Development of creep-dominant creep-fatigue testing for Alloy 617

What is it about?

The next generation of nuclear power plants require advanced materials that can resist creep and fatigue damage at elevated temperatures. This study subjects a candidate metal, Alloy 617, to various non-traditional loading profiles with the objective of improving existing life-prediction methodologies.

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Why is it important?

Existing test procedures for creep-fatigue interaction are limited in their capability to produce data for life prediction. This study arrives at an alternative experimental testing procedure that can generate data points covering the full range of creep-fatigue interaction in Alloy 617. Moreover, life-prediction models based on data from only a single type of loading profile can mislead design. This test procedure can be used to improve existing life-prediction models and perhaps lead to development of new ones.