardweldmetaland
HAZhasbeeneffectedbyexposuretoservicetemperatures.137139Theuseofaconsumablethatgivesgoodductility
andtoughnessintheasweldedweldmetalwillbenecessaryforrepairsinagedmaterialwithoutPWHT.Hence,the
9%CrnickelbasedconsumableEPRIP87,whichisdiscussedinthenextsection,isanaturalcandidate.
ControlleddepositiontechniquesdevelopedforloweralloycreepresistantsteelstoavoidtheneedforPWHT,e.g.
thosediscussedinthevariousarticlesinWeldingResearchCouncilBulletin412,particularlyFriedman,126havenot
beenwidelyusedforthenewer,higherCrsteels,eventhoughtherearelikelytobeadvantagesifsuitabletechniques
canbedeveloped.135,140MaximisingtherefinementandinparticularthetemperingoftheCGHAZandweldmetal
microstructurethroughtheapplicationofcontrolleddepositionproceduresmaybeawaytoavoidtheuseofPWHTin
somesituations.However,devisingsuchprocedurespresentsaconsiderablechallenge,sincemartensiteofhigh
hardness(>400HV)formsinboththeweldmetalandtheHAZatallnormalcoolingrates,andgrade91,having
goodcreepstrength,isveryresistanttotempering,AfinegrainsizeintheHAZisrequired(forgoodtoughness),and
thusalowheatinputmustbeusedthetemperaturemustbereducedfrom200C(theusualpreheattemperature)to
100uC(toallowtransformationtomartensite)inbetweeneachlayer.Furtherlayersneedtointroducesufficientheat
toeffecttempering,andyetthesteelisresistanttotempering.
Furthermore,sincestresscorrosioncrackinghasbeenknowntooccurinweldmentsawaitingPWHT,thehardness
mustbereducedtoasufficientlylowlevel(whichisyettobedefined)toavoiditsoccurrence.Onebenefitdoesarise
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mustbereducedtoasufficientlylowlevel(whichisyettobedefined)toavoiditsoccurrence.Onebenefitdoesarise
fromthelowmartensitetransformationtemperaturerange,namelythattheaccompanyingexpansionpartiallyoffsets
thebuildupofresidualstress,resultinginlowerlevelsofresidualstressthanthosearisingin225%Cr1%Mo
steel.141,142Extensiveweldprocedurequalificationtestingwillberequiredbeforethisdesirablegoalisachieved.This
isanactiveareaofresearchinseveralresearchcentres,includingTWI.
Thenecessaryprocedurescanbetimeconsuming,difficulttocarryoutandrelyheavilyontheskillofthewelder.
VekemanandHuysmansusedacarefullyconstructed,controlleddepositionprocedureforcoldweldrepairofnewT91,
usingacombinationofthehalfandtemperbeadtechniques,witha22%Cr1%Mofiller.138Brettcommentedon
weldrepairwithoutPWHTofagrade91header:Priortothe2006outage,aweldrepairproceduretobeusedwithout
PWHT,capableofmaintainingtheheaderinoperationbetweenthe2006and2008outages,wasapproved.15Details
ofthisprocedure,whichinvolvedtheuseof9%Cr1%Moweldingelectrodes(withcarbonatthelowerendofthe
availablerange),havenowbeenrevealed.143TheycarriedoutCTODtestsontheasweldedrepair,andcreeptests
followingaheattreatmentthatsimulatedservice,andconcludedthatarepairhadadequatetoughness,andadequate
creepstrengthtoserveforthe4yearintervalbetweenplanedoutages.
Anovelapproachtotheimprovementofthecrossweldcreepstrengthofseamweldsinlowalloysteelpipehasbeen
describedbyColemanandColemanandGandy.144,145Usingfluxcoredarcwelding,theydepositedawidethreelayer
controlleddepositionbandstraddlingthewholeoftheseamweld,therebystrengtheningtheweldmentandputting
thepotentiallycreepweakHAZintocompression,andthusextendingthecreeplifeconsiderably.Ademonstration
repairtoa225%Cr1%Moelbowwasweldedwitha232CpreheatandnoPWHT.144Intheirstudiesofrepairsin
225%Cr1%Moand9%Cr1%Mosteels,Bhadurietal.usedhalfbeadandtemperbeadrepairsseparately,
preferringthelatterforgrade91steel.146TWIiscurrentlyextendingtheapproachforserviceagedtubematerial.As
notedabove,amostimportantconsiderationisthattheinterpasstemperaturemustbelowenoughtoallowcomplete
transformationtomartensiteintheweldmetalandHAZ(~100C)betweenpasses(orbetweenlayers)compared
withthenormallyhighinterpasstemperatureused(~200C),sothatthemartensitetransformationproceedstonear
completion,andsubsequentpassesareabletotempertheunderlyingmicrostructureeffectively,andeffectsome
reliefofresidualstresses.Thedifferenceincreeppropertiesbetweencontrolleddepositionweldsandheattreated
weldsappearsnottohavebeeninvestigated.OthermethodsfortheavoidanceofPWHTmaybeworthexploring,
includingautogenousremeltingtotempertheweldbeadsandtheHAZ.
