Low cycle fatigue and creep fatigue interaction behavior of 9Cr-0.5Mo-1.8W-V-Nb heat-resistant steel at high temperature

In this paper, Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) and Creep-Fatigue Interaction (CFI) behavior of 9Cr-0.5Mo-1.8 W-V-Nb heat-resistant steel (ASME Grade P92 steel) at elevated temperature of 600 °C are investigated. Strain controlled LCF tests are conducted in fully reversed triangular waveform at different strain amplitudes ranging from 0.2% to 0.8%. CFI tests are conducted at 0.4% strain amplitude in trapezoid waveform with tensile hold time varying from 1 min to 60 min and compressive hold time varying from 1 min to 10 min. During LCF and CFI loadings, the evolution of cyclic stress, mean stress and stress relaxation behavior are investigated. It turns out that the softening behavior and lifetime degradation are dependent on strain amplitude, hold time and hold direction. In addition, the microstructure evolution and fracture behavior are characterized by optical, scanning and transmission electron microscope. The initial rapid softening behavior is attributed to the quick elimination of low angle boundaries, whereas no obvious microstructure alteration appears in the stable stage. Fracture behavior analysis reveals creep voids in long-term CFI tests facilitates the initiation and propagation of secondary cracks. The different responses of outer surface oxidation layer during cycling provides an explanation for severer damage of compressive hold and also accounts for the observed various fracture behavior of failed samples.