Development of Creep-Resistant Alloy Steels

Abstract

THE' major part of the industrial uses of high creep-resistant alloys at elevated temperatures and fairly high stresses has been due to the development of the gas turbine and the jet-propulsion engines. Although Howe1 as far back as 1885 made investigation on the extension of metals as function of time , and creep data were reported by Andrade2 in 1911, there was very little technical interest in the phenomena of creep or i n creep-resistant metals and alloys until shortly after World War I, when better materials were required for aero-engine parts, for the petroleum and chemical industries at fairly high temperatures 400°- 600°C.) and sometimes under severely corrosive conditions, for parts of industrial furnaces at high temperatures and for steam turbines. The demand of mate-rials resistant to creep steadily increased during World War II. But the greatest resistance to creep at high temperatures and fairly high stresses have been due to the development of gas turbine and jet-propul- sion engines. An attempt has been made in this paper to indicate briefly some of the metallurgical factors involved in the development of high creep-resistant alloy steels with particular reference to turbine materials.