EFFECT OF Mg AND Zr ADDITION ON CREEP CRACK GROWTH BEHAVIOUR OF A Ni-BASE SUPERALLOY

The creep crack growth(CCG)and the time to carck initiation and rupture of specimen (t_(rc)and t_r)were measured by means of electrical potential method on single edge notched specimens at 700℃.The field near the crack tip under steady-state creep was represented by energy rate integral(C~*),and the CCG rate as a function of C~* has been obtained.The agreement between the predicted and observed t_(rc)values is quite good.It was found that the addition of small amount of Mg and Zr in the alloys causes t_(rc)and t_r of the specimens to in- crease significantly.

CREEP CRACK GROWTH BEHAVIOR OF ALLOY 718 DURING HIGH TEMPERATURE EXPOSURE

Alloy 718 is a precipitation strengthened nickel-based superalloy based on the precipitation of γ″-Ni3Nb (DO22 structure) and γ′-Ni3(Al,Ti) (L12 structure) phases. Creep crack growth rate (CCGR) was investigated after high temperature exposure at 593, 650 and 677℃ for 2000h in Alloy 718. In addition to the coalescence of γ′/ γ″ and the amount increasing of δ phase, the existence of a bcc chromium enriched α-Cr phase was observed by SEM, and the weight fraction of α-Cr and other phases were determined by chemical phase analysis methods. The CCGR behavior and regulation have been analyzed by means of strength and structure analysis approaches. The experimental results show higher the exposure temperature and longer the exposure time, lower the CCGR. This is probably attributed to the interaction of material softening and brittling due to complex structure changes during high temperature exposure. Therefore, despite α-Cr phase formation and amount enhancement were run in this test range. It seems to us a small amount of α-Cr will be not harmful for creep crack propagation resistance, which is critical for disk application in aircraft and land-based gas turbine.

FAILURES AND THE LIFE OF FURNACE TUBES

It is showed after the furnace tubes serviced for 8-10 years that the density of damage in the HAZ (heat affected zone) of the weld has higher than in parent metals, though the depth of damage is not equal to. By the test of creep crack growth, it is also acquired that under same mechanic parameter C* (t), the rate of creep crack growth in the HAZ is more than twice as fast as in parent metals. Two mechanisms (overheating and thermal shock) of failure occurred in an accident are presented. The stress of thermal shock is analyzed, in which the change of the elasticity modulus with the radius ET = /(r) is considered. Based on it, the safety region of the thermal shock is obtained. Finally, two sets of curves for the safe life are suggested which can facilitate to estimate the remaining life of HK-40 or HP-Nb tubes by their creep rupture data.

Creep crack growth in a Cr-Mo-V type steel: experimental observation and prediction

In this study, the creep crack growth （CCG） properties and fracture mechanism of a Cr-Mo-V steel at 566 C in compact tension （CT） specimens were investigated, and the CCG rate was predicted by using the NSW model. The results show that the CCG rate measured by CT specimens is much lower than that predicted by the NSW model under plane-strain state. This means that the NSW model prediction for the CCG rate of the steel is over-conservative. In addition, the CCG rate da/dt versus C measured by the experiments shows the piecewise linear relation on log-log scale instead of a single linear relation predicted by the NSW model. The main reasons for these results are that the actual creep fracture mechanism of the steel and the actual creep crack tip stress field in the CT specimens have not been fully captured in the NSW model. The experimental observation shows that the creep crack propagates in a discontinuous way （step by step） at meso-scale, and the cracks at micro-scale are usually formed by the growth and coalescence of voids on grain boundaries. The NSW model based on the creep ductility exhaustion approach may not correctly describe this creep fracture process. In addition, the opening stress and triaxial stress ahead of crack tips calculated by three-dimensional finite element method is lower than those predicted by the HRR stress field which is used in the NSW model under plane-strain state. The use of the high HRR stress field will cause high CCG rates. The change in the creep fracture mechanism at micro-scale in different ranges of C may cause the piecewise linear relation between the da/dt and C . Therefore, it is necessary to study the actual CCG mechanism in a wide range of C and the actual creep crack tip stress field to establish accurate CCG prediction models.