An International Journal for Experimental Mechanics

Experimental Study of the Creep Lifetime

of the 1.25Cr 0.5Mo Steel Pipes
F. Vakili-Tahami*, M. Sajjadpour† and P. Attari‡
*Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tabriz, 29 Bahman Blvd., Tabriz, Iran
†
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Azarbaijan University of Tarbiat Moallem, Tabriz, Iran
‡
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Iran university of Technology, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT: In this paper, physical parameters for the creep constitutive equations of the low alloy
ferritic steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo have been determined using experimental data. This alloy is used mostly
in power generation and petrochemical industries because of its high temperature creep resistance.
Test samples have been obtained from a new super-heater pipe wall of a steam-generating boiler in
Tabriz Petrochemical Plant according to the ASTM standards. By conducting creep rupture tests for
1.25Cr0.5Mo steel, creep behaviour and creep-rupture properties were examined for this material.
Creep rupture tests have been carried out at four temperatures of 700, 725, 750 and 800 C, under
applied uni-axial stresses of 30, 35, 40 and 50 MPa. The experimental data have been used to obtain
the constitutive parameters using numerical optimisation techniques. Also the temperature and
stress dependency of the creep lifetime for this alloy has been investigated using Larson–Miller and
Monkman–Grant parameters. The results show good agreement with other test data such as ASTM
and API. Finally, these constitutive equations have been used to study the creep behaviour of the
super-heater pipe. The results show that the super-heater tube has been over designed in terms of
the creep lifetime and this is in accordance with the in-plant observations.

KEY WORDS: creep constitutive equations, creep test, Larson–Miller parameter, low alloy ferritic
steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo

Introduction Using the constitutive equations, the creep behaviour

of the material can be estimated based on the exper-
High temperature pressurised pipes have a vast imental data that have been obtained in a different
application in power generation and petrochemical working condition such as temperature or stress. In
plants. Also, the trend to increase the thermal effi- this paper, both first and second fields of research
ciency of these systems leads to the use of high-level work, which have been mentioned above, have been
working temperature [1]. Therefore, it is necessary to addressed. In other words, using a series of experi-
study the creep behaviour of the high temperature mental tests, the constitutive parameters for the low
alloys which are used in these systems. Recently, the alloy ferritic steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo have been obtained
methods to analyse creep behaviour of the structures and these equations have been used to study the creep
or materials have been improved significantly in behaviour and creep lifetime of a super-heater pipe
three fields: conveying steam at 480 C with 5 MPa.

• developing more realistic constitutive equations;

• carrying out more tests to produce accurate con-
stitutive parameters;
Constitutive Equations
• improve or modify methods to analyse creep
Numerous authors within the framework of physical
behaviour to reduce the simplifying assumptions.
and metallurgical points of view have proposed var-
As the low alloy ferritic steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo is widely ious types of creep constitutive equations for metals.
used in power generation and petro-chemical plants, Most constitutive equations are obtained by the way
its creep behaviour has been studied in previous of generalisation of the simplest classical time- and
research studies [2]. However, these works mostly strain-hardening laws.
provide creep properties of the material with less Once the type of the constitutive equations and
emphasis on determining the constitutive parameters. their parameters has been determined, the stress and

414  2010 The Authors. Strain  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd j Strain (2011) 47, 414–420
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2009.00702.x
 F. Vakili-Tahami, M. Sajjadpour and P. Attari : Experimental Study of the Creep Lifetime 1.25Cr 0.5Mo

temperature, at which these equations are used, steels; and therefore has been used in this research
should be determined. The main issue is to determine work. The form of this equation to predict the sec-
an appropriate stress level for a structure by which its ondary creep is:
creep behaviour or creep lifetime could be estimated.
For example, for pressurised pipes, this stress level is Q
e_ ss ¼ Arn expð Þ (5)
usually given in design codes as [3]: RT

