Oxidation damage and interfacial failure of dissimilar metal welds containing ferritic heat resistant steels

The ex-service steam tubes containing dissimilar metal weld (DMW) between high Cr ferritic steel T91 and austenitic stainless steel TP347H and the ex-service steam tubes containing DMW between low Cr ferritic steel G102 and austenitic stainless steel TP347H were obtained from coal-fired thermal power plants in China, and their microstructures at the nickel-based weld metal (WM)/ferritic steel interfaces and oxidation characteristics were investigated. After operating for 15,000 h at steam temperature of 541 °C and steam pressure of 17.5 MPa, a G102/TP347H DMW failed along the WM/G102 steel interface, which was a dangerous premature failure mode without obvious plastic deformation. This interfacial failure was attributed to the interaction between oxidation and cracking along the interface, where fracture appeared to be related with the strain concentration at the interface. Oxide notch along the WM/G102 steel interface was the precursor of premature interfacial failure of DMW involving G102. For the DMW involving high Cr ferritic steel T91, ferritic steel side could form a Cr-rich passive film during service and thus would not be further oxidized after operating for 67,000 h at steam temperature of 541 °C and steam pressure of 3.5 MPa. It was concluded that oxidation played a more important role in failure of these DMWs, and retarding the development of oxidation and avoiding the interfacial oxide notch would dramatically improve the service performance of steam tubes containing DMWs.