9.2 Versuchsanlagen und Prüftechnik
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Influence of Residual Stresses on Stress Relief Cracking of Thick Walled Creep Resistant Steel Welds
(2022)
Controlling the residual stress level during welding of creep-resistant Cr-Mo-V steels is crucial to avoid so called stress relief cracking (SRC) during post weld heat treatment (PWHT) of large-scale components. In the present study, a laboratory scale test specimen (400 mm x 400 mm x 25 mm) was used to simulate thick-walled component welds made of 13CrMoV9-10. The aim was to identify the level and distribution of residual stresses to evaluate the suitability of the specimen for laboratory based SRC testing. High restraint was ensured by the specimen geometry with a narrow welding gap in the center. This gap was filled by submerged arc welding in a multi-layer technique. Two specimens were welded with identical parameters and compared in the as-welded state and after PWHT (705 °C for 10 h). Neutron diffraction was used to determine the residual stresses in the weld metal, the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the base material at different depths longitudinal, transverse, and normal to the welding direction. The experiments were performed on the instrument E3 of the research reactor BERII of HZB Berlin, Germany. Complementarily, laboratory X-ray diffraction was applied to characterize the surface residual stresses. In the welded state, especially in the weld metal and the adjacent HAZ, the residual stress can reach the yield strength of the untreated material. The highest levels occur in the longitudinal direction. The transverse and normal directions are characterized by residual stress of lower magnitude. As expected, the residual stress is almost completely relieved after PWHT.
Efficiency and flexibility are currently a major concern in the design of modern power plants and chemical processing facilities. The high requirements for economic profitability and in particular climate change neutrality are driving this development. Consequently, plant equipment and chemical reactor components are designed for higher operating pressure and temperature. Creep-resistant CrMo steels had been used as constructional materials for decades but came to operational limitations, for example the resistance against so-called high-temperature hydrogen attack in petrochemical reactors. For that purpose, 20 years ago V-modified CrMo steels had been developed for use in the petrochemical industry due to their very good creep-strength and hydrogen pressure resistance at elevated temperatures enabling long service life of the respective components. For example, the 13CrMoV9-10 steel is applicable for process temperatures of up to 482 °C and hydrogen pressures of up to 34.5 MPa.
Due to the large dimensions and wall thickness of the reactors (wall thickness up to 475 mm) and the special alloy concept, reliable weld manufacturing of the components is extremely challenging. First, low toughness and high strength of the weld joint in the as-welded condition are critical regarding weld cracking. High welding residual stresses are the result of the highly restrained shrinkage of the component welds. For this purpose, the entire component must be subjected to Post-Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) after completion of the welding operation. The aim is to increase the toughness of the weld joints as well as to reduce the welding induced residual stresses. Before and during PWHT, extreme caution is required to prevent cracking. Unfortunately, V-modified CrMo steels possess an increased susceptibility to cracking during stress relaxation the so-called stress relief cracking (SRC).
Available literature studies have largely focused on thermal and metallurgical factors. However, little attention has been paid on the influence of the welding procedure on crack formation during PWHT considering actual manufacturing conditions. For that reason, we investigated in our previous studies (part I and II), the influence of heat control on the mechanical properties by simulating actual manufacturing conditions prevailing during the construction of petrochemical reactors using a special 3D- acting testing facility. The focus of part I was put on the influence of the welding heat control on mechanical stresses and the effect on cracking during PWHT. Part II was mainly dedicated to the metallurgical causes of SRC during PWHT and the interaction with the occurring mechanical stresses. It could be shown that not only high welding-induced stresses due to increased weld heat input cause higher susceptibility for SRC formation. It was further intensified by an altered precipitation behaviour in presence of mechanical stresses that are caused by the component related restraint. The present part III shows how residual stresses, which are present in such welded components and significantly influence the crack formation, can be transferred to the laboratory scale. As a result, the effect on the residual stresses on the SRC behaviour can be evaluated on simplified small-scale specimens instead of expensive mock-ups. For this purpose, experiments with test set-ups at different scales and under different rigidity conditions were designed and carried out.
Welding of 13CrMoV9-10 vanadium steel requires care due to an increased susceptibility to stress relief cracking during post weld heat treatment. Previous research into the crack formation in creep-resistant steels has focused on thermal and metallurgical factors; however, little knowledge has been gathered regarding the crack formation during post weld heat treatment considering real-life restraint conditions. This work is subdivided in two parts. Part I showed that an increasing heat input during submerged arc welding under restraint led to an increasing stress level in the joint prior to the post weld heat treatment. The magnitude of stress relief cracking observed in the heat-affected zone after the post weld heat treatment is affected by the heat input. In Part II of this work, the cracks and the associated microstructure which occurred under restraint were studied. The application of a Special acoustic emission analysis indicated that the cracks formed in a temperature range between 300 and 500 °C during the post weld heat treatment. The toughness in the heat-affected zone of the restrained welds was affected by the welding heat input.
Microstructural analyses of all specimens revealed accelerated aging due to precipitation of carbides during post weld heat treatment under restraint.
