Creep Tests and Microstructure Analysis of the Superheater

Abstract

Assessment of remaining lifetime represents a very complicated problem, which needs the knowledge of degradation processes in the material of a component, and also the service conditions of the components, e.g. way of loading and the influence of the surrounding environment. There is a common interest to operate the produced components as effectively as possible and thus as long as possible without reducing their safety and reliability, what could cause economic and human losses. This is a problem of safe operation and its prolongation in justifiable cases. As a result of new modern and more resistant materials development, the general interest is to be able to evaluate the extent and rate of degradation processes at various service conditions, mainly to prevent the components from brittle fracture. At present, the assessment of component material microstructure is one of the methods that makes it possible to evaluate its remaining lifetime. It is thus important to be able to evaluate the extent of material mechanical properties degradation as a result of various service factors and the elaboration of methods for its assessment. Nowadays, the evaluation of component material microstructure represents one of the possible methods for remaining lifetime assessment.