pi ðro =ri þ 1Þ where A and n are physical or constitutive parame-

rmdh ¼ (1)
2ðro =ri  1Þ ters. To study the creep rupture-time of metals, vari-
ous physically based equations such as Larson–Miller,
in which rmdh is the mean diameter hoop stress, pi is Monkman–Grant, Orr-Sherby-Dorn, Goldhoff–Sherby,
the internal pressure and ri, ro are inner and outer White-Le May, have been proposed [17]. Among
radius, respectively. Although this equation is given them Larson–Miller equation:
for the thin-walled tubes but with some reservations
(high safety factors) can also be used in thick-walled PLM ¼ ðTÞðC þ log10 tr Þ  103 (6)
pipes. This design stress may also be used to estimate
the creep lifetime of the pipe or vessel and is appli-
which can be derived from Equation (5) with some
cable to plain pipe structures (not welded straight
simplifying assumptions has been used in this
pipe sections). The creep of pressurised pipe struc-
research work to estimate the creep lifetime of the
tures has been studied during the last decades and
super-heater tubes. In this equation, T is in Kelvin, tr
different methods have been proposed in these
is rupture time in hours and C is a physical parameter
research works. These studies cover analytical
which is 20 for most engineering materials and steels
approaches [4–8], experimental works [9–11] and
[18].
numerical methods [1, 7, 8, 12, 13]. Also approximate
As both creep and plastic deformation are con-
methods have been developed for predicting the
trolled by dislocation motion, the same assumptions/
creep behaviour of single-material structures at ele-
observations are also made in studying creep defor-
vated temperature. More recently, model methods,
mation [16]. This implies that the Levy–Mises flow
based on steady-state creep has been used to inves-
rule used in the classical plasticity theory can be
tigate the creep behaviour of the pipes [13–15].
applied to creep deformation; provided that the
A wide range of creep model equations are in use
plastic strain increments are replaced by creep strain
today to represent the high-temperature time-
rate. To extend the uni-axial form of the constititive
dependent deformation behaviour of engineering
equations to the multi-axial form, in steady-state
materials [10, 11]. Many of these equations comprise
creep, the experimental results of Johnson et al. [19]
components originating from a small number of
also show that creep strain depends mostly on the
classical representations of primary, secondary and/
octahedral shear stress and the creep strain rate is
or tertiary creep deformations. The most important
perpendicular to the energy dissipation rate loci. For
and widely used types of constitutive equations are
the isotropic materials, and assuming that the prin-
[16]:
cipal strains are in the same direction as the principal
stresses, the multi-axial form of the creep costitutive
Q
ec ¼ Krn t m expð Þ (2) equations would be [16]:
RT

Q 3 sij
ec ¼ C sinhðarÞð1 þ bt 1=3 Þekt expð Þ (3) e_ ij ¼ e_ e (7)
RT 2 re

X Q
ec ¼ D expðbrÞ aj t mj expð Þ (4) in which sij (=rij)rkk dij/3) is stress deviator tensor; re
j
RT [=(3sij sij/2)1/2] and e_ e [=(2_eij e_ ij =3)1/2] are effective stress
and effective creep strain rate, respectively. Using this
in which ec is the creep strain, r is stress, Q is the form of multi-axial creep strain rate, steady-state
activation energy, R Boltzman gas constant, t is time creep stress distribution on the wall thickness of
and T is absolute temperature. Other parameters are thick-walled pipes can be obtained as [16]:
physical constant which should be determined based
on creep test data for each material. Baily–Norton " #
ðro =rÞ2=n  1
equation or Equation (2) is the most reliable form rr ¼ pi (8)
ðro =ri Þ2=n  1
which can predict primary and secondary creep of

 2010 The Authors. Strain  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd j Strain (2011) 47, 414–420 415
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2009.00702.x
Experimental Study of the Creep Lifetime 1.25Cr 0.5Mo : F. Vakili-Tahami, M. Sajjadpour and P. Attari

" #
1  ð1  2=nÞðro =rÞ2=n
rh ¼ pi (9)
ðro =ri Þ2=n  1

in which rr and rh are radial and hoop steady-state

creep stress, respectively.

