Basic Metallurgy and Materials

Kenneth Mitchell
Introduction
 RWE Innogy is a leading integrated UK energy company. We generate
electricity and supply gas and electricity through our own retail business.

 RWE Innogy have a portfolio of conventional fired power plant in the UK

(about 8000MW of plant).

 I work in Operations and Engineering, which provide our stations and

external customers with support and specialist services.

 Welding engineer based at Swindon in Plant Life & Integrity Group.

– Work: 01793-893463 (CTN: 322-3463)

– Mobile: 07989-494156
 Agenda
 Metals – crystalline structure

 Iron-Carbon Phase Diagram

 Microstructure of Steels

 Properties of Steels

 Strengthening Mechanisms

 Failure Mechanisms

 Power Plant Materials

Metals
 Metals are crystalline solids which have the following
characteristic properties:

– shiny, opaque

– malleable

– electrical and thermal conductivity

– freely make alloys with other metals

 These properties are due to the nature of the metallic bond

 In the metallic bond, the outer electrons are loosely bonded and
these free electrons (valence) can be visualised to be an
electronic glue holding together the matrix of atoms.
Crystalline Structure of Iron

 Pure iron can exist in two crystalline forms :-

– alpha (α) iron which is stable between 0-910°C and 1390-1535°C.

– gamma (γ) iron which is stable between 910-1390°C.

 both forms composed of regular arrangement of planes of atoms,

shown as a cube

– α has body centred cubic (BCC) structure

– γ has face centred cubic (FCC) structure

Metallic Crystal Structure
Solubility of Carbon in Iron

 The difference in atomic arrangement leads to low C solubility in

α iron (0.02%) and high C solubility in γ iron (1.7%).

 Solutions of C in α iron are known as ferrite.

 Solutions of C in γ iron are known as austenite.

 It is the ability of austenite to form solid solutions with C that

enables the mechanical properties of steel to be changed by heat
treatment.
Dendritic Grain Growth
Phase Transformations
Steel Microstructures

 Ferrite Pearlite microstructures

– 0.1, 0.3, 0.8 % Carbon

Effect of cooling rate on microstructure
Common steel phases
Steel Microstructures

0.1wt% C Bainitic Steel. Martensite.

Heat treatment terms
Hardenability of steels

 The term hardenability is used to describe the ease at which a

steel can be transformed to martensite over it’s x-section

 All C steels have poor hardenability to overcome this problem

alloying elements are added

 These help to postpone the start of transformations enabling

through hardening of various steel grades
Classification of alloying elements
Properties of Steels

 common alloying elements

 Cr, Ni, V, Mo, Nb, N, Mn, Ti, Si

– alloying additions used to improve materials properties such as

– Corrosion, oxidation resistance

– Mechanical strength and hardness

– Creep strength

– Weldability

– Ductility, Formability
What makes steel strong?
 In the elastic range strain is
caused by a stretching of the Stress / Strain
atomic bond, until the yield point.
500 UTS

400

Stress N/mm^2
Plastic
Failure

300 Yield point

In the plastic range strain causes

200
atoms to slide along certain crystal Elastic
planes until the materials ductility is 100
exhausted.
0
0 10 20 30
Strain
What makes steel strong?

 Plastic strain does not occur by all the atoms on crystal

plane sliding at once, but by the movement and generation
of dislocations (like a fold in carpet).
 What makes steel strong?

 Increasing the strength prolongs Stress / Strain

the elastic region. The slope of the
modulus is unchanged. 500 UTS

Stress N/mm^2
400 Plastic
Failure
 In general increasing the strength 300 Yield point
reduces the ductility.
200
Elastic

100
 Strengthening mechanisms can be
degraded over time depending on 0
the service temperature.
0 10 20 30
Strain
Dislocations

 Dislocations are linear faults in the crystal structure.

 Stopping dislocations moving increases strength.

