Creep-Fatigue Damage and Crack Initiation for a Mod 9Cr-1Mo Structure With Weldments Available to Purchase

A structural test and evaluation on creep-fatigue damage, and creep-fatigue crack initiation have been carried out for a Mod. 9Cr-1Mo steel structural specimen with weldments. The conservatisms of the design codes of ASME Section III subsection and NH and RCC-MR codes were quantified at the welded joints of Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel and 316L stainless steel with the observed images from the structural test. In creep damage evaluation using the RCC-MR code, isochronous curve has been used rather than directly using the creep law as the RCC-MR specifies. A y-shaped steel specimen of a diameter 500mm, height 440mm and thickness 6.35mm is subjected to creep-fatigue loads with two hours of a hold time at 600°C and a primary nominal stress of 30MPa. The defect assessment procedures of RCC-MR A16 guide do not provide a procedure for Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel yet. In this study application of σ_d method for the assessment of creep-fatigue crack initiation has been examined for a Mod. 9Cr-1Mo steel structure.