DESIGN, OPERATION, NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF A HEADER IN THE HWT TEST LOOP

In the test loop HWT II (High Temperature Materials Test Loop) installed in the fossil power plant Grosskraftwerk (GKM) Mannheim in Germany, thick-walled components made of nickel base alloys were operated up to temperature of 725 degrees C. The operation mode chosen (creep-fatigue) was to simulate a large number of start-ups and shutdowns with high gradients as expected for future high efficient and flexible power plants and to investigate the damage due to thermal fatigue of the used nickel base alloys. In this paper the damage evolution of a header made of the nickel base alloys Alloy 617 B and Alloy C263, which was a part of HWT II test rig, were investigated using nondestructive and destructive techniques. Furthermore, the damage has been considered and evaluated by using numerical methods. In addition, different lifetime assessment methods of standards and recommendations with focus on creep-fatigue damage were used and evaluated. The different lifetime models are applied to the header and the results were compared to the results of metallographic investigations and damage observations.