ThereappearstobelittlepublishedinformationonthecreeppropertiesofasdepositedweldmetalandasformedHAZ
forgrade91steels.Inindentationcreeptests,thecreepstrengthofasdepositedgrade91weldmetalwasshownto
bemuchhigherthanthatoftheparentsteel.147
Theserviceperformanceofseveralweldrepairsforhightemperaturepowerplantapplicationshasbeendiscussedby
Klenketal.148Existingmethodsfortheweldrepairoflowalloyheatresistingferriticsteelshavebeenreviewedby
Issleretal.149ThecommentismadethatPWHTisthemostproblematicstepinpractice,andthatNibased
consumablescanbeusedtorepairwithoutPWHT,atleastfortemporaryrepairs.Theadvantagesanddisadvantages
ofusingNibasedweldmetalhavebeenreviewedbyBrettetal.andarelistedinTable4.150Onedifficultyisthat
dissimilarweldscreatedinsuchawayaredifficulttoinspectnondestructively,andsoaretypicallyreplacedwith
matchingconsumablesatthenextavailableopportunity.Ultrasonicinspectionofdissimilarjointsisreceivingmuch
attentionatTWI.Ifsuccessfulmethodsaredeveloped,thiscouldleadtomorewidespreaduseofNibasedfiller
materialsincreepresistantsteelfabricationsforthepowerindustry.
Clearly,alargeproportionofrepairsarelikelytobecarriedoutfollowingtheoccurrenceofsometypeIVcracking.
AnyrepairweldingislikelytointroduceatypeIVregionoflowercreepstrengththantheserviceagedparentsteel.
Hence,carefulconsiderationmustbegiventotheconsequencesofcarryingoutsucharepair.Theissuesthatshould
beaddressedinamethodstatementrelatingtotherepairweldingof9%CrsteelshavebeendescribedbyHenryand
Bezzant,whostatedthatsuchrepairscanbesuccessfullyperformedif:
(i)thereisuncompromisingattentiontodetail
(ii)theuniquemetallurgyofthematerialisfullyunderstood
(iii)thecurrentconditionofthematerialisfullyunderstood
(iv)thereasonfortherepairisclearlyunderstood(v)adetailedrepairplanisdevelopedbyacompetenttechnical
specialistandallaspectsoftheplanaresuccessfullyexecutedbytheenduserorbythemechanicalcontractoracting
ontheendusersbehalf.151
WeldrepairscarriedoutinSwedishpowerplanthavebeenreviewedbyStoresundandSamuelson.152Mostofthe
repairswereto05Cr05Mo025Vsteel,butsomeinvolvedrepairsrelatedtoserviceinduceddamageindissimilar
weldsbetweenlowalloyand12%Crsteels.Norepairswerefoundinpipeworkof912%Crsteels.Theygavethe
followingrecommendationsrelatingtorepairwelding:
(i)avoidweldingproceduresthatmaycauseastronglycreepsoftHAZ.TheHAZwillalwayshaveacreepsoftpart
(thefinegrainedandintercriticalparts).Thatpart,aswellasthewholeHAZ,willbewiderwithincreasingheatinput.
AwiderHAZdecreasesthecreepstrengthoftheweld.Coarseningofcarbidesmaybemorepronouncedduringthe
weldthermalcyclewithhigherheatinput,particularlyintheHAZ.Thecoarseningofcarbidesresultsinlowercreep
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strength,sotheuseofaheatinputaslowaspracticallypossibleisrecommended.ToavoidwideHAZs,itisalso
recommendedtouseinterpasstemperaturesof#300uC.(Higherthan250uCwouldbemoreappropriatefor9%Cr
steels.)
