The Influence of Specimen Geometry and Test Times on High Temperature Crack Growth Behaviour in Parent and Welded 316H Stainless Steel

Author(s):  
Catrin M. Davies ◽  
Robert C. Wimpory ◽  
Masaakai Tabuchi ◽  
David W. Dean ◽  
Kamran M. Nikbin

Experimental crack growth testing has been performed at 550 °C on a range of fracture specimens including sections taken from a 316 steel weldment. These specimens include the compact tension, C(T), and circumferentially cracked notched bar, CCB, geometries of various sizes. Results are presented from two creep crack growth (CCG) tests on a large and a small CCB weldment specimen. The creep crack initiation (CCI) and growth (CCG) behavior of the CCB weldments has been compared to that of homogeneous parent material (PM) CCB and C(T) specimens and to C(T) weldment specimen data. The data has been analyzed in terms of the C* parameter. The initiation period is found to occupy a large fraction of the test duration for weldments. The CCG rates in the larger CCB weldment test is on the order of six times faster, for a given value of C*, compared to the smaller specimen, indicating a specimen size effect. The CCI times are around an order of magnitude greater for the CCB weldment specimens compared to C(T) weldment data and are higher than that of the PM CCB data. It is recommended that further testing on weldment specimens is performed to affirm the apparent trends.

Author(s):  
A. Mehmanparast ◽  
S. Maleki ◽  
M. Yatomi ◽  
K. M. Nikbin

The influence of specimen size and geometry on the creep crack growth (CCG) behaviour of P91 parent and weld materials at 600–625 °C has been examined. CCG tests have been performed on compact tension, C(T), specimens with an initial crack located in the heat affected zone (HAZ). Further tests have also been performed on specimens made of parent material (PM). Higher creep crack growth rates have been found in the HAZ material compared to the PM when the CCG rate is characterized using the C* fracture mechanics parameter. The experimental data from these tests are compared to those of available from specimens with different size and geometries. The results are discussed in terms of specimen geometry and constraint effects on the CCG behaviour of P91 weldments at elevated temperatures.


Author(s):  
A. Mehmanparast ◽  
C. M. Davies ◽  
D. W. Dean ◽  
K. M. Nikbin

Pre-compression (PC) is found to have strong effects on the tensile, uniaxial creep rupture and creep crack growth (CCG) behaviour of type 316H stainless steel at 550 °C. In this work, blocks of 316H steel have been pre-compressed to 8% plastic strain at room temperature and compact tension, C(T), specimens are extracted from the pre-strained blocks with loading directions parallel and normal to the PC axis. The influence of specimen orientation and thickness on the CCG behaviour of the PC material is examined. The results are compared to short term and long term CCG behaviour of 316H steel at the same temperature. Higher CCG rates and shorter CCI times have been found in PC material with a loading direction normal to the PC axis compared to that parallel to the PC axis. These observations are discussed with respect to the microstructural effects.


Author(s):  
Hamed Yazdani Nezhad ◽  
Noel P. O’Dowd ◽  
Catrin M. Davies ◽  
Ali N. Mehmanparast ◽  
Kamran M. Nikbin

The influence of pre-strain and pre-stress on creep crack growth behaviour of 316H austenitic steels is studied experimentally and numerically in this paper. Compact tension, C(T), specimens (25mm thickness) have been extracted from two steam headers, one as-received and one uniformly compressed to the strain value of 8%. The C(T) specimen extracted from the as-received header was compressed, introducing a non-uniform strain field. Creep crack growth (CCG) tests were performed at 550°C. Comparisons have been provided with the results from as-received C(T) specimens. Finite element (FE) analysis has been carried out to simulate the CCG behaviour of the C(T) specimens. By choosing the problem parameters appropriately, good agreement may be achieved between the FE predictions and the creep data.


