1

IIW 2012 Houdremont Lecture

MATERIALS AND WELDING CONSIDERATIONS
FOR DETERMINATION OF CONTINUED
OPERATION, OR RUN / REPAIR / REFURBISHMENT
FOR LIFE EXTENSION


Carl D. Lundin
Professor of Metallurgy
Director of Materials Joining Research
The University of Tennessee
lundin@utk.edu

Abstract
This lecture sets forth some of procedures and
characterizations for the material and welding considerations
that must precede any run, repair/refurbish or replace
decisions. The scenarios presented represent actual and
successful undertakings to assess the materials and welding
aspects of life extension. The situations discussed embody
pressure vessel, structural and high temperature piping
examples. Each of these three determinations resulted in
successful repairs because the materials and welding
knowledge bases were judiciously applied and the economics
of downtime and/or replacement concerns were extremely
favorable. The examples presented justify that in the initial
stages of life extension considerations the material and
welding considerations must be paramount.
2
Preface
Herr Doctor Professor Edouard Houdremont was a man
who was on the forefront of the metallurgical sciences in the
early part of the 20th century. His dedicated work in the
metallurgical development of steels positioned him as a driving
force for new and resource-saving alloys. In his later works he
distinguished himself as an individual in welding metallurgy
and was very active in the IIW. Unfortunately, in 1958 he died
at age 62 and left a place in the IIW which could not readily be
filled. He is remembered for his scientific as well as cultural
legacies. It is with great humility and tribute that I present this
2012 Houdremont lecture in commemoration of this
outstanding and time-honored welding metallurgist, Professor
Houdremont.
Introduction
Continued usage, repair or replacement of pressure
vessels and structures as related to life extension must begin
with detailed and specific knowledge of the metallurgical /
material condition of the pressure vessel or structure. This
type of complete engineering assessment of existing structures
must be conducted before any run, repair or replacement
decisions can be made. Thus, obtaining information for a
material condition assessment is the first step leading to
decisions as to which components can be continued in service,
which should be repaired or upgraded and which must be
3
replaced. Only with detailed material degradation information
at hand can the economic considerations related to enhanced
lifetime or any potential operational limitations of equipment be
addressed. In addition, to best assess and define the avenues
required for optimum use of the existing structural components
and which materials should and can be repaired or must be
replaced, a full failure analysis or the determination of the
material degradation mode must be carried out.
These important activities have been seriously
addressed in the past 25 years as safety, economic and
environmental conditions have become the paramount driving
forces. Furthermore, significant progress in the understanding
of the various degradation processes coupled with failure risk
assessments involving the probability of failure together with
the consequences of failure have been evolving. Many of
these considerations will be addressed during the Plenary
Sessions at the opening of this 2012 IIW International
Conference.
This lecture / paper will present several examples of
successful life extensions involving structural, pressure vessel
and piping applications for which a dedicated metallurgical
condition assessment / failure analysis was conducted prior to
the successful refurbishment and life extension, within the
economic constraints, were successfully conducted. Personal
involvement in the following situations forms the basis of the
lecture for the three situations described herein.
4
Situation 1. Restoration of a Fire Damaged
2-1/4Cr-1Mo Hot Separator Vessel
This example describes the diagnostic evaluation and
repair of a Q & T stainless steel weld overlaid 2-1/4Cr-1Mo
pressure vessel that was damaged in an external fire. The
important considerations were a careful review of vessel
history and the conduct of a through diagnostic evaluation,
which included a significant metallurgical characterization of
the various components of the vessel and a repair plan to
place the repaired vessel in compliance with ASME Section
VIII Div. 2. These determinations were needed to define the
repair methods necessary to restore the vessel to a condition
required for continued operation.
As a result of the external fire the Q & T Hot Separator
Vessel suffered substantial metallurgical damage. Portions of
the vessel reached high temperatures (at or above the AC3
temperature) and were cooled at either slow rates in air or
rapidly cooled by the water used to put out the fire, thus
changing the vessels mechanical properties.
The vessel is shown schematically in Figure 1 as having
a diameter of 7ft (2.1m) and a length of 24ft (7.3m) with 3
(75mm) thick heads and a shell thickness of 5 (125mm). The
vessel is internally overlaid with 309 stainless steel. The
maximum design pressure is 2425 psi (16720 kPa) at a
temperature of 810F (432C). After the fire, the vessel was
5
transported to a heavy vessel fabrication facility to effect the
repairs.
The original vessel manufacturing characteristics, heat
treatment and welding procedures were determined to form the
initial basis for repair. A preliminary on-site investigation
revealed the major areas of concern as to the damage and
dimensional distortions. Both soft zones and hard zones were
found on the outer surfaces of the shell, nozzles and heads.
The major concerns involved the soft (<155 HB {75 ksi}) and
hard zones (>160 HB {>80 ksi}) necessary for PWHT
response and the maintaining of a suitable weld overlay
condition. To this end, a complete survey of the vessel surface
hardness was conducted and as a result of these hardness
tests 20 boat samples were extracted. These boat samples
provided information on the depth of hardness deviations and
samples for evaluation of the microstructures responsible for
these hardness differences as well as samples to verify any
restoring heat treatments and the response to PWHT.
The results from the diagnostic evaluations showed that
the fire affected the shell rings and the N2 nozzle (see
Figure 1) of the vessel. The test results also showed that the
required material properties could not be restored by PWHT
alone. The tests on the boat samples also indicated that the
shell sections would require re-austenitization, water
quenching and tempering. It was also determined that after
the re-heat treatment the material could sustain 11 hours of
6
PWHT and that provided sufficient time for 2 final PWHTs.
The N2 nozzle would require the same heat treatments to
restore it to the original condition. The fire did not affect the
top and bottom heads and there was sufficient latitude for
PWHT to place the heads in Class 1 condition (design
calculations showed that Class 1 properties were suitable for
continued operation). The skirt stub was unaffected. In
addition, the weld overlay was found to retain suitable
properties and it would not disbond subsequent to the Q & T
treatment and PWHTs. The diagnostic work led directly to a
detailed repair plan, together with a justification of properties in
the as-is condition for some structures and components and
that the repaired vessel would be in complete Code
compliance and exhibit a justifiable fitness for service.
A disassembly plan (see Figure 2) for the vessel was
devised and the shell rings and nozzle N2 were cut apart for
the Q & T treatment followed by re-welding and PWHT. The
vessel was shortened by 7 (178mm) to provide material for
determination of the properties subsequent to heat treatment.
Both SMAW and SAW processes were selected to match the
original toughness requirements both with and without step
cooling. A dual layer 309 weld overlay repair method was
chosen so as to limit the ferrite content to <10%. Subsequent
to welding, an ISR was conducted and a full code required
NDE was conducted. Table 1 summarizes the required actions
7
for the repair plan and Figure 3 shows the vessel after repairs
were completed.
A complete documentation of the repair, with NBIC
approval, was supplied to the owner together with a revised
Manufacturers Design Report. The entire repair and
certification took slightly less than 3 months to complete. This
repair demonstrates a logical sequence for engineering
evaluation, diagnostic testing and repair of vessels constructed
of quenched and tempered Cr-Mo material.
The sequence of events, the use of boat samples and
test material for evaluation of the fire damaged vessel and the
subsequent verification of PWHTd microstructure and
properties clearly demonstrated that the vessel could be
restored to exhibit the required mechanical properties.
Furthermore, it was shown that the overlay could be retained
without disbonding or degradation. Ancillary to the conduct of
the repair, it was demonstrated that GMAW welds (with the
proper carbon content) could be Q & T and PWHTd and still
meet the code requirements.
It is recommended that repair plans with the detail
described herein be used as a model for vessel repair and
restoration. To this end, the reader is directed to a full
discussion of all of the procedures and techniques employed in
this successful repair in Welding Research Council Bulletin
#525, pp. 29-54 of March 2010.

