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- P92 (3)
- Ferritic-martensitic steels (2)
- P91 (2)
- 9-12%Cr steel (1)
- Cyclic loading (1)
- Cyclic softening (1)
- Ferritic–martensitic steel (1)
- LCF (1)
- Low cycle fatigue (1)
- Low strain (1)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
The current competitive situation on electricity markets forces power plants into cyclic operation regimes with frequent load shifts and starts/shutdowns. In the present work, the cyclic mechanical behavior of ferritic-martensitic 9-12 % Cr steels under isothermal and thermomechanical loading was investigated for the example of grade P92 material. A continuous softening was observed under all loading conditions. The introduction of hold periods to the applied cycles reduced material lifetime, with most prominent effects at technologically relevant small strain levels. The microstructural characterization reveals a coarsening of the original “martensitic” lath-type microstructure to a structure with polygonal subgrains and reduced dislocation density. The microstructural data forms the input for a physically-based modelling approach.
Results of an extended TMF test program on grade P92 steel in the temperature range of 620 °C - 300 °C, comprising in-phase (IP) and out-of-phase (OP) tests, partly performed with symmetric dwells at Tmax/Tmin, are presented. In contrast to previous studies, the low-strain regime is also illuminated, which approaches flexible operation in a power plant with start/stop cycles. At all strain amplitudes, the material performance is characterized by continuous cyclic softening, which is retarded in tests at lower strains but reaches similar magnitudes in the course of testing. In the investigated temperature range, the phase angle does not affect fatigue life in continuous experiments, whereas the IP condition is more detrimental in tests with dwells. Fractographic analyses indicate creep-dominated and fatigue-dominated damage for IP and OP, respectively. Analyses of the (micro)hardness distribution in the tested specimens suggest an enhanced microstructural softening in tests with dwell times for the low- but not for the high-strain regime. To rationalize the obtained fatigue data, the fracture-mechanics-based D_TMF concept, which was developed for TMF life assessment of ductile alloys, was applied. It is found that the D_TMF parameter correlates well with the measured fatigue lives, suggesting that subcritical growth of cracks (with sizes from a few microns to a few millimeters) governs failure in the investigated range of strain amplitudes.
Due to their excellent creep resistance and good oxidation resistance, 9–12% Cr ferritic–martensitic stainless steels are widely used as high temperature construction materials in power plants. However, the mutual combination of different loadings (e.g., creep and fatigue), due to a “flexible” operation of power plants, may seriously reduce the lifetimes of the respective components. In the present study, low cycle fatigue (LCF) and relaxation fatigue (RF) tests performed on grade P92 helped to understand the behavior of ferritic–martensitic steels under a combined loading. The softening and lifetime behavior strongly depend on the temperature and total strain range. Especially at small strain amplitudes, the lifetime is seriously reduced when adding a hold time which indicates the importance of considering technically relevant small strains.
Schnelle Lastwechsel führen v.a. in dickwandigen Kraftwerksbauteilen zu starken thermischen und mechanischen Beanspruchungen, da sich hohe Temperaturgradienten über der Wand des Bauteils einstellen. Es ergeben sich komplexe Lastkollektive aus zeitlich veränderlichen Spannungen/Dehnungen und Temperaturen, die formal einer Kombination aus Kriechbeanspruchung, Kriechermüdung und thermomechanischer Ermüdung (TMF) entsprechen.
9-12% Cr ferritic-martensitic stainless steels are widely used as high temperature construction materials in power plants due to their excellent creep resistance and good oxidation resistance. Creep resistance is considered as the primary parameter in material selection for base-load power plants, but the growing share of renewable energy sources in power generation forces many installations into more "flexible" operation with frequent load reductions and shutdowns. Under cyclic operation of power plants, temperature gradients occur especially in thick-walled components. Locally, these gradients lead to complex time- and temperature-dependent loading scenarios which may result in superimposed creep deformation/damage, creep-fatigue and thermo-mechanical fatigue. The combination of different damage processes may seriously reduce the lifetimes of respective components. A fundamental understanding of the damage evolution in ferritic-martensitic steels under combined static and cyclic loading is therefore required.
In the present contribution, the thermo-mechanical fatigue and creep-fatigue behavior of two different 9% Cr steel grades (P91 and P92) was investigated. Standard LCF/TMF-tests as well as near-service loading tests with different hold times have been carried out to study the material behavior of the new loading scenarios. Microstructural investigations help to identify the observed deformation characteristics (like e.g. pronounced softening) and the dominating damage mechanisms under different loads. The test programme is complemented by selected tests on service-aged material which demonstrate possible reactions of older components in existing plants to changes in operation profiles. In a next step, the experimental results will be used for parameter identification of a deformation and lifetime model to predict the material behavior.