Creep behavior of Alloy 617 in high temperature air and helium environments-effect of oxidation damage

Abstract

The creep behavior of a nickel-base superalloy, Alloy 617, which is considered as a candidate material for the very high temperature gas cooled reactor, was studied. Creep rupture tests were carried out at 800A degrees C, 900A degrees C and 1000A degrees C in static and flowing helium environments as well as in air. Creep rupture life in static helium was longer than that in air, while it was shorter in flowing helium environments. Microstructure observation of the creep tested specimens showed that the shorter creep rupture life in flowing helium was associated with the thicker oxide layer, greater decarburization depth, and deeper internal oxidation happened during the creep tests. The degree of such oxidation damage was quantified for the creep tested specimens and correlated with the creep rupture life in different environments