Stress and temperature dependence of creep in Alloy 600 in primary water

The stress and temperature dependence of creep of commercial nickel-base Alloy 600 was investigated through constant load, step-load, and step-temperature creep tests in deaerated primary water containing 40 to 60 cc/kg hydrogen. To analyze creep rates for Alloy 600 in the mill-annealed (MA) condition, effective stresses were estimated using applied stresses and instantaneous strains. The apparent activation area was determined to be 7b² by the multiple regression analysis of creep rates. The apparent activation energy for creep has a weak stress dependence and was determined to lie between 188 and 281 kJ/mole for the effective stress range of 117 to 232 MPa. Creep rates were better correlated with effective stress than applied stress and the stress exponent of Alloy 600 MA was determined to be 2.2 at 337°C and 5.1 at 360°C. The magnitudes of the stress exponent, activation energy, and activation area can be interpreted to support a creep mechanism controlled by dislocation-climb and nonconservative motion of jogs in commercial Alloy 600 MA. The activation area agreed with that determined from carbon in solution, implying thermally activated dislocation glide as another possible creep mechanism.