Effect of Tantalum content on the low cycle fatigue properties of CLAM steel at 823 K

Abstract

The effect of tantalum (Ta) content on the low cycle fatigue (LCF) properties of CLAM steel at 823K was investigated in this paper. Low cycle fatigue tests were carried out on four ingots of CLAM steel with Ta contents of 0.027wt%, 0.078wt%, 0.15wt% and 0.18wt%, respectively. The results showed that the fatigue life and softening behavior of CLAM steel were influenced by Ta content. The fatigue life initially decreased and then increased as the Ta content was increased from 0.027wt% to 0.18wt%. The softening rate had declined with Ta content increased and the reduced softening rate was attributed to the increased number of Ta-rich MX particles.