Effect of applied stress on creep properties of Sanicro 25 welded joint made with a composition-matched weld filler metal

Sanicro 25 is a candidate material for reheaters and superheaters used in 650–700 °C advanced ultra-supercritical power plants. A composition-matched weld filler metal has been developed to join Sanicro 25 tubes through tungsten inert gas welding. Creep tests of the Sanicro 25 welded joint were conducted at 973 K under a stress of 180–240 MPa. The creep lifetime decreased with an increase in applied stress. The welded joint crept at 180 MPa fracture at the base metal (BM) in a mixed fracture type, and voids were the main damage form in the BM, which had low ductility in the welded joint. Creep fractures occurred in the weld metal (WM) in an intergranular manner at 200–240 MPa, with wedge cracks representing the main damage form and a lower creep ductility in WM. The distribution and strengthening mechanism of the nano-MX and nano-Cu phases in the WM of joint were close to those of pure BM after creep. The growth of carbides in the WM was restrained by element B during the 180 MPa creep test, which caused increasingly serious carbide coarsening in the BM. The amount of low misorientation angle boundaries in the WM following the creep substantially increased. Besides, the creep deformation of the welded joint at 180 MPa is dominated by BM, and the change in the weld grain shape is small. For tests under 200–240 MPa, the creep deformation of the welded joint was dominated by the weld, and the shape of the weld grain changed significantly.