Standardisation of High Temperature Crack Growth Testing of Weldments

Abstract

A European collaborative effort has been made to produce a Code of Practice (CoP), with participation from the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS) TC11-Working Group on High Temperature Testing of Weldments (WG on HTTW) and EC project CRETE. The prepared CoP is based on the authors’ and project partners’ long years of experience in the subject field of high temperature testing, deformation studies and crack growth on various materials studied in internal, European and international projects. The code is being processed for ISO standardization by the International Institute of Welding (IIW), Select Committee Standardization (SC STAND). Guidelines are established for material and specimen selection. The document aims at giving advice on testing, measurements and analysis of creep crack initiation and growth data for a range of creep brittle to creep ductile materials. It may be used for material selection criteria and inspection requirements for damage tolerant applications. In quantitative terms, it can be used to assess the individual and combined effects of metallurgical, fabrication, operating temperature, and loading conditions on welded components for high temperature service. The present paper reports on the standardisation of high temperature crack initiation and crack growth testing in weldments. The material behaviour in service, including significance of creep and loading, substantiates the testing and data analyses procedure for design as well as fitness-for-purpose assessment.