Microstructure Of Heat Affected Zone Research Articles

Experimental investigation on microstructure, mechanical properties, and residual stresses of dissimilar welded joint of martensitic P92 and AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel

In this study, microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of martensitic steel P92 and AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel (ASS) dissimilar metal weld (DMW) have been examined. The welding was performed using the multipass gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. The ERNiCrMo-3 (Inconel 625) filler metal was used due to its excellent compatibility with the P92 and AISI 304L ASS metals. The microstructure characterization performed with an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope revealed the presence of an unmixed zone in the form of beach, peninsula, and island at the base metal and weld fusion zone interface. Secondary phases enriched with Nb and Mo, and migrated grain boundaries (MGBs) were also observed at the weld fusion zone. The microstructural characterization at the P92 side revealed the presence of a soft ferrite zone and delta ferrite at the weld and P92 interface. The different peak temperature experienced by the P92 metal during the welding process results into the formation of three distinct zones with diverse mechanical and microstructural properties namely coarse grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ), fine grain heat affected zone (FGHAZ), and inter-critical heat affected zone (ICHAZ). The post weld heat treatment (PWHT) at 760 °C for 2 h followed by air cooling was performed to homogenize this heterogeneous microstructure formed toward the P92 side. It was observed that this PWHT does not have any significant effect on weld fusion zone and 304L SS heat affected zone (HAZ) microstructure. But, PWHT modifies the microstructure of P92 side HAZ. The tensile test, Vickers micro-hardness test, and charpy impact test were carried out to determine the mechanical properties of the DMW. The tensile strength was found as 587.709 MPa in the as-welded condition and 594.515 MPa in PWHT condition. The tensile test results indicated that specimens were failed from 304L stainless steel (SS) base metal (BM) in as-welded and PWHT condition. The charpy impact toughness test results showed that the toughness of the weld joint was very low in as-welded and PWHT condition (47J) compared to the P92 (190J) and SS 304L (285J) BM. From the microhardness examination, it was observed that the ICHAZ was the weakest zone among all the other regions due to its lower micro-hardness value compared to the other regions. After welding process, residual stresses were measured in as-welded and after PWHT condition at the center of the weld and at the HAZ of P92 and SS 304L (through the thickness of the plate) using experimental-based deep hole-drilling (DHD) strain-gauge method. The results showed that both circumferential (hoop stress) and axial (longitudinal stress) welding residual stresses were decreased after PWHT.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Heat-affected Zone of Repeated Welding on 304 Stainless Steel

The effect of the repeated welding on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) for 304 stainless steel were investigated under repeated welding up to five times by automatic gas tungsten arc welding using an optical microscope, a x-ray diffraction, a scanning electron microscope and an electron back-scattered diffraction. The repeated welding specimens were consisted with the microstructures of austenitic matrices with lath δ-ferrite. With the increasing of the repeated welding times, the average values of the austenitic grain size increased, and the δ-ferrite content decreased then increased. The preferred orientation of the HAZ changed from to . The values of location misorientation increased monotonically with the increasing number of repeated welding. The variation of the ultimate tensile strength and elongation was affected by the grain size mainly. Due to the hardening rate increasing, the yield tensile strength was increasing.

Precipitation behavior of carbides and cryogenic toughness in heat-affected zone of high-Mn twinning-induced plasticity steel welded joint

The newly designed cryogenic high-Mn steel plates (Fe-23Mn-1.5Al-0.45C) were joined by metal inert gas (MIG) multi-pass welding process. To evaluate the inhomogeneity of microstructure and cryogenic toughness in heat-affected zone (HAZ) of welded joint, the impact samples were prepared by zonal sampling method. The microstructure features and embrittlement mechanism in HAZ of welded joint were systematically investigated. The results reveal that grains obviously grew in the coarse-grain HAZ (CGHAZ). C element segregated and nano-sized lamellar and granular (Cr, Mn) 7 C 3 carbides precipitated at the grain boundary in HAZ, and the size of precipitate carbides in CGHAZ and fine-grain HAZ (FGHAZ) was about 100 nm and 40 nm, respectively. The interface between (Cr, Mn) 7 C 3 and γ-austenite matrix in CGHAZ was incoherent with the lattice misfit of 45.13%. Higher fraction of low angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) appeared in CGHAZ (25.89%) and FGHAZ (11.99%), compared with the base metal (4.33%). Such microstructural differences can degrade the impact toughness in CGHAZ. From cryogenic Charpy impact tests, the impact toughness in different zones of the joint at each test temperature follows this sequence: base metal > fine-grain HAZ > coarse-grain HAZ > fusion line. These results can provide a fundamental understanding and guidance on the brittle failure of cryogenic high-Mn steel welded joint during service.

