Type of Document Customer

Summary of Report Uppdragsutbildningen, Säffle kommun

Title Reg.no. Issue

High temperature relaxation test of springs LFS-TR-0504 (Summary) 1

Issued by Phone Fax Date Page

Stefan Musslinder +46-513-22830 +46-513-23024 05-08-09 1 (4)

High Temperature relaxation test of springs

Table of contents:
1 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 1
2 Materials and Test Spring Design...................................................................................... 1
3 Test Procedure.................................................................................................................... 2
4 Results................................................................................................................................ 4
5 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 4

Introduction
Compression springs subjected to high temperature requires special attention to spring material selection
and spring design. In elevated temperature service, advanced super alloys are required to give stable
spring load characteristic. The published information on super alloy spring high temperature
performance is limited and does not contain the substantial details needed for reliable spring design.
This report presents an investigation of spring material performance at temperatures up to 650 degree
Celsius. The aim is to identify the best performing high temperature spring material.

In a group of five selected materials compression springs are manufactured and exposed to elevated
temperatures. The springs were during the test compressed and exposed to high temperature during in
total 112 hours. The spring relaxation was measured and the resulting relaxation was used in spring the
final evaluation.

The applications compression springs are subjected to temperatures in the 650 degree Celsius range is
for example in power plants and process plants. Reliable and predictable spring load characteristic is
critical for the energy efficiency of these processes.

Materials and Test Spring Design

The tested materials are SS2388, Nimonic 90 No.1 Temper, Nimonic 90 Spring Temper, René 41 and
Inconel 718. The chemical material composition is given in the Table below. Table 2 shows the
mechanical material properties at room temperature.

All springs were made using 2 mm diameter wire, outer diameter 13.75 mm, number of coils 7,5.
 Type of Document Customer

Summary of Report Uppdragsutbildningen, Säffle kommun

Title Reg.no. Issue

High temperature relaxation test of springs LFS-TR-0504 (Summary) 1

Issued by Phone Fax Date Page

Stefan Musslinder +46-513-22830 +46-513-23024 05-08-09 2 (4)

Fe Ni Cr Co Mo Al Ti Other1
SS 2388 Balance 6.6 16.4 <0.1 <0.1 1 <0.1
Nimonic 90 No 1 Temper <0.1 58 19 18 <0.1 1.3 2.6
Nimonic 90 Spring <0.1 57 19 19 <0.1 1.5 2.7
Temper
René 41 1.7 54.7 18.5 10.5 9.5 1.5 3.1
Inconel 718 19.6 53 17.4 <0.1 3.1 0.5 1.0 Nb 5.1
Al 0.5
Table 1 Chemical composition

Before heat After heat

treatment treatment
Rm Rp 0.2 Rm Rp 0.2
[MPa] [MPa] [MPa] [MPa]
SS 2388 1700 2090
Nimonic 90 No 1 904 426 1296 837
Temper
Nimonic 90 Spring 1367 1654
Temper
René 41 1186 703 14202 1062
Inconel 718 856 391 1448 1207
Table 2 Mechanical properties

Test Procedure
The springs where compressed to a predefined load length using threaded bolts as shown in Figure 1.
The springs were then placed in the oven shown in Figure 2. Test sequence was to measure spring
relaxation after 24 hours, 48 hours and 112 hours. The relaxation is defined as the relative loss of force
in the loaded position. Relaxation is presented in percentage where 0% means no relaxation and 100%
represents full relaxation.

1
Only elements with mass fraction more than 0.1 % are included
2
The material certificates from the supplier did not reveal the mechanical properties after aging for. René 41
and Inconel 718. The given values are taken from literature, ref /2/. The actual values can be expected to be
quite close to these.
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Summary of Report Uppdragsutbildningen, Säffle kommun

Title Reg.no. Issue

High temperature relaxation test of springs LFS-TR-0504 (Summary) 1

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Figure 1. Spring test arrangement.

Figure 2. The oven used in the experimental tests.

 Type of Document Customer

Summary of Report Uppdragsutbildningen, Säffle kommun

Title Reg.no. Issue

High temperature relaxation test of springs LFS-TR-0504 (Summary) 1

Issued by Phone Fax Date Page

Stefan Musslinder +46-513-22830 +46-513-23024 05-08-09 4 (4)

Results
The test results are summarized in Figure 3. Relaxation as function of temperature is shown for the
springs after 112 hours heat exposure. The SS2388 springs were found being 100%relaxed at an early
stage in the test and were then excluded from further testing. The Figure 3 results show maximum
relaxation of 73% for the material Nimonic 90 Spring Temper at 650 degC. The best performing
material is Inconel 718 where a relaxation of 19% is observed at 650 degC. Based on the results a
ranking list of the tested material can be made. Starting from the best performing material the list is:

1. Inconel 718
2. René 41
3. Nimonic 90 Spring Temper
4. Nimonic 90 No 1 Temper
5. SS2388

80% Nim 90 No 1, preset

70%
Nim 90 No 1, not preset
60%
Relaxation

Nim 90 Spring Temper,

50% preset
40% Nim 90 Spring Temper,
not preset
30% René 41, preset
20%
René 41, not preset
10%
0% Inco 718, preset

500 550 600 650 700

Inco 718, not preset
Temperature [C]

Figure 3. Relaxation test results.

Summary
The main results of the investigation are summarized in the following points:

• SS2388 is absolutely not suitable for high temperature service.

• Nimonic 90 Spring Temper show acceptable relaxation performance up to 550 degC.
• Inconel 718 is slightly better performing than René 41.
• Inconel 718 is the best choice for high temperature service.