Investigation of Cold-Forming Properties of Sanicro 25: A Potential Candidate for Superheater and Reheaters in High Efficiency A-USC Fossil Power Plants

Sanicro 25 material is approved for use in pressure vessels and boilers according AMSE code case 2752, 2753 and VdTüV blatt 555. It shows good resistance to steam oxidation and flue gas corrosion, and has higher creep rupture strength than any other austenitic stainless steels available today. It is a candidate material for superheater and reheaters, enabling higher steam parameters of up to about 650 °C steam (ie about max 700 °C metal) without the need for expensive nickel based alloys. The effect of cold-forming on time and temperature-dependent deformation and strength behavior has been examined in a comprehensive study. The objective was to determine the maximum allowable degree of cold-forming to be used without additional heat treatment. The findings of these investigations indicate that the maximum allowed cold deformation could be possible to increase from today’s maximum 20 % (VdTüV 555), 15 % (540–675 °C) and 10 % (higher than 675 °C) respectively (ASME 2011a Sect I PG19). A solution annealing after the cold bending will recover creep ductility but will also at the same time increase manufacturing costs. Higher allowed degree of cold-forming without the need for post bend heat treatments, would allow for more narrow bending radii and thereby a more compact construction that would result in a significant decrease in production costs. This paper presents the findings in the mentioned study and is to be a background for possible coming discussions with involved entities on a revision of the max allowed deformation of this material without the need for solution annealing.