Effect of carbides size and distribution on creep rate

Abstract

One of the most influential microstructure constituents in creep resistant steels are carbide particles. Carbide particles act as obstacles to dislocations movement, therefore the creep rate strongly depends on their size and distribution. At elevated temperatures to which creep resistant steels are exposed, carbide morphology is altered by the coarsening mechanism, consequently deteriorating the creep resistance of these steels. The aim of this work is to study the role of size and distribution of carbide particles on creep rate. Different distributions and size of carbides were obtained by different heat treatment conditions. The effect of different carbide morphology on the creep resistance was evaluated by uniaxial constant load creep tests.

Keywords

• alloy steels
• microstructure
• carbide particles
• mechanical properties
• creep resistance