Effects of Orthogonal Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of GN9 Ferritic/Martensitic Steel

Microstructure and mechanical properties of GN9 Ferritic/Martensitic steel for sodium-cooled fast reactors have been investigated through orthogonal design and analysis.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),differential scanning calorimeter(DSC),tensile and impact tests were used to evaluate the heat treatment parameters on yield strength,elongation and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature(DBTT).The results indicate that the microstructures of GN9 steel after orthogonal heat treatments consist of tempered martensite,M23C6,MX carbides and MX carbonitrides.The average prior austenite grains increase and the lath width decreases with the austenitizing temperature increasing from 1000°C to 1080°C.Tempering temperature is the most important factor that influences the dislocation evolution,yield strength and elongation compared with austenitizing tempera-ture and cooling methods.Austenitizing temperature,tempering temperature and cooling methods show interactive effects on DBTT.Carbide morphology and distribution,which is influenced by austenitizing and tempering tempera-tures,is the critical microstructural factor that influences the Charpy impact energy and DBTT.Based on the orthogo-nal design and microstructural analysis,the optimal heat treatment of GN9 steel is austenitizing at 1000°C for 0.5 h followed by air cooling and tempering at 760°C for 1.5 h.

Phase Transformation Strengthening of Hot Extruded Inconel 625 under High-temperature Load Environment

Microstructure evolution and properties of hot-extruded Inconel 625 alloy were investigated at different creep temperatures, aging time and strain rates. The experimental results indicate that the Inconel 625 alloy exhibits an excellent creep resistance at 700 ℃ and below. When the creep temperature rises to 750 ℃, the creep resistance falls drastically due to the failure of phase transformation strengthening and the precipitation of a large amount of δ phase and σ phase at the grain boundary. The special temperature-sensitive characteristics of Inconel 625 alloy play a very important role in its fracture. When the strain rate is 8.33×10^-3s^-1, the strength of the specimen is higher than that of other parameters attributed to the effect of phase transformation strengthening. With the increase of Ni3(Al, Ti), the phase transformation strengthening inhibits thickening of the stacking faults into twins and improves the overall mechanical properties of the alloy. With the increase of the aging time, the granular Cr-rich M23C6 carbides continue to precipitate at the grain boundary, which hinders the movement of the dislocations and obviously increases the strength of the samples. Especially, the yield strength increases several times.

Research and Development of Heat-Resistant Materials for Advanced USC Power Plants with Steam Temperatures of 700℃ and Above

Materials-development projects for advanced ultra-supercritical(A-USC) power plants with steam temperatures of 700℃ and above have been performed in order to achieve high efficiency and low CO_2 emissions in Europe, the US, Japan, and recently in China and India as well. These projects involve the replacement of martensitic 9%–12% Cr steels with nickel(Ni)-base alloys for the highest temperature boiler and turbine components in order to provide sufficient creep strength at 700℃ and above. To minimize the requirement for expensive Ni-base alloys, martensitic 9%–12% Cr steels can be applied to the next highest temperature components of an A-USC power plant, up to a maximum of 650℃. This paper comprehensively describes the research and development of Ni-base alloys and martensitic 9%–12% Cr steels for thick section boiler and turbine components of A-USC power plants, mainly focusing on the long-term creep-rupture strength of base metal and welded joints, strength loss in welded joints, creep-fatigue properties, and microstructure evolution during exposure at elevated temperatures.

Ripening behavior of M_(23)C_6 carbides in P92 steel during aging at 800°C

The rapid coarsening of the M_（23）C_6 carbides has been held responsible for the creep fracture in 9-12Cr martensitic heat resistant steels.A commercial P92 steel was subjected to thermal aging at a high temperature of 800°C to investigate the ripening behavior of the M_（23）C_6 carbides.Scanning electron microscopy（SEM）and transmission electron microscopy（TEM）were employed to characterize the microstructure evolution,especially the ripening process of the M_（23）C_6 carbides.The new concept of the effective mean size,dependent on the critical radius,was introduced to correct the measured mean size and then the Ostwald theory was applied to describe the ripening behavior of the M_（23）C_6 carbides.The ripening of the M_（23）C_6 carbides was revealed to be grain boundary diffusion controlled.

On Laves phase in a 9Cr3W3CoB martensitic heat resistant steel when aged at high temperatures

9Cr3W3 CoB steels are developed to serve at the temperature range of 620-650℃,and have been recognized as the most promising martensitic heat-resistant steels for supercritical power plants.Due to the high W and Co contents,the Fe_(2)W Laves phase in such 9Cr3W3 CoB steel possesses some specialties in thermodynamics.In the present research,it was found that even when aged at 800℃in the 9Cr3W3 CoB steel,instead of dissolving,Laves phase formed after 50 h and kept on increasing in size and number density until 1000 h,indicating that the Laves phase was marching for the thermodynamic equilibrium during aging.In this thermodynamic process,the W-rich M_(3)B_(2)borides in as-received steel and M23C6 carbides were revealed to dissolve,supporting the growth of Laves phase.SEM investigation indicates that Laves phase tended to form clusters,and finally grow as a unit bulk Laves phase with an irregular shape.Besides,Laves phase nucleated next to M23C6 carbides and enwrapped them inside at 800℃.In addition,the growth processes of Laves phase and M23C6 carbides were a competitive procedure,the coarsening of M23C6 carbides was prior to the growth of Laves phase at 750℃while the growth of Laves phase was prior to the coarsening of M23C6 carbides at 800℃.