Development of microstructure and residual stress in electron beam welds in low alloy pressure vessel steels

Reduced-pressure electron beam (EB) plate butt welds were manufactured in two low-alloy pressure-vessel steels, SA508 Gr 3 Cl 1 and SA508 Gr 2, at two thicknesses in both steels, 30 mm and 130 mm. Transient temperatures during welding were recorded using thermocouple arrays. Residual stresses in the as-welded condition and after post-weld heat treatment were measured using diverse methods: neutron diffraction and the contour method at 30 mm thickness; and deep hole drilling and the contour method at 130 mm. Incremental centre hole drilling measurements were performed at 130 mm thickness to better understand near-surface stresses. Weld and heat-affected zone microstructures and microconstituents were evaluated using a combination of hardness mapping, optical microscopy and electron microscopy. The as-welded residual stresses exhibit the characteristic M-shaped distribution for hardenable steels, reaching 500–600 MPa in tension in both steels at both thicknesses. However, the modest changes to the chemical composition and the change in plate thickness both significantly influenced microstructures, mechanical properties and residual stress distributions. These sensitivities underline the need for physically faithful models. This extensive characterisation study enables the development and validation of models that predict the development of microstructures and residual stresses in EB welds in low alloy pressure vessel steels.

Effect of Heat Input on the Ballistic Performance of Armor Steel Weldments

The purpose of this study is to examine the projectile penetration resistance of the base metal and heat-affected zones of armor steel weldments. To ensure the proper quality of armor steel welded joints and associated ballistic protection, it is important to find the optimum heat input for armor steel welding. A total of two armor steel weldments made at heat inputs of 1.29 kJ/mm and 1.55 kJ/mm were tested for ballistic protection performance. The GMAW welding carried out employing a robot-controlled process. Owing to a higher ballistic limit, the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the 1.29 kJ/mm weldment was found to be more resistant to projectile penetration than that of the 1.55 kJ/mm weldment. The ballistic performance of the weldments was determined by analyzing the microstructure of weldment heat-affected zones, the hardness gradients across the weldments and the thermal history of the welding heat inputs considered. The result showed that the ballistic resistance of heat affected zone exist as the heat input was decreased on 1.29 kJ/mm. It was found that 1.55 kJ/mm does not have ballistic resistance.

Hydrogen permeation and stress corrosion cracking of heat-affected zone of E690 steel under the combined effect of sulfur species and cathodic protection in artificial seawater

Electrochemical corrosion, hydrogen permeation, and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of E690 steel and the simulated heat-affected zone (HAZ) microstructures, i.e., intercritical heat affected zone (ICHAZ), fine-grained heat-affected zone (FGHAZ), coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ), in the aerated, deaerated, acidified and thiosulfate-containing artificial seawater (ASW) at open circuit potential and −850 mVSCE are investigated. The results show that both sulfur species and cathodic protection promote hydrogen permeation and SCC susceptibility, and the combination of the two effects intensifies hydrogen permeation and SCC. Sulfur species and cathodic protection gradually increase the leading role of hydrogen embrittlement in cracking mechanisms. CGHAZ has the worst corrosion resistance, in ASWs. In the deaerated, acidified ASW with thiosulfate at −850 mVSCE, the SCC susceptibility of ICHAZ is the highest because of the structural heterogeneity and high pinning H content, attributed to the interfaces and their ability to accommodate H atoms.

Effect of Welding Peak Temperature on Microstructure and Impact Toughness of Heat-Affected Zone of Q690 High Strength Bridge Steel.

