PFANF8 (2001) 1:51-54 © ASM International

Strain-age Cracking of Alloy 601 Tubes at 600 °C

Henrik Stahl, Gaylord Smith, and Sophie Wastiaux

(Submitted 20 September 2000; in revised form 13 November 2000)

This case study demonstrates that Alloy 601 (UNS N06601) is susceptible to strain-age cracking. The
observation illustrates the potential importance of post weld heat treatment to the successful utilization of
this alloy in certain applications.

Keywords: alloy 601, steam reforming, strain-age cracking

Introduction After relevant heat treatment and certain

Steam reforming of natural gas is considered the geometrical changes of the 601 components, the
most economic process for industrial hydrogen HTCR has been brought back to normal operation.
production. By this process, a mixture of methane
and steam forms hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and Haldor Topsøe Convection Reformer
carbon dioxide while flowing through a catalyst bed. The HTCR is a tubular reformer with bayonet
Steam reforming is a strongly endothermic process. tubes. A number of reformer tubes are placed in a
Heat is therefore required for the reaction, as well as tube sheet at the top of a vertical shell. A concentric
for elevation of the reaction temperature. flue gas tube surrounds each reformer tube. A
schematic layout of the HTCR is shown in Fig. 1.
Steam reforming can take place in a tubular re-
former. A mixture of methane and steam at 500 °C At the bottom the shell is connected to a horizontal
(930 °F) and 30 bar (435 psi) flows through a number combustion chamber where hydrocarbon is com-
of catalyst-filled tubes in parallel. The tubes are
heated on the outside, and the product gas leaves
the catalyst tube at temperatures up to 900 °C
(1650 °F).
The consumption figures of this process are,
among other things, dependent on the feed gas steam
to carbon ratio and on the recuperation of the
sensible heat of the reformed gas. The best utilization
of this heat is by conducting it back to the process as
a heat source for the reforming reaction. This is one
of the features of a Haldor Topsøe Convection
Reformer, HTCR (Haldor Topsøe A/S, Lyngby,
Denmark).
The carbon activity of the reformed gas necessi-
tates that special care is taken in the selection of
materials for the flow channels for the reformed gas.
There is a risk of metal dusting corrosion. Therefore,
Alloy 601 was selected for certain components of
the HTCR.
After one year of operation, one HTCR exhibited
a certain kind of cracks in the Alloy 601 components.
The cracks were caused by strain-age cracking, which
has not been observed previously in connection with
Alloy 601. Fig. 1 Schematic layout of the HTCR

Henrik Stahl, Haldor Topsøe A/S, Lyngby, Denmark; Gaylord Smith, Special Metals Corporation, Huntington, WV, USA; and
Sophie Wastiaux, Air Liquide, Champigny-sur-Marne Cedex, France. Contact e-mail: gsmith@smcwv.com.