(ii)selectdesignsolutionsthatminimisesystemstressesas(even)smallsystemstressesreducethecreeplifeof
weldmentssignificantly.Iftherepairwasnotdictatedbythepresenceofappreciablesystemstresses,itisvery
importanttoreduceoreliminatethese
(iii)selectmaterialsforweldrepairthataresomewhatovermatched(creepstrong)inrelationtotheremaining
serviceexposedmaterial.Hardnesstesting,replicatestingortheextractionofboatsamples,servicedataand
chemicalanalysisgiveunderstandingofthecreepstrainresistanceintheagedmaterial.Newweldmetalshouldbe
testedcorrespondingtoanordinaryweldtest.Theseinvestigationswillhelpselectionofweldrepairmaterialand
procedure.Typicallyanewweldmetalofthesamematerialastheserviceexposedoneswillgiveastrongly
overmatchedrepair
(iv)wideandmediumdeepgeometryoftheexcavationisoptimalforthelifetimeofaweldrepair.Deeperorfull
repairsare,however,necessaryifcracks,microcracksorcreepcavitiesarepresentdeepinthematerial.Repairofat
leastthewholewidthoftheoriginalweld,includingtheHAZsisalwaysrecommended,evenifthedamageislocal,
suchascracksintheHAZonlyatonesideoftheweld.
Table4SummaryoftheadvantagesanddisadvantagesoftheuseofferriticandNibasedconsumables
forrepair
welding150
Ferritic
Advantages
Minimalmaterialdiscontinuity
Ultrasonicinspectability
Longtermintegrity
Disadvantages
Higherresidualstress
Riskofhydrogenassistedcracking
Poorfracturetoughness
Specialisedwelddepositiontechniques
essential
Nickelbased
Advantages
Lowerresidualstress
Intrinsicresistancetohydrogenassistedcracking
BetterfracturetoughnessNospecialisedwelddepositiontechniques
required
Disadvantages
Transitionjointlimitations
Problemsofinspectability
Technologygapsandfuturetrends
Theuseofcreepresistantsteelsinexistingplantandtheirpopularapplicationincurrentbuildsmeanthattherewill
beariskofcontinuedrecurrenceoftypeIVcrackingfortheforeseeablefuture,andtherefore,inadditiontotheusual
monitoringstrategies,detectionandrepairstrategieswillberequiredforatleastthenext30years.InChinaand
India,where(inthelightoftherapidexpansioninelectricpowergenerationinthesecountries)hundredsofnew
powerplantshaverecentlybeenbuiltusingcreepresistantsteels,thereislikelytobeconsiderablescopeforthe
detection,monitoringandrepairoftypeIVcracking.Worldwidestandardsneedtoreflecttheknowledgethatnow
exists.Thereremainsarealdangerarisingfromfabricationsbuilttooldcode,includingseamweldedelbows,with
apparentlynoallowanceforthediminishedcrossweldcreepstrength.Whilethecrossweldstresstowhichgirth
weldsaresubjectedishalfthattowhichseamweldsaresubjected,failuretolimitsystemstressescan,asdiscussed
earlier,makegirthweldvulnerabletofailurebytypeIVcracking.Clearly,thereisanurgentneedtoincrease
awarenessoftheseveredegradationincreepstrengththatweldingintroduces,andtoreflectthisinformation
instandards.Whenimprovementsareeffectedinparentsteelsthroughboronandpossiblyotheralloyingadditions,
andcrossweldstrengthinthetypeIVregionincreasessignificantly,improvedweldmetalswillberequired,toavoid
theweldmetalbecomingthecreepweakregion.Itisthereforenowtimetoundertakeanintensiveprogrammeofweld
metaldevelopment,involvinglongtermcreeprupturetesting.
ThereisgrowingawarenessoftypeIVissuesinEurope,theUSAandJapan,wheremeasuresarebeingtakento
mitigatetherisks,andresearchtodevelopresistantsteelsisunderway.Followingfurtherdevelopment,boron
containingsteelsarelikelytobeputintowidespreaduseinfossilfuelplantattemperaturesupto650C.Longterm
crosswelddataarethereforerequiredforthesenewersteels.
Inweldmentsinthe9%Crsteels,martensiteformsbothintheweldmetalandintheCGandFGHAZs.The
transformationfromaustenitetomartensiteoccursatasufficientlylowtemperaturethattheassociatedexpansionwill
partiallyoffsetthecontractionoccurringduringweldmentcooling.Theeffectofthisexpansionistoreducethelevelof
residualstressinthisclassofsteels.Whilethisisatopicthathasnotreceivedextensiveattention,itisunlikelytobe
anareaofconcerninfabricationssubjectedtoaPWHT.However,ifstrategiesareeverdevisedforcarryingoutrepair
weldingwithoutaPWHT,residualstresseswillassumegreatersignificance.
Inthenearfuture,N+Ttreatmentstominimisethereductionincrossweldstrengthcouldbecomemore
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commonplace,andmayalsocometobeusedforseamweldedpipe.Thismaybringadifferentsetofproblems
associatedwithtemperaturecontrolandtheeffectofsuchtreatmentsonweldmetalsinparticular.Electronbeam
welding(whichremovesthecomplicationoffillermetals)mayofferproductivityimprovementsforlargerepetitive
manufactureofsomeparts.OneareawhereEBweldingmaybeofuse,especiallywhencoupledwithanN+T
treatment,maybeforthemanufactureoflargedishedendsofpressurevesselsbyjoiningforgedpetalstogether.