Author(s):  
Catrin M. Davies ◽  
Robert C. Wimpory ◽  
David W. Dean ◽  
Kamran M. Nikbin

High temperature crack growth in weldments is of great practical concern in high temperature plant components. Cracking typically occurs in the heat affected zone (HAZ) and often propagates into adjacent parent material (PM). Recently, the importance of constraint effects on creep crack growth behaviour has been recognised and creep crack growth testing on a range of specimen geometries has been performed. Experimental crack growth testing has been performed at 550 °C on a range of fracture specimens using sections taken from a non-stress-relieved 316 steel weldment. These specimens include the compact tension, C(T), middle tension, M(T) and circumferentially cracked bar, CCB, geometries. Results are presented from two long-term creep crack growth (CCG) tests performed on M(T) weldment specimens and these are compared with available data on C(T) and CCB weldment specimens together with both long and short term tests on parent material for a range of specimen geometries. The creep crack initiation (CCI) and growth (CCG) behaviour from these tests has been analysed in terms of the C* parameter. As high levels of residual stress exist in non-stress-relieved weldments, the residual stresses remaining in the weldment specimens have therefore been quantified using the neutron diffraction technique. Long-term (low-load) tests are required on PM specimen to observe specimen constraint effects in 316 steel at 550 °C. When interpreted in terms of the C* parameter the CCG behavior of PM and Weldment materials follow the same trendline on low constraint geometries. However, significant difference is observed in the CCG behavior of PM and weldments on the high constraint C(T) geometry. Long term tests on C(T) specimen weldments are required to confirm the results found.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-142
Author(s):  
Alberto Carpinteri ◽  
Gianni Niccolini ◽  
Alessio Rubino

Scaling effects on the creep crack growth behaviour are investigated by analyzing the results of compact tension (CT) tests on different-sized notched steel specimens appearing in the literature. Creep crack growth rate data are correlated to the elastic stress-intensity factor in terms of a Paris-type law, da∕dt = C0Kq, where C0 turns out to be a crack-size dependent coefficient of proportionality. Considering specimens with the same loading configuration (CT) and the same thickness, the observed crack-size effect on the creep crack growth rate is discussed on the basis of self-similarity considerations, and geometrically interpreted in terms of fractal tortuosity of the crack profile. A size-independent formulation of the creep crack growth law correlating renormalized quantities is finally deduced and confirmed by the experimental results.


2005 ◽  
Vol 297-300 ◽  
pp. 397-402
Author(s):  
Je Chang Ha ◽  
Joon Hyun Lee ◽  
Masaaki Tabuchi ◽  
A.Toshimitsu Yokobori Jr.

Most heat resisting materials in structural components are used under multi-axial stress conditions and under such conditions ductile materials often exhibit brittle manner and low creep ductility at elevated temperature. Creep crack initiation and growth properties are also affected by multi-axial stress and it is important to evaluate these effects when laboratory data are applied to structural components. Creep crack growth tests using circumferential notched round bar specimens are a simple method to investigate multi-axial stress effects without using complicated test facilities. Creep crack growth tests have been performed using a 12CrWCoB turbine rotor steel. In order to investigate the effects of multi-axial stress on creep crack growth properties, the tests were conducted for various notch depths at 650°C. The circumferential notched round bar specimen showed brittle crack growth behaviour under multi-axial stress conditions. Creep crack growth rate was characterized in terms of the C* parameter. A 12CrWCoB turbine rotor steel has been tested using circumferential notched round bar specimens with different multi-axiality. Circumferential notched round bar specimens show increased brittle creep crack growth behaviour due to the multi-axial stress condition. Creep crack growth properties could be predicted by allowing for the decrease of creep ductility under multi-axial conditions.


Author(s):  
Nicola Bonora ◽  
Luca Esposito ◽  
Simone Dichiaro ◽  
Paolo Folgarait

Safe and accurate methods to predict creep crack growth (CCG) are required in order to assess the reliability of power generation plants components. With advances in finite element (FE) methods, more complex models incorporating damage can be applied in the study of CCG where simple analytical solutions or approximate methods are no longer applicable. The possibility to accurately simulate CCG depends not only on the damage formulation but also on the creep model since stress relaxation, occurring in the near tip region, controls the resulting creep rate and, therefore, crack initiation and growth. In this perspective, primary and tertiary creep regimes, usually neglected in simplified creep models, plays a relevant role and need to be taken into account. In this paper, an advanced multiaxial creep model [1], which incorporates damage effects, has been used to predict CCG in P91 high chromium steel. The model parameters have been determined based on uniaxial and multiaxial (round notched bar) creep data over a wide range of stress and temperature. Successively, the creep crack growth in standard compact tension sample was predicted and compared with available experimental data.


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