8

Table 1. Repair Plan Required Actions for SA387 Gr. 22, Cl. 2 Pressure Vessel.

9



Figure 1. Sketch of SA387 Gr. 22, Cl. 2 Pressure Vessel.

1
0

FFigure 2. Sk ketch of SA3 387 Gr. 22, C Cl. 2 Pressu ure Vessel DDisassemblled for Q&T Heat Treatm

ment.
11

Figure 3. Photograph of the Repaired Vessel during Hydrotest.
12
Situation 2. Repair and Life Extension of a Basic
Oxygen Furnace (BOF) Vessel
This example describes the rejuvenation of a cracked
200 ton BOF vessel such that its repaired condition exceeded
the new condition and in doing so extended the useful life of
the vessel.
BOF vessels have been traditionally manufactured from
steel similar to A516/515-70 consisting of a cylindrical vessel
with a semi-conical top and a hemispherical bottom. The
vessel is refractory lined with a basic firebrick. The process
introduces oxygen to a scrap and Blast Furnace charge of
liquid iron in addition to slagging ingredients. The oxygen and
furnace charge creates an exothermic reaction wherein the
temperature is raised and carbon content is lowered. The
slagging ingredients remove sulfur, phosphorus and other
impurities thereby creating steel from the scrap and Blast
Furnace iron. The liquid steel reaches temperatures of 2700F
(1480C). When the clean steel is ready, it is poured from the
BOF through a tap-hole nozzle beneath the slag, into ladles for
further processing and the remaining slag is poured from the
opposite side of the BOF to discharge the spent slag.
The owner elected to fabricate the steel BOF vessel from
ASTM A736 Gr. A Class 3, a high strength copper precipitation
strengthened steel (min. yield 75ksi..515 MPa and tensile 100-
105ksi..690-725MPa) so as to produce a vessel that would be
13
superior to the traditional A516/515-70 type material. Two BOF
vessels so designed were field assembled in 1988.
A schematic section of the cylindrical vessel is shown in
Figure 1. The shell and cone are 3 (75mm) thick. One vessel
was placed into service in December 1988 and this vessel
failed by a through thickness crack at the lower edge of the
cone-to-cylinder weld in April 1989 after 1,899 heats of steel
had been produced. The through thickness crack was about
180 (approximately 20 feet [6.1m]) long) around the
circumference centered above the tap nozzle. The crack
initiated in the coarse-grained region of the HAZ of the knuckle
(cylinder-to-cone) weld and propagated along the fusion line (in
the coarse-grained region), as shown in the upper inset
macrograph in Figure 1, until it moved into the weld deposit
because of the groove geometry and change in the stress state
as it propagated. The sample from which this macrograph was
obtained is near the end of the through-wall crack. Partial
through-wall cracking was found in the same seam 180 away
from the tap nozzle site. Additionally, weld base metal HAZ
partial thickness cracking was apparent completely around the
tap nozzle, in the HAZ of the cylindrical section circumferential
weld and in the brick support bar attachment welds with the
same crack path (coarse-grained base metal HAZ) as shown in
the lower inset in Figure 1. The crack surface morphology is
shown in Figure 2 and it is characterized by an intergranular
(rock candy) appearance. No cracking was found in the
14
vertical weld seam HAZs or the bottom hemispherical head to
cylinder weld.
Fortuitously, the University of Tennessee Welding
Research Group was conducting reheat cracking evaluations
of a sister material, ASTM A710 Grade A CL 3 (structural
specification for the Cu precipitation strengthened steel), in this
time frame. These studies utilized several reheat cracking
tests: Gleeble Stress Rupture Test, Y-Groove Test, C-Ring
Reheat Cracking Test, Spiral Notch Test and PREVEW Test.
All of these tests revealed that the grain-coarsened region of
the HAZ was extremely sensitive to reheat cracking during
PWHT. The studies also showed that the fine-grained HAZ
was not sensitive to reheat cracking and that thermal histories
in the HAZ, wherein the coarse-grained region was overlapped
and obliterated by a subsequent weld pass fine-grained HAZ
region were not sensitive to reheat cracking.
The two Gleeble assessments shown in Figures 3a & 3b
reveal the relative sensitivities of the various regions in the
weld HAZ. Note the coarse-grained base metal HAZ tests
show essentially zero ductility. The testing also found that a
slight decrease in the coarse-grained region sensitivity was
imparted by a 1300F (706C) PWHT (see Figure 3b). The
fracture morphology of the coarse-grained base metal HAZ
tested samples is shown in Figure 4 which is identical to the
crack surfaces of the actual vessel cracks (see Figure 2).
Thus, it is rather unequivocal that the vessel-cracking
15