However,furtherresearchtoprovesuchtechnologyisrequired.
Aninterestingrecentdevelopmentistherevisednormalisingand(double)temperingtreatmentforgrade92steel
thatwasfirstmodelledandthencarriedoutbyYinandcoworkersandMorrisandcoworkers.153,154Theselater
authorsshowedthatanewheattreatmentschedule(normalisingat1150Canddoubletemperingat660Cfor3h+3
h)extendedthe(parentsteel)creeplifebymorethanafactorof3,withafurthersubstantialincreasearisingfroma
reductionintheC/Nratio.(Thisdemonstrationofthestronginfluenceofnormalisingtemperatureprovides
experimentalsupportfortheneuralnetworkpredictionofFrancisetal.,mentionedinthesectiononNeuralnetwork
analyses.102)Itwillclearlybeofinteresttoestablishiftheimprovedcreepperformanceissustainedfortimes
appropriatetopowerplantservice.Sofar,nocrosswelddatahavebeenreported,butitwillalsobeofinterestto
establishtheweldstrengthfactorappropriateto105htests.
Tomeetfutureenergyneeds,baseloadpowerismostlikelytobemetbynuclearstations,withrenewableenergies
contributing.Incountrieswherecoalisabundant,coalfiredstationswillcontinuetomakeamajorcontribution,
particularlyascarboncaptureandstoragebecomesviable.Forcoalfiredstationsandcombinedcyclegasturbine
units,thedegradationofalloysteelsinhightemperatureserviceasaresultofcombinedcreepandfatigueislikelyto
becomeincreasinglyimportant.Continuedeffortisrequiredwithdataneedednotonlyongrades91and92steels,but
alsoontheemergingalloys.
Ifthepilotplantoperatingat>700Cshowsgoodprogress,thenmoredissimilarweldsbetweenferriticandnickel
basedalloyswillbecomecommonplace,andthismaybringnewproblems,includingthecrossweldcreepstrength
andnondestructivetestingdifficulties.Theweldingofdissimilarmetaljointsposesspecialproblemsintheselection
offillermetalsandPWHTtemperatures.DuringPWHTandearlyservice,carbonwilldiffusetothehigheralloysteel
fromtheloweralloysteel,therebycreatingacarbondepletedzoneinthelatter,whichiscreepweak.Theissuehas
beenresearchedbyseveralauthors,includingRomanetal.,whoobtainedthelowestcrossweldcreepstrengthofa
varietyofdissimilargrade22tograde91jointswherethegrade22wasbutteredwithgrade91weldmetal.155Inhis
extensivetests,whichincludedelevatedtemperatureexposuresimulatingservice,Allenconcludedthatgrade22weld
metalwasthemostappropriateconsumableforsuchjoints.156Atablegivingrecommendedweldmetalcompositions
fordissimilarmetaljointsisgiveninAWSD10896.157Anewlydevelopedversatileweldingconsumable,EPRIP87,a
nickelbasedconsumablealloyedwith9%Crinordertominimisethecarbondiffusionthatoccursduringwelding,
PWHTandserviceofdissimilarwelds,hasbeenreported.104,158160WhenjoiningCrMosteelcomponentswith
butteredjointfacesthathavebeensubjectedtoPWHTtoothersimilarlypreparedCrMosteelsortostainlesssteels,
thecompletedjointcanbeleftaswelded.
Inthelightofthecommentsmadeabove,importantareasforfutureactivity,includingresearch,appearlikelytobe
thefollowing:
(i)furtherchangesinstandardstoreflectthelowcrossweldcreepstrengthofcreepresistantsteels,andthe
implicationsforfabrications,particularlythoseinsteamservice
(ii)scalinguptheuseofboroncontainingsteels,inthelightofresearchfindingsoftheapparentabsenceofthetype
IVdegradationincrossweldcreepstrength
(iii)newsteelsstrengthenedbyfineZphasedispersionsshouldbefurtherinvestigated,especiallytheeffectof
weldingthem
(iv)theconsequencesofNzTtreatmentsfollowingweldingmeritfurtherstudy,asdoestheEBweldingofthicksection
unitsthatcanbefabricatedoffsite
(v)furtherinvestigationoftheuseofhighernormalisingtemperaturesthanthosecurrentlyinuseshouldbecarried
out,togetherwithrevisedtemperingtreatmentstoinvestigatewhetherimprovementscanbeachievedinlongterm
creepstrength
(vi)theconsequencesforcreeplifeofthermalcyclingmeritfurtherstudy,particularlyforgrades91and92steelsand
emergingsteels,toAbsonandRothwellReviewoftypeIVcrackingofweldmentsin912%Crcreepstrength
enhancedferriticsteelsInternationalMaterialsReviews2013VOL58NO8465ensurethatanydetrimentaleffectsare
understoodandallowedforindesign
(vii)dissimilarweldsbetweenmartensiticsteelsandNialloysarecomingintoincreasingfocusinlightofthetarget
700uCoperatingtemperatures.IncreasinguseappearslikelytobemadeofthenewNibasedconsumableEPRIP87.
