A B S T R A C TThe creep behavior of a 3%Co modified P92-type steel with high content of boron and low content of nitrogen was studied. The precipitation of Laves phase at lath boundaries provides a rapid decrease in the strain rate during transient creep. The finely dispersed (V,Nb)(C,N) carbonitrides uniformly distributed throughout and M 23 C 6 carbides located at various boundaries/subboundaries result in extended steady-state creep. Gradual coarsening and an increase in the volume fraction of M 23 C 6 carbides as well as coarsening of Laves phase particles is accompanied by an increase in the lath size during the steady-state creep. The coarsening of lath structure that is assisted by the dissolution of Laves phase particles at lath boundaries during steady-state creep leads to the onset of tertiary creep with a highly accelerated rate. The well-developed subgrain structure is observed in the ruptured samples, whereas the distance between high-angle boundaries does not change during the creep.

A 9%Cr-3%Co steel with high B and low N contents exhibits creep strength breakdown at a temperature of 923 K after 3000 h. Specific feature of this steel is a distinct difference between short-term and long-term creep regimes for transient, steady state and tertiary creep stages. This behavior is unusual for high Cr steels and attributed to low density of M 23 C 6 carbides precipitated on lath boundaries during tempering. Precipitation of Laves phase along these boundaries during transient creep followed by its coarsening affects significantly the creep mechanisms and results in the well-defined difference in mechanical behavior between the short-and long-term creep regimes. In contrast, the strain-induced formation of a small amount of Z-phase particles scarcely changes the creep behavior.

Five Co-modified P92-type steels with different contents of Cr, W, Mo, B, N, and Re have been examined to evaluate the effect of the chemical composition on the evolution of Laves phase during creep at 650 °C. The creep tests have been carried out at 650 °C under various applied initial stresses ranging from 80 to 200 MPa until rupture. An increase in the B and Cr contents leads to a decrease in the size and volume fraction of M23C6 carbides precipitated during tempering and an increase in their number particle density along the boundaries. In turns, this affects the amount of the nucleation sites for Laves phase during creep. The (W+Mo) content determines the diffusion growth and coarsening of Laves phase during creep. Susceptibility of Laves phase to coarsening with a high rate is caused by the large difference in Gibbs energy between fine and large particles located at the low-angle and high-angle boundaries, respectively, and can cause the creep strength breakdown. The addition of Re to the 10%Cr steel with low N and high B contents provides the slowest coarsening of Laves phase among the steels studied.

Owing to the addition of Si, 0.33C-1.8Si-1.44Mn-0.58Cr steel exhibits a unique tempering behavior. The tempering takes place in two distinct sequential stages that are significantly different from those in steels containing 0.2–0.5 wt.% of Si. Stage I is associated with the precipitation of transition carbides in a paraequilibrium manner, can take place in temperatures ranging from ~200 to ~474 °C, and concurrently increases strength, ductility, and toughness. Stage II is associated with the decomposition of retained austenite to bainitic ferrite and transition carbides. As a result, no significant effect of overlapping of Stage I with Stage II takes place. Stage III does not occur at temperatures below ~474 °C, since the precipitation of cementite in a orthoequilibrium manner is suppressed by the addition of 1.8 wt.% of Si. It was shown that a major portion of carbon atoms redistributes to Cottrell atmospheres under quenching. During low-temperature tempering at 200–400 °C, the precipitation of transition carbides consumes a large portion of carbon atoms, thereby increasing the number of ductile fractures and improving the impact toughness without strength degradation. The formation of chains of cementite particles on boundaries takes place in Stage IV at a tempering temperature of 500 °C. This process results in the full depletion of excess carbon from a ferritic matrix that provides increased ductility and toughness but decreased strength.