Experimental Tests
The samples for creep tests have been obtained
directly from the new pipe wall material of the super- Figure 1: Cutting the test specimens from the pipe wall
heater with outer diameter of 51 mm and pipe according to the ASTM E8M
thickness of 4.5 mm. Mechanical properties and the
chemical composition of the pipe material
(1.25Cr0.5Mo) is given in Table 1. The creep test
specimens have been machined out from the pipe
wall according to the ASTM E8M [20] with gauge
length of 12.5mm and diameter of 2.5mm (see Fig-
ures 1 and 2).
Uni-axial creep rupture tests have been carried out
at four temperatures of 700, 725, 750 and 800 C,
under applied uni-axial stresses of 30, 35, 40 and
50 MPa. During these tests, the variations of the
creep stain with time have been recorded, which are
necessary data to obtain constitutive parameters.
Usually this type of data are not available in the ref-
erences and from this point of view, these data can be
regarded as the main or additional output of this Figure 2: Picture of creep test specimens
research work comparing with the existing data.
Creep tests have been carried out using 3000 kg, variation of creep strain with time for some of the
SATEC creep test machine according to the ASTM tests. Also Table 2 presents the creep rupture time for
E139 [21] standard. Its lever arm loading ratio is different conditions of the tests.
16 : 1 with load accuracy of ±0.5%. Furnace or The results given in Table 2 have also been re-pre-
chamber temperature range of the machine is up to sented in Figures 4 and 5 which show the variation of
1200 C with the accuracy of ±0.5%. It also provides the rupture time with stress and 1/T, respectively.
displacement–time graphs. Figure 3 presents the The results show that by increasing stress or

Table 1: Chemical composition of low alloy ferritic steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo (ASTM A213 [24]) in per cent; and its mechanical properties
at different temperature levels

Element C Mn P S Si Cr Mo

% 0.05–0.15 0.3–0.6 0.025 (max) 0.025 (max) 0.5–1.0 1–1.5 0.44–0.65

Red. area Elongation Tensile Yield strength Temperature

(%)* (%)* strength (MPa) (Mpa)† (C)

76 33 524.02 355.782 21
75 30 475.76 248 93.33
74 29 468.86 241.33 204.44
73 22 530.92 248.22 315.55
71 26 565.39 220.64 426.66
76 32 441.28 206.85 537.78
77 35 393.02 213.75 565.56

*1-inch gauge.
†
0.2% offset.

416  2010 The Authors. Strain  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd j Strain (2011) 47, 414–420
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2009.00702.x
 F. Vakili-Tahami, M. Sajjadpour and P. Attari : Experimental Study of the Creep Lifetime 1.25Cr 0.5Mo

0.50 1000
s = 50 MPa, T = 700°C Stress 30 MPa
0.45
Stress 35 MPa
0.40 100 Stress 40 MPa
s = 30 MPa, T = 750°C

Rupture Time (h)

Stress 50 MPa
0.35
Creep strain (-)

0.30 10
s = 40 MPa, T = 700°C
0.25
1
0.20
0.15
0.1
0.10
0.05
0.01
0.00 9.20E-04 9.40E-04 9.60E-04 9.80E-04 1.00E-03 1.02E-03 1.04E-03
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
1 T–1 (1 Kelvin–1)
Time (h)
Figure 5: Variation of the creep rupture time (h) with the
Figure 3: Creep strain versus time for creep tests of low alloy
inverse of temperature (1/K) for uni-axial constant load tests
ferritic steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo

1.00E+00

Minimum creep strain rate (1 h–1)

Table 2: Creep testing results for low alloy ferritic steel Stress 30 MPa
1.25Cr0.5Mo Stress 35 MPa
Stress 40 MPa
Stress 50 MPa
1.00E-01
Temperature Stress Rupture Elongation Min. creep strain
(C) (MPa) time (h) (%) rate (1/h)

700 30 142.83 NA* 1.169 · 10)3 1.00E-02

700 35 83.12 36.16 2.068 · 10)3
700 40 54.01 29.8 3.391 · 10)3
700 50 26.23 47.8 7.715 · 10)3 1.00E-03
9.20E-04 9.40E-04 9.60E-04 9.80E-04 1.00E-03 1.02E-03 1.04E-03
725 30 19.88 59.6 4.279 · 10)3 1 T–1 (1 Kelvin–1)
725 35 12.78 64.2 7.452 · 10)3
Figure 6: Variation of the minimum creep strain rate (1/h)
750 30 10.05 42.6 1.468 · 10)2
)2
with the inverse of temperature (1/K) for uni-axial constant
750 50 1.88 95.2 9.661 · 10 load tests
)1
800 30 1.14 38.8 1.448 · 10
800 40 0.29 89.4 4.208 · 10)1 e_ cr
ss with 1/T for different stress levels. This figure
)1 shows that by increasing temperature or stress, creep
800 50 0.07 91.2 9.568 · 10
strain rate increases significantly. Also in this figure
*The elongation in these tests could not be measured because the specimen has
been fractured in two different sections. the best regression fit of log–log lines with experi-
mental data have been shown.

