Experimental study and modelling of high temperature creep flow and damage behaviour of 9Cr1Mo-NbV steel weldments

Chromium martensitic stainless steels are under development since the 70's with the prospect of using them as structural components in thermal and nuclear power plants. The modified 9Cr1Mo-NbV steel is already used, especially in England and Japan, as a material for structural components in thermal power plants where welding is a commonly used joining technique. New generations of chromium martensitic stainless steels with improved mechanical properties for high pressure and temperature use are currently under development. However, observations of several in-service premature failures of welded components in 9Cr1Mo-NbV steel, outline a strong need for understanding the high temperature creep flow and damage behaviour of 9Cr1Mo-NbV steels and weldments. The present study aimed at experimentally determining and then modelling the high temperature creep flow and damage behaviour of both 9Cr1Mo-NbV steels and weldments (typically in the temperature range from 450 C to 650 C). The base metal was first studied as the reference material. It was especially evidenced that tempered chromium martensitic steels exhibit a change in both creep flow and damage behaviour for long term creep exposure. As a consequence, the classically performed extrapolation of 1,000 hours creep data to 100,000 hours creep lifetime predictions might be very hazardous. Based on experimental observations, a new model, integrating and coupling multiple creep flow and damage mechanisms, was developed in the framework of the mechanics of porous media. It was then successfully used to represent creep flow and damage behaviour of the base metal from high to low stress levels even for complex multiaxial loading conditions. Although the high temperature creep properties of the base metal are quite good, the occurrence of premature failure in weldments in high temperature creep conditions largely focused the attention of the scientific community. The lower creep strength of the weld component was also experimentally confirmed in the present study. The evaluation of creep flow and damage behaviour of the weldment requires two types of investigations, namely, the determination of the effect of welding on creep strength of the material especially in the heat affected zone (HAZ), and the investigation of the effect of the mismatch in creep properties between the weld metal, the base metal and the HAZ. To do so, the microstructure of the weakest HAZ was first reproduced on bulk specimens. These specimens were used to experimentally investigate the creep flow and damage behaviour of the weakest HAZ microstructure. The results of experiments allowed to fit a creep model for the simulated HAZ derived from the one designed for the base metal. The integration of constitutive equations of base metal, weld metal and simulated HAZ in finite element calculations of the heterogeneous weldment allows to study the effect of mismatch on creep properties and finally to predict creep lifetime of 9Cr1Mo-NbV welded components. (author)