The avoidance of failures during the fabrication or operation of petrochemical reactors made of creep-resistant, low-alloy steels as 13CrMoV9-10 requires still research despite over 60 years of international investigations in the field of stress relief cracking. The quality of modern base materials and filler metals leads to the fact that previously known crack causes, such as impurities of S or P, recede into the background. Rather, the causes are increasingly to be found in the fabrication process. Investigations on the influence of heat control on the stresses in welded components and thus on the stress relief cracking sensitivity under realistic manufacturing conditions are not yet available. This work is subdivided in two parts. Part 1 of this study focused on the effect of heat control during submerged arc welding on the stresses. For this purpose, a testing facility was applied, which allows to observe the forces and moments accumulating during welding or heat treatment in a component-like specimen under shrinkage restraint. The stress acting in the specimen increases with higher preheat/interpass temperatures and higher heat input. During the heat treatment, the stresses are relieved. Nevertheless, cracks are formed already during heating. The total crack length correlates with the heat input.
Welded components of P91 9% Cr steel demand for careful welding fabrication with necessary post weld heat treatment (PWHT). Before the PWHT, a hydrogen removal heat treatment is necessary for avoidance of hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC). In this context, the microstructure and temperature-dependent hydrogen diffusion is important, and reliable diffusion coefficients of P91 weld metal are rare. For that reason, the diffusion behavior of P91 multi-layer weld metal was investigated for as-welded (AW) and PWHT condition by electrochemical permeation experiments at room temperature and carrier gas hot extraction (CGHE) from 100 to 400 °C. Hydrogen diffusion coefficients were calculated, and the corresponding hydrogen
concentration was measured. It was ascertained that both heat treatment conditions show significant differences. At room
temperature the AW condition showed significant hydrogen trapping expressed by to seven times lower diffusion coefficients. A preferred diffusion direction was found in perpendicular direction expressed by high permeability. The CGHE experiments
revealed lower diffusion coefficients for the AW condition up to 400 °C. In this context, a hydrogen concentration of approximately 21 ml/100 g was still trapped at 100 °C. For that reason, a certain HAC susceptibility of as-welded P91 weld metal cannot
be excluded, and hydrogen removal should be done before PWHT.
Over the past years economic and environmental considerations have led to a markedly increased demand for efficiency and flexibility in petrochemical plants. The operational temperatures and pressures required today can only be achieved by using new creep-resistant grades of steel. The modified 13CrMoV9-10 vanadium steel shows a good resistance against creep and compressed hydrogen and has been in use for the construction of petrochemical reactors since the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, processing of this type of steel requires extreme care during the welding procedure. This is due to its low toughness and high strength in the welded state when not post weld heat treated combined with increased susceptibility to cracking during stress relaxation. Previous research into crack formation in creep-resistant steels has largely focused on thermal and metallurgical factors; however, little knowledge has been gathered regarding the influence of the welding procedure on crack formation during post weld heat treatment considering real-life manufacturing conditions. The influence of heat control on the mechanical properties has been investigated by simulating the welding and subsequent post weld heat treatment operations during the construction of petrochemical reactors using a special 3-D testing facility on the laboratory scale.
This work is subdivided in two parts. In part I of this study the stresses resulting from preheating, welding, dehydrogenation heat treatment and the final post weld heat treatment were analyzed during experiments under varied heat control. In all experiments stress relief cracks formed during post weld heat treatment could be observed. The total crack lengths correlated with the welding induced stresses.
Part II of this work is dedicated to the characterization of the cracks and the microstructure. The application of a special acoustic emission analysis indicated that the cracks formed in a temperature range between 300 °C and 500 °C during the post weld heat treatment. In comparison to small scale specimens welded without additional shrinkage restraint, the toughness of the restrained welds was significantly decreased. SEM and TEM analyses of all samples revealed accelerated aging due to early precipitation of special carbides during post weld heat treatment under component relevant restraint.
Over the past years economic and environmental considerations have led to a markedly increased demand for efficiency and flexibility in petrochemical plants. The operational temperatures and pressures required today can only be achieved by using new creep-resistant grades of steel. The modified 13CrMoV9-10 vanadium steel shows a good resistance against creep and compressed hydrogen and has been in use for the construction of petrochemical reactors since the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, processing of this type of steel requires extreme care during the welding procedure. This is due to its low toughness and high strength in the welded state when not post weld heat treated combined with increased susceptibility to cracking during stress relaxation. Previous research into crack formation in creep-resistant steels has largely focused on thermal and metallurgical factors; however, little knowledge has been gathered regarding the influence of the welding procedure on crack formation during post weld heat treatment considering real-life manufacturing conditions.
In this work, the influence of heat control on the mechanical properties has been investigated by simulating the real-life manufacturing conditions prevailing during the construction of petrochemical reactors using a special 3-D testing facility. The stresses resulting from preheating, welding, dehydrogenation heat treatment and the final post weld heat treatment were measured during experiments under varied heat control. In all experiments stress relief cracks formed during post weld heat treatment could be observed. The total crack lengths correlated with the stresses due to welding. The application of a special acoustic emission analysis indicated that the cracks formed during post weld heat treatment in a temperature range between 300 °C and 500 °C. In comparison to small scale samples welded without additional shrinkage restraint, the toughness of the restrained welds was significantly decreased. SEM and TEM analyses of all samples revealed accelerated aging due to early precipitation of special carbides during post weld heat treatment under component relevant restraint.