A Study on the Creep Rupture Life Estimation of Internally Pressurized Welded Pipe Joints

A study had been conducted to establish the precise method estimating the creep rupture life of welded steam pipe joints used for thermal power plants. Firstly, basic creep data of 2.25CrlMo low alloy steel, such as rupture time, minimum creep strain rate, and creep crack growth rate, had been obtained on mother material, fine-grained heat affected zone (HAZ), coarse-grained HAZ, and weld metal. Secondly, internally pressurized creep rupture test had been conducted on the pipe specimens of mother material, seam welded joint and girth welded joint. Whereas girth welded pipe joints showed longer lives than those of mother material pipes, seam welded pipe joints showed shorter rupture lives. To clarify the effect of fine-grained HAZ on the rupture life of the seam welded pipe joint, an analytical study had been performed taking the difference of creep deformation between fine-grained HAZ and mother material into account. The analytical creep rupture life had agreed quite well with experimental one. Finally, internally pressurized creep rupture test had been conducted on the specimens of the seam welded pipe joints with a semi-elliptical notch introduced along the outer HAZ of weld line. Creep rupture life of these specimens was calculated as the sum of crack incubation time and crack growth time. It was shown that the calculated creep rupture life had agreed quite well with the experimental result.