Continuedresearchisthereforerequiredtogainamorecompleteunderstandingofthebenefitsthatitprovides.The
prospectofusingitfortherepairofcreepresistantsteelswithoutPWHTmeritsinvestigation.
Conclusions
FromareviewoftheliteratureparticularlywithrespecttotypeIVcrackingin912%Crcreepresistantsteels,the
followingconclusionshavebeendrawn.
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1.TypeIVcrackinghasbecomeasignificantproblemforsteelincreepservice.Laboratorytestshaveshownthat
ithasgenerallyincreasedinseverityasthecreepstrengthofparentsteelgradeshasincreasedoverthelast
40years.
2.ThemechanismoftypeIVfailureisstronglylinkedtotherelativeoverageingofprecipitatesintheintercritical
andfinegrainregionsoftheHAZ.Theweldingthermalcyclecausesadegreeofprematureagingbefore
serviceandsomesofteningofthisHAZregion.ThesefinegrainregionsofHAZmicrostructurepromote
localiseddiffusionandexpediteprecipitategrowthduringservice.Theresultingcreepweakregionaccumulates
straininacontinuousnarrowbandoftheHAZ,approximatelyparalleltothefusionboundary,leadingtovoid
nucleation,crackingandfinallytolowductilityfracture.
3.DespitetheoccurrenceoftypeIVfailuresinloweralloysteels,grade91steelandothercreepresistantsteels
wereemployedwithinadequateattentionpaidtocrossweldproperties.Hence,manyinstancesoftypeIV
crackinghavebeendetectedinhightemperatureplant.Failureshaveoccurred,andcontinuetooccur,asa
resultofinadequateallowanceforthepresenceofacreepweakHAZregionandtheinfluenceofservice
stresses.
4.TheextentofthedisparityincreepstrengthbetweentheparentsteelandthetypeIVregionoftheHAZ
increasesasthecreeplifeincreases,i.e.astheappliedstressdecreases.Hence,theextrapolationofresults
fromlaboratoryteststolikelyservicelifetimesmustbecarriedoutwithduecareandattention.Theinclusion
ofdatacollectedfromlongtermcrossweldcreepspecimensthatfailbythetypeIVmechanismareessential
beforeanyextrapolationiscarriedoutforthepurposesoflifetimepredictions.
5.TheintroductionofnewASMErulesin2008addressingthepoorcreepstrengthofweldedboilercomponents
shouldhelptoeliminatetheprematureoccurrenceoftypeIVdamageinnewfabrications.34However,the
recentcodechangesrequiretheuseofthickercomponentsthataremoreexpensivetomanufactureandthey
maysufferfromhigherresidual,systemandthermallyinducedstresslevels.Theincreasedthicknessto
mitigatetypeIVcrackingovercomponentlifetimesandtocomplywithcoderequirements,negatesmanyof
theadvantagesthatthesesteelsweredesignedtooffer.Asaconsequence,atthetimeofwriting,thecurrent
gradesofcreepresistantsteelsavailablearenolongerperceivedtooffersuchanadvantageoverolder,low
alloycounterparts.
6.Theintroductionofnewalloyswithcontrolledboronandnitrogenlevelsappearstobethemostpromisingway
forwardintermsofmitigatingtypeIVfailureinthelongterm.Intheshortterm,normalisingandtempering
treatmentofweldedcomponentswillbecomemorewidespread,withfinalsiteweldseitherinareasoflow
systemstressorofgreatersectionsize.
7.ThemostdesirablegoalintherepairofcreepresistantsteelsandtypeIVdamageinthemistheremovalofthe
needforPWHT.Solutionstothisproblemmayincludecontrolleddepositiontechniquesderivedfromthose
usedforloweralloysteels,andalsotheuseofNibasedconsumables.ThecriterionfortheneedforPWHTand
theeffectoncreeppropertiesisnotclear.
Appendix1
DigestfromEN134452:2002(E)Issue35(200901)Unfiredpressure
vessels.Materials
Weldcreepstrengthreductionfactor(WCSRF):factortoaccountforpossiblecreepstrengthreductionatthe
weldment
4242Creeppropertiesofweldments:Creeppropertiesofweldjointssubjectedtostressesnormaltotheweld
maydiffersignificantlyfromthoseofthebasematerial.
