文摘
Increasing efficiency of internal combustion engines by downsizing leads to a rise in exhaust gas temperature up to 1000 °C accompanied with higher mechanical loading of exhaust systems, approaching the limits of currently used Cr2O3 forming ferrites. Similarly, the conditions in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) heat exchanger systems exceed the limits of commercial Al2O3 forming heat resistant ferrites with respect to temperature and thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) loading. Aim of the presented work was the development of Cr2O3 and Al2O3 forming ferrites with improved mechanical strength and TMF properties up to 900–1000 °C. Baseline material was the Crofer® 22H alloy, which should be further hardened by solid solution and Laves phase precipitates. The paper gives an overview of the key results achieved at Research Center Jülich on correlation between microstructure evolution, deformation and lifetime in hot tensile, creep and TMF tests. Increasing Laves phase dissolution temperature elevates short time stability of precipitates and long term stability of the grain structure up to 950 °C. Furthermore, a lower Laves phase content of the Al2O3 forming material could be compensated by dynamic strain ageing via Al diffusion resulting in superior high temperature strength, creep behavior and TMF life. Keywords Ferritic steel Solid solution strengthening Laves phase Creep TMF