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Comparing materials for high-temperature steam piping


Subscription Information The use of X20 and P91 in power stations
Related TechCells By P.K. Saha

Oxyfuel Cutting January 16, 2003

Laser Cutting Of all the materials used for high-temperature steam piping, X20 (12 percent chromium, 1 percent
molybdenum, 1/4 percent vanadium) and P91 (9 percent chromium, 1 percent molybdenum, 1/4 percent
Sawing
vanadium) stand out because of their very high creep rupture properties, even at elevated temperatures.
Waterjet Cutting X20 was introduced in the 1950s in Germany and used in
Finishing steam lines operating at temperatures of 530 degrees C and
higher for fossil fuel-fired power generating sets of 150
Hydroforming megawatts and more. However, two factors limited its use: the
extreme care needed for its fabrication and welding and its
Materials Handling
noninclusion in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Coil Processing (ASME) Code B31.1.

Cutting and Weld Prep P91, introduced in the 1980s in the U.S., has both very high
strength at elevated temperatures and good fabrication
Tags properties. These features have made P91 the material of
choice for high-temperature steam and other, similar noncorrosive services.
steam , power-stations ,
pipe , p91 , tube
X20 Material
X20 material was first used in India for high-temperature steam piping around 1970. The next application in India took
place nearly two decades later, when the Tata Electric Co. (www.tata.com) selected the material for both the main
steam and hot reheat lines of its Trombay power station's 500-MW units.

The use of X20 in preference to P22 (2-1/4 percent chromium, 1 percent molybdenum) in the latter application
allowed wall thickness reductions of about 50 percent. These reductions resulted in easier handling; less energy
needed for preheating, welding, and postweld heat treatment; and faster start-up, load changes, and shutdown of the
unit.

Overall savings in the cost of the piping supplies and their fabrication, including welding, was claimed to be about 40
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percent.1

Trombay Unit 6 became operational in 1989. Since then X20 has been used in India for main steam piping in six
other power stations.

By the time P91 was included in the ASTM specification A335 in 1984, more than 100,000 metric tons of X20 tube
and pipe had been used in power stations worldwide. The cumulative operating time with the material steel had been
more than 4 million hours.2Operating behavior in more than 300 high-capacity power stations has been
excellent,3and failures have been limited to a few instances occurring when it was introduced because of lack of
knowledge about the material's properties.4

Its creep rupture properties have been well-established through laboratory tests and more than 200,000 hours of
operation.5

In spite of such strong credentials, X20 has not been included in the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code. This is
likely one of the main reasons that the U.S. remains a notable exception in the long list of countries using this
material.

P91 Material
The U.S. had been trying to develop a new material
since the middle 1970s to bridge the gap between
ferritic P22 and austenitic steels with respect to creep
rupture strength for high-temperature service from 540
to 600 degrees C. Development of any new material,
especially for high-temperature service, requires many
years, because creep rupture strengths are established
based on longtime exposure to a range of intended Figure 1
service temperatures. When properly heat-treated, P22, X20, and P91 achieve
these tensile properties at room temperature.
As a result of these developmental efforts, a new
material, designated P91, was introduced in the U.S. in the 1980s by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL,
www.ornl.gov), assisted by Combustion Engineering. This material has proven to have such good strength and
fabrication properties that the use of X20 has practically been discontinued in Europe. In fact, even renovations of old
power plants are being made with P91 material for steam circuits operating in the creep range.

P91 is a modified form of P9 (9 percent chromium, 1 percent molybdenum) steel. The steel can have low impurity

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limits, thanks to the development of processes such as argon-oxygen decarburization (AOD) and electroslag
remelting (ESR), which make the steel behave consistently during fabrication and resist the effects of aging. When
properly heat-treated as specified in ASTM specification A335, the steel acquires room temperature properties as
shown in Figure 1.

The steel has high creep rupture strength because of the precipitation of submicroscopic vanadium and niobium
carbonitrides. Low carbon content aids its fabrication characteristics. The material responds well to hot and cold
bending, as well as to welding.

Comparison of X20 and P91


P91 and X20 both are martensitic steels with
similar transformation behavior (see Figure 2).
Martensite formation temperature for P91 is about
400 degrees C. Welding of P91 steel is, therefore,
carried out below this temperature using preheat
and interpass temperatures in the range of 200 to
300 degrees C.