Forthedesignofvesselsinthecreeprange,thisistakenintoaccountinEN134453bymakinguseofaweldcreep
strengthreductionfactorzcobtainedfromtestsonweldments.Ifnodataareavailable,adefaultvalueofzcisused.
AnacceptablemethodtodeterminezcbycrossweldtestsisgiveninAnnexC(seealsoRef.161).
AnnexC(informative).Procedurefordeterminationoftheweldcreep
strengthreductionfactor(WCSRF)
TheWCSRFwillbetakenas1whenallthefollowingconditionsarefulfilledbythesteelmanufacturer:
1.Stressrupturetestsonweldmentsmadeonspecimensofthesamesteelproductsasusedinthevesseland
whicharecomparableasregardsconsumableshallbecarriedoutaccordingtotheEuropeanCreep
CollaborativeCommittee(ECCC)Recommendations.162
2.Twotesttemperaturesshallbeselectedwithinarangeof30Caboutthemeandesigntemperature.Ateach
ofthesetemperatures,creeptestsshallbecarriedoutatstressesselectedtogivedurationsuptoonethirdof
thecreepdesignlife(typically1000,3000,10000,30000,60000,100000h,etc.).Ithastobeshownthat
thelowerlimitoftheachievedcreepvaluesoftheweldedjointarenotlowerthantheloweracceptedscatter
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band(20%)ofspecifiedmeanvaluesofthecreepstrengthofthebasematerialaccordingtothematerials
standard.Howeverifthefailureislocatedintheheataffectedzone(HAZ),extrapolationisnotallowedwithout
furthertestingatlongertimesshowingnofurtherapparentdecrease.Inthiscaseextrapolationmaybemade
byafactorequivalenttothefactorAbsonandRothwellReviewoftypeIVcrackingofweldmentsin912%Cr
creepstrengthenhancedferriticsteels466InternationalMaterialsReviews2013VOL58NO8showing
stabilisedconditionsusedintheselongertests.
3.WhennocrackingintheHAZhasbeenfoundinthetestsprescribedabove,anadditionalsetoftestsata
highertemperatureshallbemadewiththevalueoftheLarsonMillerparameter(LMP)equaltoorgreater
thanthatattheextrapolationpointThistestingshallbemadetoconfirmthatthelocationofthefailuredoes
notchangefromthebasematerialtoHAZ.Thetemperatureshallideallybenomorethan50Cgreaterthan
thehighertemperaturetestinC.2(inordertoavoidanunacceptablemodificationofthemicrostructure).The
stressshallleadtoaminimumtestingtimeof10kh.Thetemperatureandtestingtimeshallbeselectedso
thatthecreeptimetemperatureparameter(TTP),e.g.LMPinthesetestsisatleastthevalueatthe
extrapolationpoint(timeandtemperature).Aminimumofthreesamplesshallbetested.Thefracturelocation
ofthecreepspecimensshallbecheckedbymicroscopicexamination.
4.IffracturelocationofthecreepspecimensinC.3iswithinthebasematerial,theWCSRFmaybetakenas
unityforatimeequaltothetimeachievedinthetestsinC.2multipliedbyamaximumofthree.
5.Whenthecreepstrengthpropertiesofcrossweldspecimensfallbelowtheminimumvaluegiveninthescatter
bandaspecificweldreductionfactorcanbeusedbasedontheratiooftheaveragevalueofthecreepstrength
comparedto80%ofthemeanvalueofthebasematerial.
Appendix2
Estimationofremaininglife
Introduction
Similartootherengineeringassessmentwork,thefirststepinhightemperaturecomponentlifeassessmentisto
determinethelikelydamagemechanismsinvolvedinthedeteriorationofthematerial.Thecreepofmostcomponents
ischaracterisedbycontinuumdamage(creepruptureorcreepstrain).However,insomecasesfracturemechanics
dominatesthetotallifeofthecomponentexamplesofthisscenariocouldbethickcomponentssuchasheadersand
highpressure/temperaturesteampiping.Oncetheapplicabledamagemechanismsareidentifiedforeachpartofthe
system(purecreeprupture,creepfatigue,creepcrackgrowth,etc.),anappropriateassessmentprocedure,including
nondestructivetesting,continuousmonitoring,fitnessforservice,etc.canbeadoptedtoensuretheintegrityof
componentinagivenoperatinginterval.Weldsthataresubjectedtocrossweldservicestressortohighsystem
stressesarepotentiallyatriskoffailurebytypeIVcracking.Hence,considerationorthepotentialtotypeIVcracking
willfigureinanylifeassessmentofsystemsincreepservice.
