Design and Characterization of a Heat-Resistant Ferritic Steel Strengthened by MX Precipitates

The long-term performance of current heat-resistant ferritic steels used in steam generators is primarily limited by microstructure degradation as a result of coarsening or transformation of precipitates. To improve the microstructural stability, a heat-resistant ferritic steel was designed via computational thermodynamics to exclusively contain metal carbonitride (MX) precipitates as the primary means for strengthening at elevated temperatures. The volume fraction of precipitates is 0.35 vol pct, about one-seventh of P91. These MX precipitates are either V-rich or Nb-rich with plate-like or spheroidal morphology, respectively. The precipitate size remains almost constant at 973 K for up to 3000 hours aging. Electron diffraction analysis revealed a Baker-Nutting orientation relationship between the precipitate and the matrix. Consistent with the thermodynamics-based design, M₂₃C₆-, Laves-, and Z phase were not detected. The creep threshold stress, derived from high-temperature compressive creep tests, are evaluated to be 63 ± 1 and 43 ± 2 MPa at 923 K and 973 K, respectively, on par with or slightly better than P91. This study reveals that MX precipitates in ferritic steels coarsen slowly at temperatures up to 973 K and that a relatively small volume fraction of MX precipitates can provide effective long-term creep performance at elevated temperatures.