1000
Temperature 700º C
Temperature 725º C
Calculating Constitutive Parameters
100
Temperature 750º C
Rupture time (h)

Temperature 800º C The slope of the lines presented in Figure 4 will give
10
the value of ‘n’ power; and also the slope of the lines
1 in Figure 5 give the amount of ‘)Q/R’ parameter. The
almost parallel lines in log–log scale in Figure 4 proves
0.1 that ‘n’ is independent of temperature and also almost
equal slope of the lines in Figure 5 shows that ‘)Q/R’
0.01
10 100 is stress independent. It should be highlighted that
Stress (MPa)
because of the non-linear behaviour of creep defor-
Figure 4: Variations of the creep rupture time (h) with stress mation, usually there is a large scatter in creep test
(MPa) for uni-axial constant load tests
data. Also, errors as a result of the data recording and
also discrepancy of the test results lead to different
temperature, rupture time decreases significantly and values of constitutive parameters for each test.
the linear form of the variation in logarithmic scale Therefore, the constitutive parameters which fit best
confirms the Baily–Norton equation or Equation (5). with all test data should be obtained using numerical
In addition, the almost parallel trend of the variation optimazation methods. Using these methods, the
of the creep rupture time with stress and 1/T at each constitutive parameters can be obtained by minimis-
temperature level support this fact. Figure 6 also ing the difference between experimental data points
shows the variation of minimum creep strain rate and the calculated values.

 2010 The Authors. Strain  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd j Strain (2011) 47, 414–420 417
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2009.00702.x
Experimental Study of the Creep Lifetime 1.25Cr 0.5Mo : F. Vakili-Tahami, M. Sajjadpour and P. Attari

Different methods of optimisation techniques can 1.0E-03

Min. creep strain rate (1 h–1)

be used for this purpose from which least-square ASTM data
Constitutive Eq. (5)
method [22] has been employed here. Using this
1.0E-04
method, the total error value E may be defined as:

q
" #1=2
X  2 1.0E-05
E¼ e_ exp  Arn expðQ=RTÞ (10)
i¼1

1.0E-06
in which e_ exp is the experimental values for the 10 100 1000
minimum creep strain rate (see Table 2) at different Stress (MPa)

stress and temperature levels for each test and q is the Figure 8: Comparison of the calculated minimum creep strain
number of available experimental data. By minimis- rate (1/h) at 840 K using the constants given in Table 3 and
Equation (5) (solid line) with ASTM standard data [24] (¤)
ing the error value with respect to the variation of the
constitutive parameters: A, n and Q, a set of non-
linear equations would be obtained: have been compared with experimental values given
by ASTM standards [2] in Figure 8. This figure shows
f@E=@A; @E=@Q;@E=@ng ¼ 0 (11) good agreement between calculated values for mini-
mum creep strain rate and the experimental data.
Solving this set of non-linear equations simulta-
neously; the optimum values for the constitutive
parameters have been obtained and are given in Predicting Creep Rupture Time
Table 3. Figure 7 depicts the variation of the mini- for the Super-Heater Tube
mum creep strain rate with rupture time in log–log
scale. In fact, this figure shows the variation of It can be seen from Table 2 that essentially, the creep
Monkman–Grant parameter PMG ¼ e_ ss tr which can tests have been accelerated by raising the tempera-
be assumed to be a constant value for every material. ture, and the time difference is accounted for by
Based on the trend line obtained using regression using the activation energy, assuming this energy
method, the following equation has been obtained value to be the same at the service temperature. By
using the experimental data presented in this figure: considering the experimental data or plotting these
data on a single graph, a number of parameters which
tr ¼ 9:33  102 e_ 1:086
ss (12)
take into account the mutual effects of time to fail-
ure, stress and temperature can be obtained. One of
The values of the minimum creep strain rate at
these parameters is known as ‘Larson–Miller PL–M’,
840 K obtained using these constitutive parameters
which can be expressed in terms of time to rupture
and is usually written in the form of Equation (6).
This parameter has been calculated using the avail-
Table 3: Constitutive parameters used in Equation (5) for low
alloy ferritic steel 1.25Cr 0.5Mo able experimental data given in Table 2 and its vari-
ation with stress is shown in Figure 9. Also in this
A (MPa)nh)1) Q (J/kgK) n figure, the calculated Larson–Miller parameters have
1.207569 · 1014 4.186665 · 105 3.6978
21.60

