Microstructure and mechanical behavior of P91 steel dissimilar welded joints made with IN718 filler

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The paper presents the detailed microstructure study and mechanical behavior of P91 welded joint produced by gas tungsten arc welding process (GTAW) using the dissimilar nickel grade superalloy Inconel 718 filler (ERNiFeCr2). The microstructural changes in the weld fusion zone (WFZ) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) were also studied for varying heat treatment conditions. The effect of the Inconel 718 filler on the tensile properties, hardness and Charpy impact toughness (CIT) of the welded joint was also studied for as-welded and heat-treated conditions. The post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) was performed in a temperature range of 650–1060 °C. The microstructure study showed the formation of an unmixed zone at the interface of the HAZ and weld metal and remain unaffected during the PWHT. The region of weld metal near the boat fusion line showed the cellular and columnar dendrites. The center region of the bulk weld metal was solidified as the columnar dendrites and cellular dendrites along with segregation of the elements at inter-dendritic boundaries. The dendrite core showed the segregation of the Ni, and Cr; however, at dendrite boundaries, major segregation was observed for the elements Nb, Mo and Ti. The heat treatment up to a temperature of 810 °C has observed a negligible effect on the WFZ microstructure; however, a significant change in microstructure was observed for the P91 HAZ region. A significant change in the microstructure of the WFZ was measured after the normalizing at 1060 °C, followed by tempering at 760 °C for 2 h (complex heat treatment). The tensile strength of the welded joint was measured 817 MPa with a joint efficiency of 146% for as-welded condition and a maximum of 901 MPa with a joint efficiency of 161% for complex heat treatment. The welded joint CIT was measured a maximum of 48 J in as-welded condition and get reduced after the PWHT and measured a minimum of 35 J after complex heat treatment. A hardness variation was observed along the welded joint for as-welded and PWHT condition. In the as-welded condition, the hardness of the WFZ was measured about 417 ± 21 HV and showed a minute change with an increase in tempering temperature. The minimum hardness was measured in the inter-critical HAZ region for the as-welded joint and produce a significant level of heterogeneity in hardness variation along the P91 HAZ. PWHT has observed a considerable reduction in the hardness value of the P91 HAZs except for ICHAZ. A negligible level of hardness variation along P91 HAZ was measured after PW 4.