The susceptibilities of hot cracking and reheat cracking of A-USC candidate Ni-based alloys were evaluated relatively by Trans-Varestraint testing and Slow Strain Rate Tensile (SSRT) testing. In addition, semi-quantitative evaluation of the stress relaxation cracking susceptibility of Alloy 617 was conducted, because stress relaxation cracking in the heat affected zone (HAZ) has actually been reported for repair welds in Alloy 617 steam piping in European A-USC field-testing. Solidification cracking susceptibilities of Alloy 617 were the highest; followed by HR35, Alloy 740 and Alloy 141, which were all high; and then by HR6W and Alloy 263, which were relatively low. In addition, liquation cracking was observed in the HAZ of Alloy 617. The reheat cracking susceptibilities of Alloy 617, Alloy 263, Alloy 740 and Alloy 141 were somewhat higher than those of HR6W and HR35 which have good creep ductility due to the absence of γ’ phase precipitates. A method to evaluate stress relaxation cracking susceptibility was developed by applying a three-point bending test using a specimen with a V-notch and finite element analysis (FEA), and it was shown that stress relaxation cracking of aged Alloy 617 can be experimentally replicated. It was proposed that a larger magnitude of creep strain occurs via stress relaxation during the three-point bending test due to a higher yield strength caused by γ’ phase strengthening, and that low ductility due to grain boundary carbides promoted stress relaxation cracking. The critical creep strain curve of cracking can be created by means of the relationship between the initial strain and the creep strain during the three-point bending tests, which were calculated by FEA. Therefore, the critical conditions to cause cracking could be estimated from the stress relaxation cracking boundary from of the relationship between the initial strain and the creep strain during the three-point bending test.

The need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions of new fossil power plants is one of the biggest challenges of mankind in the next decades. In this context increasing net efficiency is the most important aspect which has led to the development of not only new steels for potential plant operation up to 650°C, but also to forged nickel alloys for 700°C and maybe 750°C. For steam temperatures of 700°C Alloy 617 and variants like TOS1x have been already intensively investigated, and manufacturability of large rotor parts was demonstrated. For operation temperatures of 750°C, only the use of γ‘ age-hardenable nickel base alloys is possible. Alloy 263 is one of the most promising alloys for manufacturing large forged components. For this material grade Saarschmiede has produced successfully a large rotor forging for the first time. Considering the complexity in manufacturing large nickel base alloy forgings, the implementation of simulation tools for calculation and optimization of production parameters becomes especially important. Numerical simulation methods are essential to predict material behavior and to optimize material quality-related manufacturing steps. In reference to mechanical properties, microstructure, uniformity of chemical composition FEM computer simulations for the key manufacturing processes re-melting, forging and heat treatment are in application. This paper will present the current status of production of very large prototype nickel base alloy rotor forgings for 700°C and 750°C A-USC power plants. Test results of an Alloy 617 large full scale turbine rotor component recently with improved properties produced will be highlighted. Experiences and results in applying numeric simulation models to ingot manufacturing and forging will also be reported.

Type IV creep damage of high chromium steel is a problem in thermal power plants and a method of evaluating remaining life is required. Type IV creep damage is characterized by many voids that initiate in the weldment fine grain heat affected zone (FGHAZ), where the stress multiaxiality (expressed by the Triaxiality Factor, TF) is high. As the creep continues, the shape of the grain boundary becomes simple; that is, close to a straight line. It is known that the grain boundary is fractal. The complexity of the fractal is represented by the fractal dimension. Therefore, we considered that the fractal dimension of the grain boundary in FGHAZ could be an indication of creep damage and studied its change as creep proceeded. First, creep tests were conducted to produce damaged materials, and their fractal dimensions were measured. Next, FEM analysis was conducted to obtain the distribution of the principal stress, TF, and creep strain of the observed surface. The distribution of creep damage was obtained by the time fraction rule. The results of this evaluation confirmed that the fractal dimension of the grain boundary decreases with creep time and that the principal stress and TF affect it.

The effect of taking miniature sample scoops on the creep life of ASME Grade 91 steel pipes was experimentally and analytically assessed in this work. Internal pressure tests were conducted on tubular specimens having defects on their outer surface, which simulate sampling scoops. The creep life did not decrease until the depth ratio of the defect to the wall thickness of the specimens was about 5%, and the creep life decreased with increasing defect depth when the depth ratio exceeded about 5%. When the depth ratio was about 11%, the creep life decreased to four-fifths of that of a specimen with no defects. In addition, as a result of investigating the stress concentration around a defect with a depth ratio of about 5% by the finite element method, stress concentration was clearly observed around the defect. These results suggest that taking a miniature sample up to a depth of 5% of the thickness of a Grade 91 steel pipe in service has a negligible effect on the creep life of the pipe.

This study is concerned with the creep damage evaluation for the welded joint of modified 9Cr-1Mo steels. A finite element prediction method based on ductility exhaustion approach has been proposed. Degradation of creep ductility under multi-axial stress state has been formulated from the experimental results of notched bar specimens for the base metal and the fine-grained heat affected zone, and has been taken into the damage model. Creep test of welded joint specimen of modified 9Cr-1Mo steel has been conducted to confirm the accuracy of the damage evaluation method. It has been concluded that the predicted trend of creep damage has good agreement with the experimental results, but the predicted rupture time become longer than the experimental results of rupture time.

The piping stress and thermal displacement corresponding to different types of riser rigid support and hanger devices in different installation directions have been calculated by means of finite element analysis, to further analyze the impact on cracking of adjacent steam tee welds exerted by the constraint effect of riser rigid hangers on angular displacement. It can be seen from the analysis that a riser rigid hanger has a constraint effect on angular displacement, and such a constraint effect, however, is weak and limited on the piping stress and thermal displacement, so the piping stress and supports and hangers are not the main reasons for the cracking of tee welds. In addition, the calculation results alert that for an axial limiting hanger of riser with a dynamic axial pipe clamp and rigid struts, its constraint effect on angular displacement has a significant impact on the piping stress and thermal displacement.