Practical Failure Analysis Volume 1(1) February 2001 51

 Strain-age Cracking (continued)
busted with air to form a flue gas of 1250 °C (2280
°F). This flue gas flows into the reformer shell and
passes through the annular channel between the flue
gas tube and the reformer tube to the flue gas outlet
chamber. The gas leaves the reformer through the
flue gas outlet nozzle.
The feed gas flows through the inlet gas nozzle at
the top of the reformer shell and is then distributed
through a manifold system to the inlet hole at the
top of each reformer tube. The characteristic lay-
out of an HTCR tube is shown in Fig. 2. The gas
flows from the top of the reformer down through
the catalyst to the bottom end of the reformer tube
and returns through the bayonet tube to the top end
where the reformed gas exits via a 90° bend through
the reformer tube wall, the outlet manifold system,
and the gas outlet nozzle.
Cracks
Two skid-mounted hydrogen production units,
each with a capacity of 5000 nm3/h, were installed
in Belgium. A picture of this plant is shown in Fig.
3. After the units had been in operation for one year,
Fig. 2 Layout of HTCR tube
52 Volume 1(1) February 2001
a crack was observed at one hairpin close to the outlet
header. The location is indicated on Fig. 1.
The crack was in the heat-affected zone of the
weld and had developed parallel to the weld (along
the fusion line). The crack appeared to be brittle. A
micrograph of the crack (Fig. 4) shows the typical
intergranular crack morphology.
The material used to construct the outlet manifold
system is Alloy 601. This alloy was selected because
the reformed gas has a high carbon potential. When
the reformed gas is cooled from 900 to 600 °C (1650
to 1110 °F) in the bayonet tube and is flowing
through the outlet manifold system, there is a severe
risk of metal dusting corrosion. Alloy 601 is con-
sidered one of the materials most resistant to this
failure process.
The crack resulted from a kind of the so-called
strain-age or stress relaxation cracking. This had not
previously been reported for an application of Alloy
601. However, the subsequent investigations showed
that Alloy 601 at a temperature between 600 and
650 °C (1110 and 1200 °F) will develop carbon
precipitation that over time (in this case, one year)
reduces the ductility of the material in hot condition.
This change in microstructure could lead to stress
relaxation cracking.
Stress Relaxation Cracking Phenomenon
Stress relaxation cracking occurs when a material,
because of limited creep ductility, cannot withstand
the inelastic strain imposed upon the alloy. The
phenomenon is most frequently confined to the
temperature range of 500 to 900 °C (930 to 1650
°F), depending on the alloy. Experience has shown
that susceptible materials usually fail within one or
two years of service. The failure phenomenon is most
Fig. 3 Skid-mounted hydrogen production units, Belgium
Practical Failure Analysis
often, but not exclusively, associated with welded
joints.
Welded structures are particularly susceptible
because of the potential for high residual stresses (up
to the yield strength of the base material) that may
result if the weld has not been post weld heat-treated.
Test material taken from components that have failed
by stress relaxation cracking will still pass all the mat-
erial specification requirements, thus adding to the
perplexity associated with stress relaxation cracking.
Appearance of the stress relaxation cracking failure
can aid in confirming this type of failure. The crack
is always located on the grain boundary with
cavitation preceding the crack. Often, in iron-base
alloys, the crack contains a metallic filament enclosed
by a chromium-rich layer. The crack zone is usually
hard (Vickers Hardness > 200 Hv). The hardness
increase is attributed to intermediate temperature-
aging reactions that are often accelerated by prior
cold work.
Available Materials and Post Fabrication Heat
Treatments
Alloys containing the age hardening elements (Al,
Ti, Nb plus C) are susceptible to stress relation
cracking when placed in service with the age
hardening temperature range. The propensity to
develop stress relaxation cracking increases with
grain size and retained cold work. Thus, an alloy,
such as mill annealed (ASTM grain size < 5) Inconel
Alloy 690 (N06690) (0.03% C max.) would be a
highly resistant alloy to stress relaxation cracking.
Many typical alloys for use within refineries and
chemical and petrochemical facilities contain levels
of C (0.05 – 0.2%), Al (0.1 – 0.5%), and Ti (0.1 –
Fig. 4 Typical intergranular crack
Practical Failure Analysis
1.5%), which can lead to stress relaxation cracking
unless the alloy is given a post fabrication heat
treatment.
The temperature, optimized for each alloy, elimi-
nates the effects of retained cold work and welding
stresses; coarsens the grain boundary precipitates;
minimizes any Cr gradient adjacent to the grain
boundary, which may have resulted from Cr-
containing carbide precipitation; and, finally,
establishes a grain matrix more likely to form a
coarser (less damaging) age hardening precipitate.
For Alloy 601, such a temperature is believed to be
900 to 1000 °C (1650 to 1830 °F) for between one
and three hours.
HTCR Repair and Modifications
After the phenomena was realized, the following
actions were decided upon and taken:
a) All connections between reformer tubes and the
outlet header system were cut.
b) Tube pieces next to the problematic area were
removed.
c) A new piece of tube was welded to the outlet
manifold.
d) The outlet manifold was taken away and heat
treated in a furnace. The heat treatment consisted
of heating to 950 °C (1740 °F) and holding this
temperature for one hour.
e) The outlet manifold was connected to the new
reformer tube outlet pieces.
Strain-age cracking or stress relaxation cracking
is known by welded constructions of certain materials
at temperatures between 600 to 650 °C (1110 to 1200
°F), e.g. Alloy 800 (N08800), Alloy 617 (N06617),
Alloy 602 CA (N06025), and others. However, Alloy
601 had not been considered susceptible prior to this.
Conclusion
Metal dusting can cause a significant amount of
expensive damage to ammonia, hydrogen, carbon
monoxide, and methanol plants. One of the means
of limiting this development has been to design the
equipment parts, considered subject to metal dusting
attack, with Alloy 601. This will typically mean parts
subjected to a reformed gas at 600 oC (1110 °F). The
risk of stress relaxation cracking of Alloy 601 at
exactly this temperature has not previously been
reported, but it must be considered a major risk that
must be dealt with in the design phase.
Volume 1(1) February 2001 53
 Strain-age Cracking (continued)

The means of avoiding or minimizing the risk of
cracks could be one or more of the following:
• Arrange the process design to avoid temperatures
between 575 and 650 °C (1065 and 1200 °F).
• Select a material that has a good resistance against
metal dusting and does not develop the precipi-
tation that causes stress relaxation cracking, such
as Inconel 690.
• Include proper heat treatment of the reactor and
downstream equipment that operates in this
temperature range.
Reference
1. J.C. Van Wortel: Technical Research Centre of Finland,
BALTICA IV: Plant Maintenance for Managing Life &
Performance, Vol. 2 (Finland), Sept. 1998, pp. 637-647.

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54 Volume 1(1) February 2001 Practical Failure Analysis