phenomenon was indeed reheat cracking. One might argue
that the supposed shell and cone temperatures were not in the
range of PWHT temperatures, however no records were
available for cylinder and cone temperatures during vessel
operation. Furthermore, the reheat cracking phenomenon is
known to be related to temperature in a C curve manner,
thus, if the time is longer than for the PWHT exposure, which
causes cracking in short times at 1050F, the C curve is
bound to be intersected (cracking) at supposed lower vessel
operating temperatures as time at the vessel operating
temperatures is accumulated.
The repair of the vessels was undertaken by using a belt
and suspenders approach wherein several mitigating welding
and PWHT approaches were employed. The preheat was
raised to 350F (177C). The electrode size and heat input
were restricted. As shown in Figure 5, all butt welds,
especially the through-wall cracked knuckle weld, were re-
welded by using a half-bead layering technique on the groove
faces followed by a PWHT of the layered groove faces at
1300F (706C). The closure weld was made and a PWHT of
1325F (720C) was applied to the entire vessel. This type of
weld face overlay was also applied to the surface of the vessel
where the support brackets were to be attached (Figure 6).
The special half-bead buttering / overlay of the weld toe
regions was adopted so as to eliminate the coarse-grained
region at the surface in the HAZ and provide for weld toe
16
regions that could be blend ground to eliminate all surface
related discontinuities or stress raisers. (At this point it is
worthwhile to note that the objective for the controlled
deposition layering of the groove faces was not simply for a
tempering effect but the electrode sizes, stringer beading,
weld heat input and preheat were specifically aimed at
eliminating the base metal coarse-grained HAZ region
altogether {to the maximum extent possible}and thus to
eliminate the most important microstructural conditioncoarse
grains that are primarily the microstructural feature responsible
for reheat cracking and to replace them with a fine-grained
microstructure which is virtually immune to reheat cracking.)
As a further step, for the cylinder-to-cone knuckle weld, after
the buttering of the weld faces and plate surface layering, the
entire joint was given a 1300F PWHT to desensitize any
remaining coarse-grained regions under the overlay. The
additional PWHT of the cylinder-to-cylinder circumferential
weld was not conducted as it was felt that the overlaying (grain
refinement method) was sufficient. NDE subsequent to
completion of the weld seams revealed no weld discontinuities.
The repair and upgrading of the welded joints in two BOF
vessels constructed from A736 Grade A Class 3 Cu
precipitation strengthened HSLA steel was successfully
accomplished by employing all of the mitigating techniques
necessary to preclude in-service cracking in the coarse-
grained weld base metal HAZ.
17
Repair of the cracked vessel and a rework of the unused
vessel were completed in the spring and summer of 1989 and
the active vessel was placed back into service. To the authors
knowledge these vessels are still in-service some 22 years
after the initial repair and upgrade.
The author wishes to direct the reader to the following
publications which address the technical aspects of the
behavior of the Cu precipitation strengthened high strength low
alloy steels in regard to reheat cracking.
1. Postweld Heat Treatment Cracking in HSLA Steels,
Proceedings of the International Welding Conference
(IWC-87), Carl D. Lundin and R. Menon, J an 12-14, 1987,
New Delhi India, Indian Institute of Welding, 1987, pp. 1097-
1111.
2. Postweld Heat Treatment Cracking in High Strength Low
Alloy Steels, Carl D. Lundin, R. Menon and Z. Chen,
Welding Research Council Bulletin 349, December 1989,
pp. 22-30.
3. "PWHT/Reheat/Stress Rupture Cracking and Heat Affected
Zone Toughness in Cu-Precipitation Hardenable Steel-
ASTM A710," Carl D. Lundin, K. Khan and T.P.S. Gill,
Proceedings of International Conference on The Metallurgy,
Welding, and Qualification of Microalloyed (HSLA) Steel
Weldments, Cosponsored by Microalloying International and
18
American Welding Society, November 6-8, 1990, Houston,
Texas, pp. 250-275.
4. Overview of Results from PVRC Program on Half-
Bead/Temper-Bead/Controlled Deposition Techniques for
Improvement of Fabrication and Service Performance, Carl
D. Lundin, PVRC/EWI Weld Repair Technology Workshop,
San Diego, February, 1996, Welding Research Council
Bulletin 412, Challenges and Solutions in Repair Welding for
Power and Process Plants J une 1996, pp. 16-26.
Figure 1. Schem
Locati
Cylind
matic Dia
ions in th
der Weld.
agram of t
he Cone-t
.
the BOF
to-Cylind
vessel. In
der Weld a

