Assessment of creep and rupture behavior of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel – A strain-based approach and its limitation

Abstract

Increasing demand of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel, among different grades of low alloy Cr-Mo steels, in power plants and petrochemical industries is mainly because of its high creep resistance. Application of a strain based approach for a reliable assessment of creep and rupture behavior is thus of great importance. Creep data were generated under different microstructural conditions in the laboratory and collected from literature as well. The influence of thermal ageing and pre-strain on the shape of creep curves has been studied. Analysis of data revealed that irrespective of initial microstructures, thermal ageing increases the tendency to soften but not the pre-strain. Softening due to carbide coarsening thus appears to be the dominant mechanism of creep. Based on this, a strain based approach for creep life assessment was developed. A fairly accurate prediction of creep life up to 5% creep is achieved using eight materials constants extracted from the creep curves of steel having similar initial microstructure. The limitation and reliability of the approach used to assess creep behavior of service-exposed steels have been discussed.