An Accelerated Method for Creep Prediction From Short Term Stress Relaxation Tests

Abstract

With the development of ultrasupercritical power generation technology, creep strength of high-temperature materials should be considered for safety evaluation and engineering design. However, long-time creep testing should be conducted by traditional creep assessment methods. This paper established a high-efficient prediction method for steady creep strain rate and creep strength based on short-term relaxation tests. Equivalent stress relaxation time and equivalent stress relaxation rate were defined according to stress relaxation characteristics and the Maxwell equation. An accelerated creep prediction approach from short-term stress relaxation tests was proposed by defining the equivalent relaxation rate as the creep rate during the steady stage. Stress relaxation and creep tests using high-temperature material 1Cr10NiMoW2VNbN steel were performed to validate the proposed model. Results showed that the experimental data are in good agreement with those predicted solutions. This indicates that short-term stress relaxation tests can be used to predict long-term creep behavior conveniently and reliably, and the proposed method is suitable for creep strength design and creep life prediction of 9–12%Cr steel used in ultrasupercritical unit at 600 °C.