nsets det
and Cylin
tail Crack
nder-to-
19

king
20

Figure 2. Fracture Surface Morphology of Cracked Cone-to-Cylinder
Weld (Coarse-grained Base Metal HAZ).
21

Figure 3a. Gleeble Stress Rupture Behavior of A 710 Gr. A Cl. 3 as a
function of HAZ regions and PWHT Temperatures.

Figure 3b. Reheat Cracking Susceptibility of the Simulated CGHAZ of
A 710 steel as affected by HAZ Thermal Exposure and
Subsequent PWHT.
22

Figure 4. Fracture Surface Morphology of Gleeble Treated Coarse-
grained Base Metal HAZ.
Figure 5. Contr
and P
olled Dep
late Surfa
position O
ace.
Overlay ffor Butt WWeld Grooove Face
23

e
Figure 6. Pad-ty ype Controlled De eposition Overlay for Attacchments.
24

25
Situation 3. Evaluation of a Methodology for In situ
Replacement of Welds in a Utility Main
Steam Piping System.
A utility was experiencing weld related steam leaks in its
main steam piping. The reason for the leaks was evaluated by
a variety of NDE techniques and a metallurgical failure analysis
was conducted to define the condition of the other field and
shop welds remaining in the main steam-piping network. The
metallurgical investigation revealed that only the main steam
shop welds (submerged-arc welds) were in a cracked or
seriously creep-damaged condition. Thus, the remaining un-
cracked welds would be considered to be in continued
jeopardy. After the cracked welds were repaired, a corporate
welding engineer was assigned the task of planning for piping
replacement. In the considerations for replacement of the
entire main steam piping system it was determined that the
delivery time for new piping was excessive and thus an
additional investigation was needed to determine the remaining
life (long term creep performance) of the piping base metal. If
the piping base metal remaining life was considered to be
adequate (essentially undamaged by time-temperature-stress
exposure) only the welds would need to be replaced. This
would not only solve the time constraints of obtaining the
replacement piping but the rejuvenated (re-welded) piping
system would be a more economical alternative.
26
The generating station main steam piping (1-1/4Cr
1/2Mo) had been in operation at 2650 psig (18271kPa) for
218,000 hours at 1005F (542C) at the time the steam leaks
were discovered and the welds were metallurgically
characterized. The welds that leaked were shop welds made
with the SAW process (no SMAW field welds were damaged).
The cracks formed in the weld deposit along the weld fusion-
line. The general macroscopic appearance of the cracks is
shown in Figures 1 & 2. The cracks initiated below the weld
surface and propagated toward both the ID and OD surfaces
by the development of creep cavities at weld deposit inclusions
and subsequent cavity link-up and cracking along the weld
deposit grain boundaries (see Figure 3 and Figures 4 a, b, c).
This type of cracking has been previously found in many High
Energy Piping SAW welds wherein the flux utilized for weld
deposition was of an acid type and the welding procedures
created a condition where numerous inclusions were caused to
be situated along the weld fusion-line.
1,2,3

