Creep Deformation Parameters and Creep Life of Gr.91
The correlation between the creep deformation parameters and creep life has been investigated for Gr.91 by analyzing creep strain data at 450 to 725 °C, 40 to 450 MPa and tr = 11.4 to 68,755 h in the NIMS Creep Data Sheet. The creep life tr is correlated with the time to minimum creep rate tm as t r = 3.7 t m . Taking the stress dependence of tm / tr into account, the creep life could be predicted more reliably. The minimum creep rate ε̇min depends on both the tm and the strain to minimum creep rate εm as ε . min = 0.54 ε m / t m . The εm is evaluated to be 0.02 to 0.03 at high stresses at each temperature but it decreases with decreasing stress at temperatures above 550 °C, suggesting that the creep deformation in the transient region becomes more inhomogeneous with decreasing stress probably due to localized creep deformation within 1 μm in the vicinity of prior austenite grain boundaries. The downward deviation takes place in the the tr versus ε̇min curves (Monkman-Grant plot). At the same ε̇min, both the εm and tm change upon the condition of tm ∝ εm as can be seen from the above equation. The decrease in εm with decreasing stress, corresponding to decreasing ε̇min, causes a decrease in tm, indicating the downward deviation of the tr versus ε̇min curves.