Creep material selection

The functions and property characteristics of a product will be largely determined by the performance requirements and material selected for fabrication. The basic requirement of the process is its capability of handling a suitable material. For example, if a major function requirement is for resistance to creep under high loads, it is probable that a long-fiber RP will be necessary. Thus it would immediately eliminate such processes as blow molding and conventional injection molding. 

Materials selection process can be depicted in terms of Figure 1.40. Materials selection involves many factors that have to be optimized for a particular application. The foremost consideration is the cost of the material and its applicability in the environmental conditions so that integrity can be maintained during the lifetime of the equipment. When the material of construction is metallic in nature, the chemical composition and the mechanical properties of the metal are significant. Some of the important mechanical properties are hardness, creep, fatigue, stiffness, compression, shear, impact, tensile strength and wear. 

The present trend of material selected for collection headers is toward Incoloy 800. The cast alloys used, HK and HT, have failed in most instances because of their inherently low ductility—especially after exposure to elevated temperature. It now appears that wrought alloys should be used in preference to cast alloys unless the higher creep strength of the cast alloy is required and the inherently low ductility of the aged cast alloy is considered in the design. 

For fired heaters subject to creep problems, make sure that the tube metal temperature was considered in materials selection, hi the absence of better information, assume the fireside temperature is 100°F (38°C) higher than the process temperature. (If tube-side fouling is anticipated [e.g., coke formation], assume the tube metal temperature is 150°F [85°C] higher than the process temperature.) If necessary, make a note on the template to ensure that creep is accommodated during design of heater tubes, in accordance with API 530 [23]. 

Values of modulus determined in tension or flexure at one or more temperatures are provided in tables of data supplied by manufacturers. Whilst these single-point data are useful for materials selection, they are obviously inadequate for detailed design of load-bearing components. Here the engineer must look for information about time-dependence, which is usually obtained firom tensile creep measurements. Most manufacturers handbooks contain sets of creep curves obtained over a range of applied stresses, for strains up to about 0.03, as shown in Figure 8.13 some handbooks also include creep curves for one or more elevated temperatures. 

The proliferation of materials gives scientists and engineers new design freedom. It also represents a considerable challenge. Before the best material for an application can be selected, the required performance properties (such as rigidity, strength, impact resistance, and creep) and the environment in which the product will operate must be defined. Then, the desired life expectancy for the product must be determined. Only then can the material selection process begin. 

Macroscopic properties, alternatively referred to as bulk properties or simply performance , are of the utmost importance in material selection. For any application it is essential that the material provides the properties desired, under the conditions of use. In addition, it is wise to characterise the material more fully in order to understand what the effect might be, for example, of changing the temperature. Consideration should also be given to time-related phenomena, such as creep or stress relaxation. What are the consequences of dimensional instability Techniques that can provide this type of information directly include mechanical testing, rheology and thermal analysis. In cases where knowledge of the relationship between structure and properties is desirable, then obviously the techniques described here must be used in combination with those which follow. 

Measurement of creep is particularly important for materials selected for areas under contained load at high temperature, such as melting tank crowns of glass-making furnaces. 

This competition between mechanisms is conveniently summarised on Deformation Mechanism Diagrams (Figs. 19.5 and 19.6). They show the range of stress and temperature (Fig. 19.5) or of strain-rate and stress (Fig. 19.6) in which we expect to find each sort of creep (they also show where plastic yielding occurs, and where deformation is simply elastic). Diagrams like these are available for many metals and ceramics, and are a useful summary of creep behaviour, helpful in selecting a material for high-temperature applications. 

If you are asked to select, or even to design, a material which will resist power-law creep, the criteria (all based on the ideas of this chapter and the last) are ... 

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