The chemical analyses of the ex-service weld deposit
and base metal are presented in Table 1. It is to be noted that
the oxygen content of the weld deposit is in the order of 1000
ppm. This high oxygen level indicates a corresponding high
inclusion content in the weld deposit (weld pool formed
spherical Mn-Silicates).
The Cryo-Cracking fractography presented in Figure 5 is
in the region of the tip of the crack shown in Figures 3 and 4
27
and clearly reveals the presence of the grain boundary cavities
that ultimately led to micro-cracking and then to macro-cracks
which eventually led to steam leakage.
In order to determine if the simple replacement of the
SAW shop welds would suffice to place the system into a like
new condition, a pup-section was removed from the main
steam piping. This base metal pup-section was utilized in the
characterization of the creep life of the base metal as well as
for the development of the optimum welding procedure for
replacement welds.
Ex-service base metal creep specimen blanks were
extracted from the pup-section in both the longitudinal and
tangential directions in the pipe. The cross weld samples were
of the J umbo type (gage sections of 1 2-3/825mm x
60mm) so as to account for any local microstructural effects
present in the weld/HAZ/pipe material. The temperature and
stress (1100F and 7.7ksi) used for the creep assessment
were chosen to be as near as possible to the operating
conditions of the piping. The maximum test times were on the
order of 1600 hours and the specimens were run to establish
the steady state creep rates. The specimens were not
continued to failure but were terminated after the steady state
creep rate was defined. The ex-service base metal creep test
results, together with PWHT heat treatments of the ex-service
base metal, are shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 shows the
behavior of the main steam piping base metal in contrast to the
28
1-1/4Cr1/2Mo annealed base metal mean and minimum
curves from ASTM DS 50.
4
The ordinate in is stress on a log
scale and the abscissa is the Larson Miller Parameter (LMP)
incorporating the steady state creep rate. It is clear that the
ex-service base metal straddles the mean curve and the base
metal given additional PWHTs is between the minimum and
mean of DS 50. This indicates that the ex-service base metal
is virtually equivalent to new annealed base metal.
Considering this result, the program was continued to
develop a welding procedure that would provide equivalent
creep behavior for the Base Metal, Weld Deposit, and HAZ of
properly PWHTd replacement welds in the main steam line.
The University of Tennessee (UTK), in conjunction with
the utility, undertook to evaluate several 1-1/4Cr1/2Mo weld
deposits after various PWHTs. The GTAW process was
chosen since it would produce the cleanest weld deposit (low
oxygen content) and it could be automated for optimum control
during weld deposition. The filler metal composition for
evaluation was chosen to be of the B2 composition and in
accordance with ASME B31.1 (Power Piping code) and also
meeting the SFA filler metal requirements contained therein.
The PWHT was chosen to be sub-critical and at temperatures
and times in accordance with ASME B31.1.
Several filler metals and PWHT procedures were studied
with bead-on-plate weld pads, which were PWHTd and
29
evaluated by microstructural examination and hardness
surveys. The temperatures for PWHT evaluations were
chosen to range from 1250 to 1350F at a time of 8 hours.
The primary consideration in regard to PWHT was to obtain
hardness in the weld deposit and HAZ that was similar to the
hardness in the ex-service base metal. This aspect of PWHT
has its basis in the consideration that there may be minor
creep differentials in the weldment (across the weld fusion-line)
which could result in triaxial stress hot spots which, in turn,
could reduce creep performance. The PWHT chosen for the
optimum GTAW weld was 1275F for 8 hours as this
sufficiently reduces the hardness differentials and does not
introduce elephant grains and soft spots in the weld deposit.
In addition, a weld deposit with the order of 0.065 to 0.085%
carbon was selected so that the weld deposit creep
performance would be similar to the base material.
A major field weld organization was selected to develop
the automatic CW-GTAW procedure and to produce a full size
weldment using the main steam ex-service base metal.