The maximum hardness in the weld metal and


heat-affected zone in as-welded condition is about
450 HV10, which is lower than that of X20 (greater
than 500 HV10). Heavier-wall P91 components
may be cooled to room temperature after welding.
The joint should, however, be kept dry after welding
until postweld heat treatment is complete to avoid
stress-corrosion cracking caused by the presence
of humidity.6

Martensite formation temperature for X20 is about


300 degrees C, so welding may be carried out
either at 250 degrees C (just below the martensite
formation temperature) or in the nontransformation
range beyond 400 degrees C. The higher
temperature helps prevent high hardness values
and the attendant risk of cracking during welding.
In any case, except for very thin-wall components,
X-20 weld deposit must be cooled down to about
100 degrees C and held there for at least one hour
for the transformation of austenite into martensite
to be complete. The component then is subjected
to a tempering treatment at between 730 and 760
degrees C for at least two hours.7

Typical welding consumables recommended for


P22, X20, and P91 are shown in Figure 3, and
typical nondestructive testing practices
recommended for P91 are shown in Figure 4.

Following are some considerations that influence a


choice between P91 and X20:

1. Allowable stress, per ASME B31.1 code, is


the same for both P91 and X20 at 540
degrees C. The allowable stress is Figure 2
increasingly higher for P91 at higher P91 (top) and X20 (bottom) both are martensitic steels
temperatures. Therefore, any advantages of with similar transformation behavior.
X20 based on its lower thickness
requirement can be obtained by using P91 at
540 degrees C and higher.
2. Use of X20 demands extreme care in fabrication
and welding of the piping components. Important
parameters include induction heating of thicker
weld joints; special cooling and storage of bends
before heat treatment; low-speed grinding
performed intermittently to prevent overheating
and cracking; completion of welding and heat Figure 3
treating in one cycle; and extensive NDT for weld Several brands of welding consumables can be used with
joints. P22 and P91, while only one brand is recommended for
3. The thermal expansion coefficient of P91 is use with X20.
comparable to that of X20.
4. The thermal conductivity of P91 is higher than that of X20.
5. P91 can be readily machined with cutting tools similar to those used for X20.
6. P91 has a lower chromium content, which helps to conserve material.

Confidence in the use of P91 steel has grown


substantially since its first use. ASTM approved the
steel under designation A213 Gr. T91 in 1983 and A335
Gr. P91 in 1984. Inclusion of P91 plates, forgings,
flanges, and fittings in ASTM standards, and
commercial manufacture of such components to these
standards, continues to evolve. Figure 4
Several types of nondestructive testing
A Promising Future typically are recommended for P91.
At temperatures higher than 540 degrees C, P91 has increasingly higher allowable stress than X20. It now is
possible for fossil fuel-fired power stations to achieve higher pressure and temperature parameters on main steam

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9/10/2010 Comparing materials for high-temperat
piping, and thereby realize higher thermal efficiency, using this material. This saves recurring fuel costs and also
reduces pollutants, because less fuel is burned.

P91/T91 may be used to replace sections of boiler header and pressure parts that occasionally reach temperatures
higher than permissible design limits for P22 or other low-alloy chromium-molybdenum-vanadium steels. T91 also is
being applied in superheater and reheater circuits, which used to require austenitic steel because of the design
temperatures.

P91 also has been used recently in petrochemical plants for cracking and hydrotreating furnaces that employ higher
operating temperatures to increase the yield of unleaded, high-octane fuels.

P91 has a promising future, and its applications are sure to increase until another new material is in a position to
challenge it.

P.K. Saha is head of quality and management representative for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) Power
Sector -- Eastern Region, Gillander House, Block B & C, 4th Floor, 8, N.S. Road, Kolk ata-700001, India. BHEL is
an engineering and manufacturing organization engaged primarily in design, manufacture, supply, installation, and
servicing of power plant and industrial equipment.

Reprinted with permission from BHEL Journal, Volume 20, No. 1, March 1999.

Notes
1. V.L. Gopalak rishnan, Welding of X20 Pipes for Conveyance of High Pressure Steam for 500 MW Power Plant --
an Indian Experience (The Tata Power Co. Ltd., 1991), pp. 377-383.

2. G. Kalwa, State of the Development and Application Techniques of the Steel X20CrMoV121 (Mannesmann).

3. W. Bendick , V. Harrmann, and M. Zschau, Retrofitting of Exhausted Steamline Components (Mannesmann).

4. K. Niederhoff, G. Wellnitz, M. Zschau, and D. Ziessnitz, Properties and Fabricability of Creep Resistant 9-12%
Cr Steels for High Pressure Piping System in Power Plants (Mannesmann, 1991), pp. 221-262.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. F. Bruhl and H. Musch, Welding of Alloyed Ferritic and Martensitic Steels in Piping Systems for High
Temperature Service (Mannesmann).

Additional Information

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P.K. Saha
Contributing Writer

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