Creep crack initiation and growth behavior in weldments of high Cr steels

W added high Cr ferritic heat-resistant steels have been developed as a boiler material. Most of boiler component structures are mainly fabricated by welding which are likely to the regions of crack initiation and propagation. However, the method of predicting the life of creep crack initiation and growth have not been clearly established for weldments of high Cr ferritic heat resistant material due to many factors such as the variation in micro-structures and the residual stress caused by welding and thermal cycles. In the present study, the experiments of creep crack growth using a circular notched round bar specimen with variation of notch location in HAZ were conducted and the characteristics of creep crack growth rate and creep crack initiation life were summarized in terms of Q* parameter, which has been proposed as fracture mechanics parameter to describe creep crack growth rate. © 2014-IOS Press.