Photographs of the in-progress weldment are shown in
Figure 7. The welding procedure involved 29 layers with 205
passes at energy inputs between 2342 kJ /in (average 33
kJ /in) necessary to fill the single V groove. The finished weld
was PWHTd at 1275F for 8 hours. A macrograph of the weld
is shown in Figure 8. The hardness distribution obtained with
this welding procedure is shown in Figure 9 for the as-welded
30
condition and in Figure 10 for the PWHT condition. Note that
the 1275F-8 hour PWHT provides Weld Deposit/HAZ/Base
Metal hardnesses which are similar. Thus, this procedure
produces a PWHTd weld with the intended hardness
distribution across the weld fusion-line designed to optimize
weldment creep performance.
The completed weldment was sectioned to provide
J umbo cross-weld and all-weld deposit creep samples as
shown in Figures 11 and 12. Creep testing was performed at a
temperature of 1100F and a stress of 7.7ksi in accordance
with the initial evaluation of the ex-service base metal. During
testing, the temperature was increased from 1100F to 1120F
for some of the samples so as to obtain additional steady state
creep rates from the same samples. The maximum test times
were on the order of 15,000 hours. As with the ex-service
base metal tests, the tests were not continued to failure but
were terminated after a definitive steady state creep rate was
obtained. The steady state creep rates were used to calculate
the Larson-Miller Creep Rate parameter (P = T(20 - log r)10
-3
,
where r is the steady state creep rate in percent per hour) for
each sample. The creep rates and corresponding Larson-
Miller Parameters are presented in Figure 13 as was the case
for the base metal (see Fig 6) and this clearly shows that all
samples from the New Weld lie above the minimum ASTM
DS 50 curve.
31
This behavior indicates that the welding procedure and
PWHT chosen for the New Weld produced a weldment with
creep performance similar to the ex-service base metal.
Conclusions
1. The creep performance of the ex-service base metal of the
main steam piping is equivalent to new 1-1/4Cr1/2Mo
material as revealed by creep rate determinations using
J umbo creep samples. The creep rate performance of the
ex-service base metal lies near or above the mean curve of
ASTM DS 50.
2. The creep rate performance of ex-service base material
PWHTd at 1225F for 8 hours falls above the ASTM DS 50
minimum curve.
3. The ductility of the base metal in the creep rate tested
samples is considered equivalent to new 1-1/4Cr1/2Mo
base metal.
4. The New Weld fabricated using ex-service main steam
piping base material met the desired characteristics for
optimization of creep performance:
(a) The carbon content of the weld deposit was 0.084%,
which is at the desired level.
(b) The weld deposit oxygen content is 10ppm which is
at a low level for the deposited weld metal and
reflects that the inclusion content is low. This is
attributed to the weld filler wire chemistry and the
inert gas shielding in the CW-GTAW process.
32
(c) The hardnesses of the weld deposit, HAZ, and base
metal PWHTd to the 1275F-8 hour requirement of
the WPS were similar and no peaks were noted. The
hardness distribution from the weld deposit across
the fusion line into the HAZ and base metal reveals a
shallow slope with the hardness in the weld deposit at
200 HV and that of the base material at 160 HV. This
PWHTd hardness distribution not only reflects the
1275F-8 hour PWHT but also the effects of the small
overlapping passes in the weld deposit.
5. The creep rate performance, using J umbo samples
removed from the New Weld made to the strict tenets of the
newly designed WPS, reveals that the entire weldment is in
a condition equivalent to a pre-service weldment made with
new base metal.
(a) The Larson-Miller creep rate characterization of the
all weld metal samples (weld deposit) lies at or above
the minimum curve of the data compilation in ASTM
DS 50 for annealed 1-1/4Cr1/2Mo material.
(b) The creep rate performance places the cross-weld
and base metal test samples at or above the
minimum curve from ASTM DS 50 for 1-1/4Cr1/2Mo
annealed material.
6. The main steam line can be renewed (placed in a like-new
condition) by simply replacing the circumferential SAW weld
deposits and associated HAZs and re-welding, in-place,
using the WPS developed in this investigation. This could
33
result in a more economical upgrading of the main steam
piping system.

