• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.637-642
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• 2003

The Modified 9Cr-1Mo steel identified as T91, P91 and F91 in the ASME specification has been widely used for the construction of modern power plants. The available data on the influence of process parameters during manufacturing and fabrication on its properties are not sufficient. In this study, the influence of various thermal cycles on the hardness and the creep rupture strength was analyzed in the base metal and the weldments made in tube and pipe of a Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel. The low hardness, 155Hv, showed low creep rupture strength below the allowable stresses of T91 base metal in the ASME specification. This low value was attributed to the fully recovered dislocation structure and the weakening of precipitation hardening associated with the abnormal thermal cycles.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.9 no.11
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• pp.1137-1143
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• 1999

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mod.9Cr-1Mo and W added 9Cr-0.5Mo2W steels were investigated for liquid metal reactor (LMR) heat exchange tube. The tempering temperatures at which cell structure was formed were $700^{\circ}C$ for Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel and $750^{\circ}C$ for W added 9Cr0.5Mo-2W steel. indicating the recovery of dislocation was delayed by the addition of W. 9Cr-0.5Mo-2W steel had the same kinds of precipitates with Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel, but the W was included in the precipitates in 9Cr-0.5Mo-2W steel. Micro-hardness and ultimate tensile strength of 9Cr-0.5Mo-2W steel were higher than those of Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel. The impact property of Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel was superior to that of 9Cr-0.5Mo-2W steel.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.103-110
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• 2010

In this study, an assessment method on creep-fatigue crack initiation and crack growth for a Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel (ASME Grade 91) structure has been developed with an extension of the French RCC-MR A16 procedure. The current A16 guide provides defect assessment procedure for a creep-fatigue crack initiation and crack growth for an austenitic stainless steel, but no guideline is available yet for a Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel which is now widely being adopted for structural materials of future nuclear reactor system as well as ultra super critical (USC) thermal plant. In the present study an assessment method on creep-fatigue crack initiation and crack growth is provided for the FMS (Ferritic-Martensitic Steel) and assessment on the creep-fatigue crack behavior for a structure has been carried out. The assessment results were compared with the observed images from a structural test.

• 연구논문집
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• s.31
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• pp.157-163
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• 2001

Evolution of microstructure due to service exposure to high temperature has a strong effect performance of heat resistant steels. In case of modified 9Cr-1Mo steels, precipitation of $Fe_2Mo$-type laves phases and coarcening of $M_23C_6$-type carbides is the primary cause of degradation of mechanical properties such as creep resistance, tensile strength and toughness. Creep tests have been carried out on pre-aging mod. 9Cr-1Mo steels to examine the effect of pre-aging and stress on the creep strength. Based on the results, a nondestructive procedure, where electrochemical technique that quantitatively detect laves phases and $M_23C_6$-type carbides in a material is used, has been proposed to evaluate a residual creep life of mod. 9Cr-1Mo steels.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.168-176
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• 2004

Interrupted creep tests were carried out on the Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel in order to investigate the structural degradation during creep. The ranges of creep stress and temperature were from 71 to 167MPa and 873 to 923k, respectively. The change of hardness and tempered martensitic lath width were measured in the grip and gauge parts of interrupted specimens. The lath structure was thermally stable in static conditions, but was not stable during creep, and the structural evolution was enhanced by creep strain. The relation between the change in lath width and strain was described in the from, $\delta$W= a ($W_s-W_o$)$cdot;varepsilon$, where $\varepsilon$ is the strain, $W_o$is the initial lath width, $W_s$ is the final lath width depending solely on stress, and a is the constant of the magnitude of 0.67 $\mu$m /strain. The change in Victors hardness was expressed by a one-valued function of creep life consumption ratio. Based on the empirical relation between strain and lath width, a model was proposed to explain the relation between change in hardness and creep life consumption ratio. The model revealed that about 65$%$ of dislocations in lath structures were eliminated by the migration of subboundaries.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.42-47
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of through thickness on the mechanical properties and microstructural features in Mod. 9Cr-1Mo steels for RPVs. The microstructures at all locations were typically tempered martensite, but small amount of delta ferrite was observed at the center region. The prior austenite grain size increased with the depth from the surface. The yield strengths of center and 1/4T location were higher than that of surface by 30MPa. The impact toughness of center was low compared to those of other specimens. Also, upper shelf energy was low at the center. The toughness deterioration in center might be caused by larger size of the prior austenite grains and existence of the delta ferrite.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2012

In this study, mechanical tests and microstructural analyses including TEM analyses with EDX of precipitates in modified 9Cr-1Mo steel were carried out to determine the cause of embrittlement observed after heat-treatment, which limits the usage of the alloy for power plants. Mod. 9Cr-1Mo steel specimens at austenite temperature were quenched to the molten salt baths at $760^{\circ}C$ and $700^{\circ}C$, in which the specimens were kept for 10 min ~ 10 hr with subsequent air-cooling. Impact tests showed that the impact value dropped abruptly when the specimens were kept longer than 30 min at $\sim760^{\circ}C$ reaching to minima in about 1 hr, and then increasing at further retention. The tensile strength of the specimens reached the minimum value without much change afterward, whereas the values of elongation showed the same trend as that of the impact value. The isothermally heat-treated steel at $700^{\circ}C$ also showed a minimum impact value in about 1 hr. These results suggest that the isothermal heattreatment at 760 and $700^{\circ}C$ for about 1 hr induces temporal embrittlement in Mod. 9Cr-1Mo steel. The microstructural examination of all the specimens with extraction replica of the carbides revealed that the specimens with temporal embrittlement had $Cr_2C$, indicating that the cause of the embrittlement was the precipitation of the $Cr_2C$. In addition, TEM/EDX results showed that the Fe/Cr ratio was 0.033 to 0.055 for $Cr_2C$, whereas it was 0.48 to 0.75 for $Cr_{23}C_6$, making the distinction of the $Cr_2C$ and $Cr_{23}C_6$ possible even without direct electron diffraction analyses.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.37.2-37.2
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• 2006

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.156-162
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• 2010

The modified 9Cr-1Mo steel (P91 steel) is very popular as a boiler tube material of the USC (Ultra-Supercritical) power plants. The steels were tempered in the temperature range of 400 to $650^{\circ}C$ and the mechanical tests, such as impact and hardness tersts were performed at the room temperature for the tempered steels. A drop in the impact value (embrittlement) and the hardeness increase were simultanously observed in the range of temperature between $475^{\circ}C$ and $600^{\circ}C$, particularly at $550^{\circ}C$. TEM observation shows the hardening was caused by $M_2C$, resulting in the embrittlement. And the maximum volume fraction of $M_3C$ was also observed at $550^{\circ}C$, Therefore, the embrittlement seems to be caused by both the $M_2C$ and $M_3C$.

• Transactions of the KSME C: Technology and Education
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.101-109
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• 2016

The material properties of heat resistant materials at power plants are affected by thermal aging as operating time is accumulated. In this study, the influence of thermal aging on yield strength, tensile strength and fracture behavior for Mod.9Cr-1Mo (ASME Grade 91) steel which is a material widely adopted for Generation IV nuclear energy system has been investigated and analyzed. Service exposed Gr.91 steel materials sampled from a piping system of an ultra-supercritical (USC) plant in Korea with accumulated operation time of 73,716 hours were used for material testing. The test results of the service exposed material specimens were compared with those of the virgin Gr.91 steel specimens. Those test data were compared with the material properties of ASME code and RCC-MRx code. Conservatisms of the material properties in the design codes have been quantified based on the comparisons of those from virgin and service exposed material specimens.