1 21.40
Minimum creep strain rate (1 h–1)

Larson-Miller parameter

21.20
21.00
0.1 P(L-M) at 700ºC
20.80
P(L-M) at 750ºC
20.60 P(L-M) at 800ºC
P(L-M) from API at 700ºC
20.40 Linear (P(L-M) at 700ºC)
0.01 Linear (P(L-M) at 750ºC)
20.20 Linear (P(L-M) at 800ºC)
20.00
25 30 35 40 45 50 55
0.001
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 Stress (MPa)
Rupture time (h)
Figure 9: Variation of the Larson–Miller parameter for low
Figure 7: Variation of the minimum creep strain rate with alloy ferritic steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo. The calculated values are
rupture time in log–log scale compared with those given by API [22]

418  2010 The Authors. Strain  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd j Strain (2011) 47, 414–420
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2009.00702.x
 F. Vakili-Tahami, M. Sajjadpour and P. Attari : Experimental Study of the Creep Lifetime 1.25Cr 0.5Mo

been compared with the data given by API [23]. It can Table 4: Creep lifetime for super-heater pipe (low alloy ferritic
be seen that the calculated PL–M at 700 C provides steel 1.25Cr0.5Mo) operating at 480 C and internal pressure of
5 MPa obtained using three different methods
good agreement with the API data.
To predict the creep lifetime, Equations (5) and Method Monkman–Grant Larson–Miller BS5500
(12) using the constitutive parameters given in
tr (h) 4.174 · 109 1.722 · 1010 8.730 · 109
Table 3 lead to:
 
17 1:086n 5:47  104
tr ¼ 4:479  10 r exp (13)
T rupture time for the pipe has been estimated to be
As the working temperature for the super-heater 1.722 · 1010 h. To compare the results, also the creep
pipe is 480 C, this equation changes to the following rupture time for the pipe has been calculated using
form at this temperature level: tr ¼ 1:5623 Larson–Miller parameter and the mean diameter
1015 r1:086n ðat 480  CÞ hoop stress obtained using Equation (1) which is
It has to be highlighted that the super-heater tube based on BS5500 recommendations. The results are
with outer diameter of 51 mm and wall thickness of presented in Table 4. By comparing these results, it
4.5 mm can be regarded as a thick wall tube and can be seen that the lifetime obtained using Monk-
therefore using Equations (8) and (9) to predict creep man–Grant parameter or Equation (14) gives the
lifetime, is more reliable than using Equation (1) lower band and the upper band lifetime has been
which is for the thin-walled tubes. Therefore, the obtained using Larson–Miller parameter.
steady-state creep stress values along the pipe wall
thickness at the working pressure of 5 MPa have been
obtained using Equations (8) and (9). The variation of Conclusion
the creep steady-state values for hoop stress rh and
effective stress re [=(3sijsij/2)1/2] are presented in A set of constant load creep tests have been carried
Figure 10 using the normalised form of these stresses out to predict creep behaviour, constitutive parame-
S (=r/p) with the normalised pipe thickness ters and creep rupture time for low alloy ferritic steel
(n ¼ ðr  ri Þ=ðro  ri Þ) in which p is the internal 1.25Cr0.5Mo (ASTM A213 [24]). It has been shown
pressure, ro and ri are the outer and inner radius. that using these test data, constitutive parameters
From this figure, it can be seen that the normalised and also rupture time parameters such as Monkman–
creep steady-state effective stress is maximum Grant or Larson–Miller can be obtained. These para-
ðReff Þmax ¼ 4.885 at n = 1. Knowing that the creep meters can also be used to estimate the creep lifetime
lifetime of low alloy ferritic steels is mostly deter- of mechanical structures or can be introduced in
mined based on the effective stress rather than the numerical modelling.
maximum principal stress and using Monkman– The analysis of the experimental test data indicates
Grant parameter or Equation (12), the creep rupture that a single straight line can be used to express the
time for the super-heater pipe at the working condi- variation of log(minimum creep strain rate) with
tion can be estimated as 4.174 · 109 h. log(rupture time). This means that creep tests and
Also using the Larson–Miller parameter (see Fig- data are in good agreement with the physical behav-
ure 9) and the maximum steady-state effective stress iour of the material. In addition, the effect of area
at the working temperature of 480 C, the creep reduction because of the oxidation during long-term
creep tests leads to the stress increase which acceler-
5.5 ates the minimum creep rate and therefore reduces
Creep effective stress
5.3 Elastic effective stress
the rupture time maintaining the same Monkman–
5.1 Creep hoop stress Grant constant determined in short-term creep tests.
Elastic hoop stress
4.9 Constitutive parameters for the material and creep
Σ (=s p–1)