Closure
While this investigation was concerned with ex-service
steam line replacement/reconstitution, the weld procedure
developed could be used in completely new installations of
Cr-Mo piping with minor modifications, which would improve
costs. The groove angle and root gap could be reduced for
new fabrications (the wide weld root gap and greater groove
angle were only selected for the in situ replacement of the ex-
service welds because the removal of the weld and HAZ in the
ex-service weldments would result in greater weld root gaps
and larger areas to fill). Therefore, the power piping industry
should take note of this welding procedure as being a very well
characterized procedure which has, most likely, a greater level
of creep definition and welding related metallurgical
characterization than any other welding procedure yet
developed.
34
References
1. The Effect of Submerged-Arc Welding and PWHT on
Creep Damage Occurrence in Long-Seam Welded Cr-Mo
High Energy Piping, Proceedings of The International
Conference on Advanced Heat Resistant Steels for Power
Generation, San Sebastian, Spain, April 27-29, 1998. C.
Lundin and G. Zhou.
2. Cryo-Cracking: A New Technique for Creep Damage
Assessment in High Temperature Components,
Proceedings of The International Conference on Creep and
Fatigue Crack Growth at High Temperatures, pp. S1-6,
Paris, France, April 15-17, 1998. C. Lundin, G. Zhou, and
M. Prager.
3. Failure Modes of Welded Steam Piping, Proceedings of
The Annual PVP Conference, Vol. 380, San Diego,
California, J uly 26-30, 1998. C. Lundin, G. Zhou, and M.
Prager.
4. Evaluation of the Elevated Temperature Tensile and Creep-
Rupture Properties of 1/2Cr1/2Mo, 1Cr1/2Mo and 1-
1/4Cr1/2Mo-Si Steels, ASTM Data Series Publication DS
50, Philadelphia, PA. G. V. Smith, ASTM.
35
Summary
The above described situations detail the type of
evaluations needed to ensure valid material condition-based
Run-Repair-Replace decisions. These tenets must be
addressed before rational procedures can be devised to
extend life of components and complete fabrications.
36
Table 1. Chemical Composition of Ex-Service Base Metal and Weld
Deposit (wt%).
Elements Weld Deposit Base Metal
ASME SA335
Grade P11
ASME
SFA-5.23 , SAW Filler
C 0.089 0.11 0.05-0.15 0.15
Mn 0.89 0.43 0.30-0.60 1.20
P 0.017 0.004 0.025 0.03
S 0.014 0.004 0.025 0.04
Si 0.82 0.76 0.50-1.0 0.80
Ni 0.10 0.11 - -
Cr 1.20 1.29 1.00-1.50 1.0-1.75
Mo 0.60 0.54 0.44-0.65 0.40-0.65
V 0.007 0.004 - -
Nb 0.010 0.003 - -
Ti 0.003 0.002 - -
Co 0.009 0.008 - -
Cu 0.18 0.10 - 0.35
Al 0.008 0.007 - -
B 0.002 0.001 - -
W 0.01 0.010 - -
Sn 0.009 0.010 - -
Sb 0.003 0.002 - -
As 0.010 0.009 - -
Zr 0.006 0.001 - -
N+ 0.029 0.009 - -
O+ 0.100 0.005 - -

