In-plane and out-of-plane constraint effects on creep crack growth rate in Cr–Mo–V steel for wide range of C*

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In this work, the stress dependent creep ductility and strain rate model have been implemented in a ductility exhaustion based damage model and the creep crack growth (CCG) rates of a Cr–Mo–V steel in compact tension (C(T)) and middle tension (M(T)) specimens with different thicknesses and crack depths have been simulated over a wide range of C*. The effects of in-plane and out-of-plane constraints on CCG rates are examined. The results show that the in-plane and out-of-plane constraint effects on CCG rate are more pronounced for the high constraint specimen geometry (C(T)), while such effects are less significant for low constraint specimen geometry (M(T)). The constraint effects on CCG rates mainly occur in low and transition C* regions and the CCG rate increases with increasing in-plane and out-of-plane constraints. There exists interaction between in-plane and out-of-plane constraint in terms of their effects on CCG rate. The higher in-plane constraint strengthens the out-of-plane constraint effect on CCG rate and higher out-of-plane constraint also strengthens the in-plane constraint effect on CCG rate. The constraint effects on creep crack growth behaviour for a wide range of C* mainly arise from the interaction of crack-tip stress states and stress dependent creep ductility of the steel in different C* levels.