Papers by Author: Bum Joon Kim

Abstract: There exists strong environmental and economic pressure to increase the thermal efficiency of fossil fuel power stations and this has led to a steady increase in operating temperature and pressure resulting in the world wide construction plans for ultra super-critical power plants. Consequently, in order to improve the thermal efficiency of power plant, there has been a strong drive to develop more advanced heat resistant steels with excellent creep, high temperature fatigue and thermal fatigue resistant properties as well as superior oxidation and corrosion resistant properties. In this study, the test material was P122 alloy which was developed for ultra super-critical power plant. To measure the fatigue crack growth rate in low #K range, fatigue tests were performed on the P122 alloy welds by #K decreasing method at three different microstructure (Base metal, HAZ, Weld metal) regions. Microstructure observation and micro-hardness tests performed for all three regions to find the relationship among the crack growth rate, microstructure and hardness. Fatigue tests were performed with compact tension specimens at 600°C, 650°C and 700°C at the loading frequency of 20Hz.

Abstract: Carbon nanotubes have received considerable attention because of their excellent electrical and mechanical properties. In this study, carbon nanotube - copper nanocomposites with homogeneously dispersed nanotubes within the copper matrix have been fabricated by two different methods; a mechanical mixing process and a molecular-level mixing process, which consists of mixing copper ions with functionalized nanotubes in a solvent. Small punch creep tests showed significantly improved mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. The electrical resistance of the nanocomposites also decreased.

Abstract: Various hold periods in a cyclic wave of fatigue load were introduced to investigate loading frequency effects on crack growth behavior and microstructural damage. The crack growth path and microstructural damage characteristics at 600°C in tempered martensitic 9Cr-2W (P92) HAZ of welded steel were studied. Generally, low frequency effect with increasing hold periods affects microstructural damage with microvoids/cavities nucleation due to the effect of creep. Results showed that the fatigue crack growth behavior was sensitive to the loading frequency. As frequency decreased, the fatigue crack growth rate increased and the crack path mode changed from transgranular to intergranular in terms of microstructural damage. As the loading frequency decreased, it was found that the microvoids /cavities and microcracks that formed along the prior austenite grain boundaries ahead of the main crack contributed to the intergranular crack growth.

Abstract: The initiation and growth of micro-defects such as micro cracks and voids usually causes the failure of long term operated structural components at high temperature. In this study, the creep characteristics and void nucleation and growth characteristics of P92 steel which is used as main steam pipe material in power plant were investigated at several temperatures and loading conditions. The area fraction of void increased with increase of test temperature, stress, and load holding time. In case of internal defect presence, micro-voids initiated in the early stage of loading period and resulted in the increased load line displacement and crack growth rate. The microvoids were found to form along the prior austenite grain boundaries and at the martensite packet boundaries.

Abstract: This work investigates the relationship between the creep-fatigue life and ultrasonic test of creep-fatigue damage. Under the creep-fatigue interaction, the main cause of life reduction is the initiation and growth of microvoid with increasing hold time. The number/size of microvoid/cavity, the fraction of cavity area varied with the hold time. Therefore, the life evaluation using the microvoid with the variation of hold time is very informative for safety of components in power plants. In this study, using the heat resisting alloy, P122 steel for USC (ultra super critical) power plant, the creep-fatigue tests with various hold times and their ultrasonic inspection were carried out for the purpose of evaluation for creep-fatigue life. The results obtained by Rayleigh surface wave of backscattered ultrasound were compared and analyzed with the experimental parameters. The good agreement between the experimental life and the predicted life was obtained.

Abstract: Generally, as the hold time of static load increases, the degradation of material becomes more rapid and the creep-fatigue life decreases. Under the creep-fatigue interaction, the cause of life decrease was mainly the initiation and growth of microvoid with increasing hold time. In this study, using the newly developed alloy of P92, the artificial creep-fatigue degradation tests and its ultrasonic inspection were carried out to evaluate creep-fatigue life. From the relations between the creep-fatigue life and the nondestructive degradation assessment by backscattered ultrasound inspection, the new nondestructive life evaluation parameter, SDA (Slope of Decaying Amplitude) was proposed. Also, to verify the nondestructive life evaluation ability, the life evaluation results by SDA were compared with those of the destructive life evaluation obtained through the fraction of cavity area. From the test result of backscattering Rayleigh surface wave, the linear relationship between SDA and experimental life could be obtained. The good agreement between the experimental life and the predicted life by SDA was also obtained. Finally, it can be stated that the new life evaluation/degradation parameter, SDA (Slope of Decaying Amplitude) could be utilized for the evaluation of the material degradation under creep-fatigue interaction.

Abstract: This paper investigates the influence of various hold times on creep-fatigue life at 600oC. The relationship between the crack growth behavior and hold time was studied, and a metallurigical investigation to examine the effect of creep was performed. To examine the relationship between creep-fatigue life and microvoids, the fraction of micro-voids/cavity area was analyzed at the crack tip. The crack growth rate of the HAZ was found to be faster than that of base metal while creep-fatigue life was found to be shorter. Finally, it can be stated that the fraction of cavity area, Fca could be utilized for the life prediction under creep-fatigue interaction. As the hold time increased, the creep damage was observed along the prior austenite grain boundaries and inside and boundaries of delta-ferrite.

Abstract: The application of nondestructive evaluation to creep-fatigue damage was examined in this paper. Generally, as the hold time of static load increases, the degradation of material becomes more rapid and the creep-fatigue life decreases. Therefore, in the evaluation of creep-fatigue strength and life of high-pressure vessel such as main steam pipe at high temperature is very important in power plants. In this study, the creep-fatigue behavior of P92 steel was evaluated nondestructively by the backscattered ultrasound using the creep-fatigue specimens. The results obtained by Rayleigh surface wave of backscattered ultrasound were compared and analyzed with the experimental parameters. Also, the relation between the SDA (slope of degraded area) and creep-fatigue life was examined. From the result of nondestructive test, we suggest that SDA would be used as the new parameter for the evaluation of creep-fatigue damage. As the degradation increased, the SDA decreased and also the creep-fatigue life decreased.

Abstract: New Ti-base alloys were designed to replace conventional expensive elements with low cost elements of iron and silicon. The prepared Ti-4wt%Fe-(0~4)wt%Si alloys were creep tested at 600oC in air, tensile tested at room temperature and 400oC in air, and exposed to hot air for oxidation tests between 700 and 1000oC. When compared to the Ti-6Al-4V alloy, Ti-4wt%Fe-(0.5~2)wt%Si alloys displayed poorer creep resistance, but exhibited good tensile properties and superior oxidation resistance.

Abstract: In this study, the creep-fatigue crack growth behavior was investigated at 600°C under the maximum load with various dwell times. Test material was P92 steel (9%Cr-2%W) weldment. The creep-fatigue crack growth behavior of the HAZ(heat affected zone) and base metal was compared. The relationship between the crack growth behavior and dwell time was studied and it was characterized using ΔK and (Ct)avg parameters. The area fraction of micro-voids/cavities at the crack tip and fracture modes were examined and the relationship between crack growth rate and dwell time was investigated. The cycle dependant crack growth rate increased with the increase in dwell time. From the results of creep-fatigue test, the crack growth rate of the HAZ was found to be faster than that of base metal. As the dwell period increased, the intergranular fracture was observed along the crack growth path with the effect of creep during the dwell period.