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Advanced Pressure Boundary Materials

Mike Santella and John Shingledecker


Materials Science & Technology Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

June 12, 2006


20th Annual Conference on Fossil Energy
Materials
Knoxville, TN
Purpose is to build fundamental
understanding of materials behavior needed
to increase operating temperatures
Activities encompass ferritic steels, austenitic steels and Ni-
based alloys
“Analysis of Off-Normal Metallurgical Conditions on the Performance of
Advanced Cr-Mo Steels,” CRADA with Alstom Power, Inc.
“Joint Research on Properties of Alloy 263 and 263 Weldments,” joint
research agreement for collaboration with Central Research Institute of
Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Tokyo, Japan
“Mechanisms of Type IV Weld Failures in Cr-Mo Steels,” collaboration
with National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan
Involvement with materials issues relating to the ASME Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code (Section II: Materials)
Technical support for the U.S. DOE/OCDO Ultrasupercritical Steam Boiler
Consortium not included in the ORNL Tasks 2 (mechanical properties)
and Task 3 (steamside oxidation) work scope
Critical temperatures for PWHT are being
analyzed in collaboration with Alstom
P91 – A387 Gr 91:
Fe-0.1C-0.4Mn-0.3Si-9Cr-1Mo-0.1Ni-0.2V-0.08Nb-
0.05N, wt%
P911 – A387 Gr 911:
Fe-0.1C-0.4Mn-0.3Si-9Cr-1Mo-0.1Ni-0.2V-0.08Nb-
0.06N-1W, wt%
P92 – 9Cr-2W Material:
Fe-0.1C-0.4Mn-0.3Si-9Cr-0.3Mo-0.1Ni-0.2V-0.07Nb-
0.05N-1.8W, wt%
P122 – 12Cr-2W Material:
Fe-0.1C-0.4Mn-0.3Si-11Cr-0.4Mo-0.2Ni-0.2V-0.07Nb-
0.07N-2W-1Cu, wt%
Phase diagrams are fundamental roadmaps
needed for alloy development, processing,
heat treating

“A1” defines upper limit for post weld heat treatment


For complex systems temperatures can be
estimated using Computational
Thermodynamics
CT is a powerful tool for
thermodynamic calculations in
multicomponent (> 3) systems
Calculations are based on expert

Gibbs Free Energy


assessments of thermochemical
measurements
α
Models are developed for all types
of phases (solid solutions, μ
compounds, carbides, oxides, etc) β
Minimum G yields equilibrium;
can add constraints
G described as function of
composition, temperature, etc
Composition
5 base compositions were used for each
analysis
1. All elements at maximum specified
2. All elements at minimum specified
3. All elements at mid-range values
4. Austenite formers at maximum of range;
ferrite formers at minimum of range
5. Ferrite formers at maximum range;
austenite formers at minimum range

1800-2100 individual compositions were analyzed for each


steel
Predicted A1 ranges for 9Cr steels

uency 120

80
Predicted A1 range for 12Cr-2W steel

140

120
Thermo-based estimates of A1 may have
important implications for Cr-Mo steel
component fabrication
In homogenized wrought material, A1 is uniquely defined
by alloy chemistry
A1 is most often estimated from measurements on a
limited number of alloys - AC1
AC1 is not a unique temperature
It increases with heating rate during measurement
Using AC1 ’s to specify PWHT temperatures increases the
probability of exceeding A1’s
PWHT limit of 800°C for 9Cr’s adopted by ASME B&PV
Code is based on AC1 data
It may be prudent to reconsider Code specified limits
Continuing work
Base metal alloys at extremes are
being made for experimental
measurements
Consideration of MS estimates
Weld metal compositions – which
ones?
Other Cr-Mo steels?
Mechanisms of Type IV weld failure are
being studied in collaboration with NIMS

Type IV failure of Cr-Mo steel welds is due to


weakened microstructures in HAZs
Experimental 9Cr steels have improved
creep strength and resistance to Type IV
failure

Results from F. Abe et al., National Institute for


Materials Science, Japan
HAZ behavior of new steel is
significantly different from more
conventional 9Cr steel
Two explanations are proposed for the
unique behavior of the NIMS steels
1. Austenite memory effect
• With retained austenite, heating to T’s above
A1 regenerates the original γ grains
1. Martensitic reversed transformation
• Boron may suppress nucleation of γ in HAZs
during welding
Previous ORNL work used APS diffraction
experiments to verify that austenite was being
retained in 9Cr steel welds
NIMS expressed interest in collaborating on a
set of diffraction experiments with NIMS steel
& P92
Transformation behavior is being
examined using the Advanced Photon
Source
The Advanced Photon Source
(APS) at
Argonne National Laboratory is
a national synchrotron-
radiation light source research
facility funded by the
U.S. Department of Energy,
Office of Science,
Office of Basic Energy Sciences
.
High flux, high brilliance x-ray
beams are available for basic
and applied research
Flux + brilliance = 1 second
per diffraction pattern
Ferrite/austenite transformation was
tracked through HAZ heating cycles

500

Austenite may be retained in both NIMS 130B steel and P92


Diffraction indicates HAZ of P92 transforms
rapidly to high fraction of austenite

ture (°C)
800
600
Result: 14% overtempered α ′ , 21% regrown α , 61.5% α ′ , 3.5% γ
Austenite transformation is much more
sluggish in HAZ of N130B

ture (°C)
800
600
Result: 54% overtempered α ′ , 23% regrown α , 22.5% α ′ , 0.5% γ
Continuing work
Microstructure & hardness analysis
Analysis of effects on creep behavior &
Type IV failure
Transformation kinetics experiments &
model
Effects of individual elements, e.g., B, Co
P91 base & weld metals
Efforts to improve strength of Ni-based
alloys is being leveraged through
collaborative effort with CRIEPI
1
WSF (t,T) = σWELD (t,T) / σBM (t,T)

0.8

0.6

0.4
GTAW - All Data
GTAW - Tube Cross Weld
0.2 GTAW - 1/4" Plate Cross Weld
GTAW - 1/4" Plate Weld Metal

0
600 650 700 750 800 850
o
TEMPERATURE ( C)

Data for Haynes 230 illustrates need for weld strength


reduction factors for boilers designed with Ni-based alloys
Joint Research on Properties of Alloy 263 and
263 Weldments
Purpose is to measure and analyze creep,
fatigue, and creep-fatigue properties
Optimize fabrication processes for base and
weld metal
Manufacture test articles
Conduct creep tests
Conduct fatigue and creep-fatigue tests
Analyze deformation and damage
accumulation behaviors
Status: Technical details are finalized;
approvals for export controls, IP, etc., are
proceeding
Computational Thermodynamics capabilities
will be used to consider methods of
strengthening alloy 263

25
14
20 12
se

Data for alloy 740 illustrate the dependence of


precipitation on alloy composition
e
Advanced Pressure Boundary Materials
Highlights:
Using computational thermodynamics tools to
assist manufacturers in specifying critical
temperature limits for tempering and post weld
heat treatments
Making thermodynamic analysis information
accessible, available
Using advanced tools – like APS – to better
understand new high strength ferritic steels
Collaboration with NIMS
Using testing, analysis, and CT capabilities to
strengthen Ni-based alloys
Collaboration with CRIEPI

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