Assessment of Heat-to-Heat Variation of Gr.91 Boiler Pipings by Small Punch Creep Test

Abstract

The small punch (SP) testing technique was applied to five heats of Gr.91 steel, which had been actually used for boiler pipings in different ultra-super critical (USC) power plants for long periods of time, to investigate the applicability of this testing technique to the assessment of heat-to-heat variation of creep property. The SP creep test was carried out at the temperature of 650°C and under the loads of 190, 230, 300 N using a small disk-type specimen (ϕ 8 × 0.5 mm). The experimental results revealed that the SP creep rupture strength (rupture life) and the deformation rate were different depending on the heat. These differences were qualitatively in good agreement with those observed in the uniaxial creep test. The results obtained in this study indicated that the SP creep testing technique could be a strong tool for the assessment of heat-to-heat variation of in-service boiler pipings.