Crack initiation in steel parts working in boilers and steam pipelines

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of loading history and the processes of material degradation on the crack initiation and on durability under thermo-mechanical fatigue conditions. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the operation data, the conditions of laboratory examinations of specimens were determined. A specialist apparatus unit was used for the examination, enabling the simulation of any spectrum of mechanical load and temperature changes. Findings: The material durability criterion has been defined based on an energy related approach to the problem of crack initiation in steels which work under thermal fatigue conditions. Research limitations/implications: In the case discussed, i.e. a pipeline part, the present criteria should be expanded with critical values describing the total length of cracks initiated on the internal surface of a specimen. Practical implications: The paper refers to the research on steel 10H2M (10CrMo.910) used in the conventional boilers, superheaters and pipelines in power plants. Originality/value: Originality of the paper is the methodology of the lifetime prediction of steam pipeline parts working in thermo-mechanical fatigue conditions.