Thefollowinginitialscreeninginspectionsarerecommended,andthesecanbeusedinadditiontoandbeforeother
techniques.(Note,however,thateachmethodmaybeusableonlyoveraparticulartemperaturerange.)
(i)visualsurveyforbulging,saggingandgeneraldeformation,particularlyinweldregion
(ii)dimensionalchecksultrasonicthicknessmeasurements,tubestrapping(fordiametricgrowthoftubes)
(iii)crackdetectionforsurfacebreakingflawsataccessiblewelds,headerligaments,etc.,usingmagneticparticle
inspection,dyepenetrantand/orelectromagnetictechniquestodeterminedefectsize.Ultrasonicinspectioncanbe
usedforsuspectedinternalcracks
(iv)thermographicinspectionthroughpeepholestocheckforhotspotsontubebanks/boilersections,tofocus
inspectionsamplelocations
(v)examinationofthermocoupledatafromprocessoperatorstocheckforhotregions,tofocusinspectionand
sampling.
Avarietyoftechniquesareavailableforfurtherexamination,includingthepreparationandexaminationofacetate
replicastoestablishtheextentofanycreepcavitationhardnessmeasurement,smallscalepunchcreeptestingon
extractedsamplescreeprupturetestingonextractedsamplesthecontinuousmonitoringofcreepstrain
intermittentmeasurementofcreepstrainandmicrofocusXray.Thecomparativelyrecentdevelopmentofequipment
fortheremovalbyelectrodischargemachiningofasmallslabofmaterialfacilitatesdamageassessmentand
remaininglifeassessment,asthesamplecanbeusedforacetatereplicapreparationandhardness,smallpunch
creep,conventionalcreep(albeitwithaminiaturesample)andultrasonictesting.163Acriticalreviewofthe
assessmentofcreepdamageinsteelsemployedinthepowergenerationindustryhasbeencarriedoutbySpositoet
al.66Inthelightofshortcomingsoftheuseofreplicasfordamageassessmentinthesecondaryandtertiarystagesof
creep,theyconcludedthatultrasonicandpotentialdroptechniquesappeartobemostpromising,butthatfurther
researchisneededbeforetheyarefullymaturefordeploymentinthefield.
Severaltechniquesareavailableformonitoringcreepstrain,andthusestimatingremaininglife.Hardness
measurements,discussedbelow,arenotsufficientlysensitivetoallowpredictionofthecreepbehaviourofweldments,
andthustheriskoftypeIVcracking.Theremainingtechniques,ifdeployedinweldmentregionsoracrosstheHAZ,
havethepotentialtodoso.
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Remaininglifeassessmentfromhardnessmeasurements
WiththecaveatnotedinthesectiononHardness,namelythathardnessminimaacrosstheHAZdonotalways
representthemostcreepweakregion,theremainingcreeplifecanbeestimatedfromhardnessreadings.However,it
shouldbestatedthatusinghardnessvaluestodetermineremainingcreeplifeisextremelyspecifictoeachindividual
heatofsteel,andshouldthereforebeusedasancontinuingmonitoringtechniquefromoneinspectiontothenext.If
thematerialhardnessisdeterminedatthestartofitsservicelife,theapproachdiscussedinthesectiononHardness
(equation(8))canbeappliedtosteelinelevatedtemperatureservice,withhardnessbeingmeasuredatroom
temperatureduringashutdown.AllenandFentonandAllenhavedevelopedanapproachforestimatingremaininglife
fromhardnessmeasurements.164,165Themodelrequiresthedeterminationofcreeprupturestrengthdatathatis
normalisedbydividingbythehightemperatureflowstress.
Damageassessmentusingacetatereplicas
Inviewoftheneedtohaveanacetatesheetincontactwiththemetalsurface,thistechniquecanonlybeusedon
hightemperatureplantduringashutdown.Thepreparationofacetatereplicasandtheirexamination(usuallyinan
opticalmicroscope),isawellestablishedtechnique.However,caremustbeexercisedtoensurethatthesurface
regionbeingsampledisrepresentativeoftheunderlyingbulkmaterialandsubsurfacedamage.Thisprincipleismost
likelytobeviolatedwhereitisdesiredtoestablishtheextentofcreepcavitationinahighlylocalisedregion,suchas
theHAZ.ParticularlyforadoubleVweld,thepresenceofcreepcavitationnearmidthicknessmaynotbemonitored
readilyfromthesurface,astherewillnotnormallybeasimilarextentofcreepcavitationattheoutersurface.