Type IV damage was found at several ultra-supercritical (USC) plants that used creep-strength-enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steels in Japan, and the assessment of the remaining life of the CSEF steels is important for electric power companies. However, there has been little research on the remaining life of material that has actually served at a plant. In this study, the damage and remaining life of a Gr.91 welded elbow pipe that served for 54,000 h at a USC plant were investigated. First, microscopic observation and hardness testing were conducted on specimen cut from the welded joint; the results indicated that the damage to the elbow was more severe in the fine-grain heat-affected zone near the inner surface. Furthermore, creep rupture tests were performed using specimens cut from the welded joint of the elbow, and from these results, the remaining life was evaluated using the time fraction rule as almost 110,000 h. Finite-element analysis was also conducted to assess the damage and remaining life, and the results were compared with the experimental results.

Increasing demand on efficiency and power output of steam generators leads to new designs of welded rotors. The reason for rotor welding is the large size of rotors, which are difficult to produce in a single piece. Secondly, as there are varying operation conditions along the rotor length. In a heterogeneous rotor, several materials appropriate for local service conditions can be used. At the rotor service temperatures, creep properties are crucial for successful design. The weakest point of every welded component is the heat affected zone. Therefore, the creep properties of a heterogeneous weld are subject of the investigation herein the current study, a heterogeneous weld of COST F and COST FB2 materials is investigated. The welding was performed by multi pass technique with overlaying welding beads that applied several heating cycles to heat affected zone. Metallographic investigation of the weld was performed and the weakest microstructure spots were detected. With the use of FEM simulation, appropriate heating/cooling cycles were obtained for the detected weak points. The temperature cycles obtained were subsequently applied to both base materials under laboratory conditions by induction heating. Creep properties of these materials were investigated. The influence of the initial base material’s grain size was also considered in the investigation. Two heating/cooling schedules were applied to both base materials with two grain sizes. Altogether, 8 different microstructures were examined in short term creep tests and the results were summarized.

Finite element (FE) modeling has been applied to a stress relaxation cracking (SRC) test in order to evaluate the effects of changing sample geometry and material type. This SRC test uses compressive pre-straining to create a tensile residual stress in modified compact-tension specimens and has been used to test 316H stainless steel. The FE model is first used to verify that sample integrity will not be compromised by modifying the geometry. The FE model is then applied to candidate Advanced Ultra Supercritical nickel-base alloys 617, 740H, and 800. It is determined that this stress relaxation test will be appropriate for these alloys.

A prototype small punch test rig has been developed to extend the range of data output. Through the introduction of a probe, vertical displacements can be measured across a region of the specimen underside. This information provides much greater understanding of the specimen deformation. Having displacement data at a series of measurement points also facilitates the calculation of strains across the sample. The probe can also be used during a test to provide time dependent data from small punch creep tests. The measured displacement data have been used in conjunction with FE analysis to determine a set of calibration curves for inferring strain at any given vertical displacement. Some creep strain data are also presented.

Current nondestructive examination (NDE) technology detection capabilities limit our ability to detect stress corrosion cracking (SCC) damage until it has progressed significantly. This work describes the continued development of an in-situ monitoring technique to detect and characterize mechanical damage caused by SCC, allowing the detection of the incipient stages of damage to components/piping. The application of this study is to prevent failures in the primary cooling loop piping in nuclear plants. The main benefit to the industry will be improved safety and component lifetime assessment with fewer inspections. The technique utilizes high resolution fiber optic strain gages mounted on the pipe outside diameter (OD). This technique has successfully detected changes in the residual stress profile caused by a crack propagating from the pipe inside diameter (ID). The gages have a resolution of < 1 με. It has been shown experimentally for different crack geometries that the gages can readily detect the changes of approximately 10-60 με caused on the OD of the pipe due to crack initiation on the ID. This paper focuses on the latest in the development of the technology. Details of the previous work in this effort may be found in References 1 through 3. A short summary is provided in this paper. The main recent development was the full scale accelerated SCC cracking in boiling magnesium chloride (MgCl 2 ) experiment. In conjunction with experimentation, both 2D and 3D finite element (FEA) models with thermal and mechanical analyses have been developed to simulate the changes in residual stresses in a welded pipe section as a SCC crack progresses.

Texas Genco requested Stress Engineering Services to assist in reviewing and assessing a failure that occurred in the cold reheat (CRH) steam line at the W.A. Parish Unit around 12:10 PM on July 15, 2003, resulting in a catastrophic failure scattering components within a 1,200-foot radius. Reliant Resources and Texas Genco conducted their own investigation involving metallographic examinations, fracture surface inspection, review of operating conditions at failure time, and studies related to the CRH line weld profile. Stress Engineering Services' efforts included computational fluid dynamics studies to address how attemperator droplet sizes might impact downstream piping system behavior, followed by mock-up testing and field monitoring using high-temperature strain gauges, accelerometers, and thermocouples. The field monitoring data, along with process data from Texas Genco, were used for finite element analyses calculating static stresses and transient stresses from attemperator cycling (thermal stresses) and line vibration (mechanical stresses). A consulting firm contracted by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) performed a fracture mechanics evaluation of the line, though detailed results are not included. The work by Texas Genco, Stress Engineering Services, and EPRI points to the stress concentration factor associated with the internal weld profile near the failure as the primary cause, with the cyclic thermal shocks from frequent intermittent attemperator use being sufficient to initiate the crack.