37

Figure 1. Macrograph showing a Singular Fusion-Line Crack in An
Ex-Service Weld.
38

Figure 2. Macrograph showing Dual Fusion-Line Cracking in an
Ex-Service Weld.
39

Figure 3. Macrograph of an Ex-Service Cracked Weld showing the
Crack Tip Region examined and shown in Figure 4.
Crack Tip
40


Figure 4. Typical Cracking in the Weld Deposit along the Fusion-Line
at the Crack Tip indicated in Figure 3, (a) 100x (b) 400x
(c) 1000x.
(a) 100x
(b) 400x
41

Figure 4, cont. Typical Cracking in the Fusion Zone along the Fusion-
Line at the Crack Tip indicated in Figure 3, (a) 100x
(b) 400x (c) 1000x.
(c) 1000x
Cavitated grain
boundaries
42


Figure 5. Morphology of the Cryo-Cracked sample surface at the
Crack Tip shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4.
43

Figure 6. Creep Rate test results from Base Metal (Ex-Service and
PWHTs) compared with Mean and Minimum Curves from
ASTM DS 50. Note that all points lie above the Minimum
curve.
44


Figure 7. Fabrication of Full-size New Weldment (a) in-progress
(b) nearly completed.
(a)
(b)
45

Figure 8. Macrograph showing the Cross-section of the New Weld.
46

Figure 9. Hardness Distributions for the New Weld in the As-welded
Condition.
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260
280
300
320
-1.5 -1.2 -0.9 -0.6 -0.3 0 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.5 1.8 2.1
H
a
r
d
n
e
s
s

(
H
V
-
3
0
0
)
Distance (mm)
New Weld - As Welded Hardness Traverse
Weld
HAZ
Base Metal
Weld
Deposit
Base
Metal
HAZ
47

Figure 10. Hardness Distributions for the New Weld after PWHT for
8hr at 1275F. As desired, the PWHT significantly reduced
the Hardness Differential between the Weld Deposit, HAZ,
and Base Metal.
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260
280
300
320
-1.5 -1.2 -0.9 -0.6 -0.3 0 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.5 1.8 2.1
H
a
r
d
n
e
s
s

(
H
V
-
3
0
0
g
)
Distance (mm)
New Weld - PWHT Hardness Traverse
Weld
Haz
Base
Weld
Deposit
HAZ Base
Metal
48

Figure 11. Macrographs of New Weld creep samples prior to testing;
these samples were extracted from the face and root of the
weld and had gage sections of 1-3/8 1/4 .
49

Figure 12. Macrograph of New Weld creep sample prior to testing; this
was a Jumbo cross-weld sample with a gage section of
1 2-3/8 .
50

Figure 13. Creep Rate test results for the New Weld compared with
Mean and Minimum curves from ASTM DS 50. Note that all
points lie above the Minimum curve.