Strengthening mechanisms

Solution strengthening

Effect of dissolved

alloying additions
Strengthening mechanisms

Precipitates

Effect of fine dispersions of

insoluble particles,carbides etc
Strengthening mechanisms
Grain size

Fine grain size increase strength

and ductility
Strengthening mechanisms

Dislocations can inhibit movement of other dislocations due

to cold work
Strengthening mechanisms

Transformation

Structural refinement caused by heat treatment, quench and

temper.
Failure Mechanisms - Fatigue
 Fatigue is defined as failure resulting from a number of load
applications, each at a stress level insufficient to cause failure by
one load cycle

 Fatigue loads are encountered in 3 major ways

– Reversed loading

– Unidirectional loading

– Unidirectional loading with preload

 Fatigue cracks initiate at stress concentrations

 Crack propagates under repeated tensile load generally in a

transgranular manner
Fatigue Limits

 For ferrous metals, a fatigue limit is designed as the maximum

stress which can be endured for 107 cycles
Thermal Fatigue

 Occurs when a component is exposed to alternate high and low

temperatures

 Sudden localised heating or cooling produces undesirable stress

cycles leading to cracking, particularly at stress concentrations

 This cracking can be intergranular or transgranular depending on

low or high number of cycles
Failure Mechanisms - Creep

“Plastic deformation
accumulated in a material at
temperature and load over a
period of time.”

t, T and σ dependent.

At service pressure and

temperatures, 10°C reduction
will double creep life
Formation of Creep Damage
Creep Failure Microstructure
Designing for Creep Properties

The effect of alloy content on the tube wall thickness required for a steam pipe with
an estimated life of 100,000 hrs. at 540°C and 1500 lb. per sq. in.
 Boiler Materials
Typical Compositions (wt%)
Approx Applications
Max.Temp
C Mn Cr Mo Ni V Others
°C
C-Mn Steels 0.15 1 - - - - 450 Furnace, economiser early stages of
s/h and r/h tubes. Boiler drums,
headers, headers, receivers, pipes.
1%Cr½%Mo 0.12 0.5 0.9 0.5 - - 550 Superheater, reheater, tubes pipes,
pipes, headers and recievers
0.12 0.5 2.25 1 - - Superheater, reheater, tubes pipes,
pipes, headers, recievers and valve
2¼%Cr1%Mo 580 bodies
½%Cr½Mo¼V 0.12 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.25 580 Headers, pipes, valve bodies
F,T,P91 0.1 0.4 9 1 <0.4 0.2 Nb, N 600 Headers, pipes, tubes
T316 0.07 1.5 18 2.5 13 - Superheater, reheater tubes.
650 Headers, pipes
T321 0.07 1.5 18 - 11 - 0.35Ti Superheater, reheater tubes.
650 Headers, pipes
T347 0.07 1.5 18 - 12 - 0.7Nb Superheater, reheater tubes.
650 Headers, pipes
T310 1.5 25 - 20 -
Outer layer of co-ex tubing. Furnace,
650 superheater and reheater tubes
Esshete 1250 0.1 6 15 1 10.5 0.25 1Nb + B Superheater, reheater tubes.
670 Headers, pipes
Steam Turbine Rotor Materials

 HP/IP rotors – 1CrMoV forgings (0.25-0.3%C, 0.9-1.4%Cr,

1.0-1.5%Mo, 0.2-0.3%V)

 LP rotors - 3NiCrMoV forgings (0.22-0.27%C, 3.0-4.0%Ni,

1.5-2.0%Cr, 0.4-0.6%Mo, 0.1-0.15%V)

 Generator rotors – 3NiMoV forgings (0.22-0.27%C, 3.3-

3.7%Ni, 0.5%Cr max, 0.3-0.5%Mo, 0.1-0.15%V)
Steam Turbine Blading

 HP/IP blading require high temperature creep strength –

12CrMoV (0.15%C, 12%Cr, 0.6%Mo, 0.2%V)

 LP blading require higher mechanical strength –

12CrMoVNiNb (0.1%C, 12%Cr, 1.5%Mo, 0.3%V, 0.3%Nb,
2.5%Ni) or 14CrNiMoNbCu (0.05%C, 14.3%Cr, 5.5%Ni,
1.6%Mo, 0.35%Nb, 1.8%Cu)