Degradation of Creep Strength in Welded Joint of 9%Cr Steel

The degradation of creep strength in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of welded joint has been investigated for a tungsten-strengthened 9Cr steel, 9Cr-0.5Mo-1.8W-VNb. The creep test was carried out for the simulated HAZ specimens and the welded joint at 923 K. The creep rupture strength of the welded joint is almost the same as that of the base metal at high stresses but it decreases rapidly and then it becomes almost the same as that of the Ac3 simulated HAZ specimen at low stresses. The creep fracture of the welded joint occurs at the fine-grained zone of HAZ, corresponding to the Ac3 heating, at low stresses. The fine-grained zone of HAZ contains higher density of dislocations than the base metal. The recovery of higher density of dislocations and the sparse distribution of large M23C6 carbides promote the formation of coarse subgrains near prior austenite grain boundaries. This results in the concentration of creep deformation in the coarse subgrains, which accelerates eventual creep fracture.