4.7 lifetime of the pressurised super-heater pipe, which

4.5 conveys steam at 480 C at 5 MPa, have been esti-
4.3 mated using these test data. The outer diameter of
4.1 the pipe is 51 mm and the pipe thickness is 4.5 mm.
3.9
It can be seen that the lifetime obtained using
3.7
Monkman–Grant parameter gives the lower bound
3.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 while the upper bound lifetime has been obtained
ξ = (r − ri) (ro− ri)–1
using Larson–Miller parameter. The creep lifetime
Figure 10: Variation of the steady-state creep stress distribu- obtained using the design stress based on BS5500 is
tion along the pipe thickness between these two bounds.

 2010 The Authors. Strain  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd j Strain (2011) 47, 414–420 419
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2009.00702.x
Experimental Study of the Creep Lifetime 1.25Cr 0.5Mo : F. Vakili-Tahami, M. Sajjadpour and P. Attari

The estimated creep lifetimes using all three dif- 9. Holdswortha, S. R., Askinsb, M., Bakerc, A. et al. (2008)
ferent methods show that the super-heater tube has Factors influencing creep model equation selection. Int. J.
Press. Vessels Piping 85, 80–88.
been over designed and provide creep lifetime more
than 30 years which is the expected working period. 10. Holdsworth, S. R. and Merckling, G. (2003) ECCC devel-
opments in the assessment of creep-rupture data. Proc.
However, it has to be highlighted that the creep life-
Charles Parsons Conf. on Engineering Issues in Turbine
time obtained in this paper only takes into account Machinery Power Plant and Renewables. IOM3, High Tem-
the effect of internal pressure and other loads as a perature Materials Committee, Dublin.
result of the bending or dead weight have not been 11. Holdsworth, S. R. (2004) Developments in the assessment
taken into account. Also the effects of welded joints, of creep strain and ductility data. Mater. High Temp. 21,
bends or chemical corrosion have not been taken into 125–132.
account. Obviously, considering these options 12. Hyde, T. H., Sun, W. and Tang, A. (1998) Determination
requires further research works in different fields; of material constants in creep constitutive damage equa-
tions. Strain 34, 83–90.
however, the results provided in this paper can pave
the route towards more realistic results. 13. Hyde, T. H., Sun, W. and Williams, J. A. (2002) Life esti-
mation of pressurised pipe bends using steady-state creep
reference rupture stresses. Int. J. Press. Vessels Piping 79,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 799–805.
The authors would like to express their gratitude for 14. Baoyou, Z., Zhonghong, L., Yuexian, C. and Xigang, F.
the financial support provided by the Petrochemical (2006) Analysis of a boiler pipe rupture. Eng. Fail. Anal. 13,
Research and Technology Company and also would like 75–79.
to appreciate the help of Tabriz Petrochemical Plant for 15. Wasmer, K., Nikbin, K. M. and Webster, G. A. (2003)
providing supportive information. Creep crack initiation and growth in thick section steel
pipes under internal pressure. Int. J. Press. Vessels Piping
80, 489–498.
REFERENCES
16. Boyle, J. T. and Spence, J. (1983) Stress Analysis for Creep.
