Microstructure Evolution in 9Cr Martensitic Steel During Long-Term Creep at 650 °C

Standardarized creep and rupture strength tests were conducted for commercial T91 martensitic heat-resistant steel at 650 °C and corresponding microstructure was characterized by BSED, TEM and EDS. The martensitic microstructure degenerated seriously during creep exposure, including martensitic substructure recovering, carbides coarsening, dissolving and precipitating. EDS analysis shows that the M23C6 carbides in different morphologies have dissimilar compositions. The rod/sheet like M23 C6 particles within the matrix contain more additions, which might precipitate in situ while fine MX particles were re-solving. The high content of silicon in these rod/sheet like M23 C6 carbides is probably related to self diffusion coefficient increasing for the exposed condition at 650 °C close to Curie temperature Tc. For those reasons, martensite substructure becomes unstable, and microstructure evolution is accelerated and leads to creep strength deteriorating severely.