HIDA activity on 2¼ Cr1Mo steel

Historically, the 2¼CrlMo steel is one of the first type of low alloy steels used in high temperature plant. The objective of the present study is to test uniaxial, standard fracture mechanics and feature specimens from the same batch of material as well as test welded and ex-service materials and samples with mechanically induced residual stress. The creep and creep/fatigue crack initiation and growth results using fracture mechanics modelling techniques will then be used to validate the ‘HIDA’ procedure for high-temperature defect assessment. This paper presents an outline of the testing programme. The initial results for this steel from both static and cyclic loading conditions are presented for the test temperature of 565°C. The feature tests, simulating actual components, consist of three industrially relevant pipe types which are pre-notched and internally pressurised. In addition some of these pipes are being tested under four point bending. Early results of the X-ray and magnetic measurements to c...