Data Analytics for Alloy Qualification

Abstract

9-12% Cr-steels are used as structural material in boiler and turbine (rotor/casing) applications, with a power plant designed to operate for at least 30 years at either sub- or supercritical conditions (high pressure and temperature). In high-efficiency power plants, some components must withstand high stress and temperature for 100,000 h of operation without failure (Abe, 2011; Abe, et al., 2008; Coleman & Newell Jr., 2007; Viswanathan, 1989; Viswanathan & Bakker, 2001; Viswanathan & Bakker, 2001; Masuyama, 2001). Motivation for this project came from the need for rigorous and time-consuming alloy qualification (standardization) process, for crucial applications. Material scientists have traditionally manipulated alloying element composition and thermomechanical processing to achieve specific mechanical properties in alloys. The goals of this work were to develop a systematic and data-centric framework for analysis and characterization of materials information, to explore new alloy compositions and/or processing, and to better predict stress-rupture lifetime and other mechanical properties. A small subset of carbon steels with similar ferritic or martensitic lath microstructure (and average prior austenite grain size) was chosen for this analysis.