1. Sun, W., Hyde, T. H., Becker, A. A. and Williams, J. A. Butterworth & Co. (publishers) Ltd, Southampton, UK.
(2002) Steady state creep reference rupture stresses for
17. Sobrinho J. F. dos Reis and Bueno, L. O. (2005) Correlation
internally pressurized pipes for use in life prediction. Int. J.
between creep and hot tensile behaviour for 2.25Cr-1Mo
Press. Vessels Piping 79, 135–143.
steel from 500C to 700C. Part 2: An assessment accord-
2. Smith, V. G. (1973) Evaluation of the Elevation Temperature ing to different parameterization methodologies. Rev.
Tensile and Creep Rupture Properties of 0.5Cr0.5Mo, Matér. 10, 463–471.
1Cr0.5Mo and 1.25Cr0.5MoSi Steels. American Society for
18. Larson, F. R. and Miller, J. (1952) A time-temperature
Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA.
relationship for rupture and creep stresses. Trans. ASME
3. BS5500 (1997) Specification for Unfired Fusion Welded Pres- 74, 765–771.
sure Vessels. BSI, London.
19. Johnson, A. E., Henderson, J. and Khan, B. (1962) Complex
4. Hayhurst, D. R. and Mustata, R. (2005) Creep constitutive Stress Creep, Relaxation and Fracture of Metallic Alloys.
equations for a 0.5Cr0.5Mo0.25V ferritic steel in the H.M.S.O., London.
temperature range 565C-675C. Int. J. Press Vessels Piping
20. ASTM E8M-04 (2004) Standard Test Methods for Tension
82, 363–372.
Testing of Metallic Materials (Metric). Annual Book of
5. Mustata, R., Hayhurst, R. J., Hayhurst, D. R. and ASTM Standards, ASTM International, West Conshohocken,
Vakili-Tahami, F. (2006) CDM predictions of creep dam- PA, USA.
age initiation and growth in ferritic steel weldments in a
21. ASTM E139-06 (2006) Standard test Methods for Conducting
medium-bore branched pipe under constant pressure at
Creep, Creep-Rupture, and Stress-Rupture Tests of Metallic
590C using four material weld model. Arch. Appl. Mech.
Materials. Annual Book of ASTM Standards, ASTM Inter-
75, 475–495.
national, West Conshohocken, PA, USA.
6. Perrin, I. J., Hayhurst, D. R. and Ainsworth, R. A.
22. Conway, J. B. (1996) Numerical Methods for Creep and
(2000) Approximate creep rupture lifetimes for butt
Rupture Analyses. Gordon and Breach, Science Publishers,
welded ferritic steel pressurized pipes. Eur. J. Mech. 19,
New York/London/Paris.
223–258.
23. API STD 530 (2009) Calculation of Heater-Tube Thickness in
7. Vakili-Tahami, F., Hayhurst, D. R. and Wong, M. T. (2005)
Petroleum Refineries, API Standards, Technical Data Book,
High-temperature creep rupture of low alloy ferritic steel
Vol. 9b, 6th Edn. American Petroleum Institute, N.W.
butt-welded pipes subjected to combined internal pres-
Washington D.C., USA, ISO 13704:2007, Identical.
sure and end loadings version II. Philos. Trans. R Soc.
Lond. A A15-363, 2629–2661. 24. ASTM A213/A213M-09a (Revised Version 2005) Standard
Specification for Seamless Ferritic and Austenitic Alloy-Steel
8. Vakili-Tahami, F. and Hayhurst, D. R. (2007) Failure of
Boiler, Superheater, and Heat-Exchanger Tubes, Vol. 01.01.
welded pressure vessel due to creep: damage initiation,
ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA.
evolution and reheat cracking, Phil. Mag. 87, 4383–4419.

420  2010 The Authors. Strain  2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd j Strain (2011) 47, 414–420
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2009.00702.x