Influence of long-term aging and superimposed creep stress on the microstructure of 2.25cr-1Mo steel

Abstract

To understand the influence of high-temperature aging and superimposed creep stress on the microstructural variations in a 2.25Cr-1Mo steel, the shoulder and gage portions of the specimens subjected to stress-rupture tests at 540 °C and 580 °C have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. In the normalized and tempered condition, the steel exhibited a tempered bainitic structure and the carbides were present as M3C globules, M2C platelets, and M23C6 rectangular parallelepipeds. Aging the steel at 540 °C for 7022 hours or 17,946 hours resulted in considerable coarsening of M2C and caused precipitation of M6C carbides. The superimposed creep stress enhanced the M2C precipitation. The ferrite matrix exhibited some recovery in the specimens exposed for 17,946 hours. While M2C platelets were observed in a few areas after 14,836 hours of aging at 580 °C, this carbide was virtually nonexistent when a stress of 78 MPa was superimposed. Amounts of M23C6 persisted throughout the tests at both 540 °C and 580 °C. The M6C carbide became more predominant after long exposure at 580 °C. The ferrite matrix recovered considerably in specimens subjected to creep stress at 580 °C for 14,836 hours. © 1993 The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, and ASM International.