AccordingtoJaskeandViswanathan,theguidancegivenbytheclassificationofNeubauerandWedellistedbelow,
whichwasderivedfromextensiveobservationsonsteampipesinGermanpowerplants,isusedbymanyplant
operatorsintheirsteampipeassessmentprogrammes.166,167
(i)classA:isolatedcavities,requiresnoremedialaction
(ii)classB:orientedcavities,requiresreinspectionwithin153years
(iii)classC:microcracks,requiresrepairorreplacementwithin6months
(iv)classD:macrocracks,requiresimmediaterepairorreplacement.
Remaininglifeassessmentfromcreepmeasurements
Therearetwoprimarymethodsbywhichcreepmeasurementscanbemade,bothofwhichrequireextractedsamples.
Indentationcreepmeasurementscanbemade,typicallyonasmallslabofthetestmaterial.168Datageneratedare
compared,forexampleonaLarsonMillerplot,withestablisheddataforthetestmaterialtodetermineaconverted
stress.Asimilarapproachistakenifsufficientmaterialisextractedtopermitthemachiningandtestingofuniaxial
creeprupturespecimens.169
Continuousmonitoringofcreepstrain
Continuousmonitoringrequirestheattachmentofstraingauges.Onlinedisplacementmeasurementsatelevated
temperaturearetypicallyundertakenusingcapacitancedevices,whichusuallymonitorthestrainintheparent
steel.170Thetrendinstrainaccumulationundermultidirectionalconditionsissimilartouniaxial,i.e.therate
decreasesduringprimarycreepbeforeacceleratinginatertiarystage.
Intermittentmeasurementofcreepstrain
Aninitialimageofthesurfaceofthematerialofinterestistaken,andadetailedcomparisonmadewithlaterimages,
permittingthemicrostraintobedetermined.ImagecorrelationmethodsaremoresuitableformonitoringtheHAZina
weld.171Morrisetal.discussedtheautoreferencecreepmanagementandcontrol(ARCMAC)systemusedbyE.ON
UK.172Theyreportthatusingalightemittingdiodelightsourceandappropriatesoftware,theequipmentcancapture
strainsaslowas500microstrainwhich,theystate,ismorethantwicetheexpectedstrainonsteampipeafter2
yearsservice.Asimilardevice,speckleimagecorrelationanalysis(SPICA),whichrequiresalightsourceandavideo
camera,hasbeenusedextensivelybyKEMAoverseveralyears.Themethodinvolvesmakinganopticalfingerprintof
agivensurfaceinordertocompareitwithanotherimagerecordedlater.Localandintegralstraincanbecalculated.
EvaluationcriteriaarebasedontheresultsoftestsconductedontestspecimensforHAZ,thecriteriaarebasedon
theelongationofthisparticulararea.Byusingelectronspecklepatterninterferometry,flawsaredetectedby
examininginterferencepatterns.173Thistechniqueisreportedtobeabletodetectdeformationanddisplacement,and
allowstrainmeasurementdownto1025.171
Laserprofilometryisusedformeasuringtheinnerprofileofpipingandaccuratemeasurementsoftubediametersare
possible,allowingthedetectionofincipientcreepdamagebymeasuringa2%diameterincrease.174
Ultrasonictesting
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Forlifepredictionofsuperheater/reheatercoils,themetalservicetemperaturecanbeestimatedbyinsitu
measurementofthethicknessofsteamsideoxidescale,whichiseffectedbymeasuringtimeofflightofhigh
frequencyultrasonicwaves.175ThedataareusedinthesoftwareprogramdevelopedbyBHELforlifeprediction.176
BhattacharyamentionedtheuseofAscanforasimilarpurposeinboilercomponentsinIndianindustry.177
Ultrasonicorradiographictechniquesmaybeabletodetectthephysicaldamageduetocreep(cavitiesorcracks),
andthusdetectadvancedstagesoftypeIVcracking.Forimprovedimaging,phasedarrayultrasonicsortimeofflight
deflectionmaybepreferredormicrofocusXrayequipmentwithdigitalscreensmaybeused.AcknowledgementsThe
authorsaregratefultoDrA.K.BhaduriandDrK.Laha,forsupplyingdatausedinplottingFig.17andtocolleagues
atTWI,includingB.J.Cane,C.J.AblittandJ.R.Rudlinfortheirhelpandadvice.Thecontributionsofthereferees,in
suggestingmanyimprovementstothemanuscript,arealsogratefullyacknowledged.
Acknowledgements
TheauthorsaregratefultoDrA.K.BhaduriandDrK.Laha,forsupplyingdatausedinplottingFig.17andto
colleaguesatTWI,includingB.J.Cane,C.J.AblittandJ.R.Rudlinfortheirhelpandadvice.Thecontributionsofthe
referees,insuggestingmanyimprovementstothemanuscript,arealsogratefullyacknowledged.
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