Precipitation Behavior in the Heat-Affected Zone of Boron-Added 9Cr-3W-3Co Steel During Post-Weld Heat Treatment and Creep Deformation

Abstract

In the previous paper, we demonstrated that the addition of boron was effective in preventing type IV failure due to suppression of grain refinement in the heat-affected zone at the peak temperature of around AC3 (AC3 HAZ). However, some fine prior austenite grains (PAGs) still remained around the coarse PAG boundaries, and these fine PAGs may affect the creep property of the welded joint. In the present study, the effect of these fine PAGs on the creep property of the boron-added 9Cr-3Co-3W steel (B steel) Ac3 HAZ is investigated. Different heat treatments are carried out on B steel base metal to form different Ac3 HAZ-simulated microstructures of coarse PAG with and without fine PAGs. Ac3 HAZ microstructure shows that a lot of M23C6 carbides are formed at the block boundary in the interior of coarse PAG. On the other hand, few M23C6 carbides are formed at the fine PAG boundaries, but a number of μ phases (W6Fe7 type) cover the boundary. The formation of μ phase retards the recovery of dislocation at the fine PAG boundary and contributes to stabilizing the microstructure in the primary and transient creep regions. The μ phase transforms to the Laves phase during creep. As the growth rate of Laves phase is higher than that of M23C6 carbides during creep, the creep strength of fine PAG boundary, which is strengthened only by Laves phase, becomes a little bit lower than the other boundaries strengthened by M23C6 carbides after long-term creep. The mismatch of creep strength between the fine PAG boundary and the matrix should be taken into account to attain an excellent long-term creep property of the B steel welded joint.