Compressive Pre-Strain Effects on the Creep and Crack Growth Behaviour of 316H Stainless Steel

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

The effects of compressive plastic pre-strain on the creep deformation and crack growth behaviour of Type 316H stainless steel have been examined. Creep crack growth (CCG) tests have been performed on compact tension specimens of material which had been uniformly pre-strained by 4% and 8% in compression at room temperature. The CCG behaviour of the pre-compressed material has been interpreted in terms of the creep fracture mechanics parameter C* and compared with that of a significant data set of as-received (un-compressed) specimens and with CCG models. All creep testing has been performed at a temperature of 550 °C. High CCG rates, for a given value of C* have been observed for the pre-compressed material, compared with those of as-received material and these data follow the same trends as the long-term CCG data for as-received material. These observations are explained in terms of specimen constraint effects and variations in creep ductility.

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):  
Adam D. Bettinson ◽  
Noel P. O’Dowd ◽  
Kamran M. Nikbin ◽  
George A. Webster

In this work the effects of specimen size and type on creep crack growth rates in stainless steel are examined. Experiments have been carried out on high constraint compact tension specimens (CT) and low constraint centre cracked panels (CCP) of ex-service 316H stainless steel. All testing was carried out at 550°C. Constraint effects have been observed in the data, with the large CT specimens having the fastest crack growth rate and the small CCP specimens the slowest. These trends are consistent with those that would be predicted from two parameter (C*–Q) theories. However, it is found that a constraint dependent creep crack growth model based on ductility exhaustion overpredicts the constraint dependence of the crack growth data.


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.


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.


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