The effect of peak temperature (TP) on the microstructure and impact toughness of the welding heat-affected zone (HAZ) of Q690 high-strength bridge steel was studied using a Gleeble-3500 thermal simulation testing machine. The results show that the microstructure of the inter critical heat-affected zone (ICHAZ) was ferrite and bainite. The microstructure of fine grain heat-affected zone (FGHAZ) and coarse grain heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) was lath bainite (LB), lath martensite (LM), and granular bainite (GB), but the microstructure of FGHAZ was finer. With the increase in peak temperature, the content of LB and GB decreased, the content of LM increased, and the lath bundles of LM and LB gradually became coarser. With the increase in peak temperature, the grain size of the original austenite increased significantly, and the impact toughness decreased significantly. When the peak temperature was 800 °C, the toughness was the best. For CGHAZ, the peak temperature should be less than 1200 °C to avoid excessive growth of grain and reduction of mechanical property.

Microstructure and Impact Toughness Property of API X90 Heat-Affected Zones at Different Peak Temperatures

Microstructure and Impact Toughness Property of API X90 Heat-Affected Zones at Different Peak Temperatures

Modeling and experimental validation of additively manufactured tantalum-titanium bimetallic interfaces

Bimetallic structures processed via laser-based additive manufacturing (AM) efficiently combine multiple materials in single components, which are difficult to achieve using traditional methods. However, limited understanding exists on how processing parameters influence the resulting microstructures and thermal profiles of base material during processing, affecting component performance. To this end, we present a combined numerical and experimental study on the effects of input laser power and scanning speed on the heat-affected-zone (HAZ) and fusion-zone (FZ) of a tantalum-titanium bimetallic structure, two compatible materials that are challenging to process traditionally and are desirable in a bimetallic system. We demonstrate that a wide array of track characteristics can be achieved by varying the laser power and scanning speed. The HAZ and FZ microstructures' width and depth within the underlying Ti6Al4V substrate can be estimated within 6–19% of the experimentally determined values using a 3D transient-thermal finite element analysis (FEA) model, with the most significant errors occurring at low scanning speeds. Adjusting the absorptivity input to the model improves prediction to within 1–11% difference of the HAZ/FZ dimensions and corresponding temperatures relative to the experimental dimensions across a broad range of laser power and scanning speeds. Our results indicate that the underlying temperatures achieved in bimetallic components can be predicted accurately using a detailed FEA approach, aiding larger-scale approaches towards improved process modeling and manufacturing of bimetallic structures using laser-based AM.

Influence of welding HAZ microstructure on low-temperature impact fracture behaviour in C–Mn shipbuilding steel

The influence of microstructure on the low-temperature impact toughness of the heat-affected zones (HAZs) in C–Mn shipbuilding steels was investigated in welding thermal simulations and the Charpy impact test. Within the temperature range −80°C to −40°C, the Charpy impact energy initially increased and thereafter decreased with decreasing peak temperature of welding. The impact energy was maximised at a peak welding temperature of 850°C. The deterioration of low-temperature impact toughness was associated with enlarging effective grain size and numerous low-angle boundaries. The distribution of dual-phase structures and martensite/austenite (M/A) constituents significantly affected the fracture mode. The impact energy fluctuations observed in the analysis are also explained.

Microstructure and High-Temperature Strength in the Weld Coarse-Grained Heat-Affected Zone of Fire-Resistant Steels and the Effects of Mo and Nb Additions

The microstructural evolution and fire-resistant properties in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ) of Mo and Mo + Nb-added fire-resistant steels were investigated. For this purpose, three Fe-0.1 wt%C-1.5 wt%Mn-0.1 wt%Si steels containing various Mo and Nb contents were prepared. HAZ samples were experimentally simulated using a Gleeble simulator at a welding heat input of 30 and 300 kJ/cm. The yield strength of the HAZ samples was higher than those of base steels at both room temperature and 600 ℃, whereas a greater decrease in the yield strength at 600 ℃ compared to that at room temperature occurred in the HAZ samples than in the base steels, indicating that the fire-resistance deteriorated in the HAZs as compared to the base steels. This is due to the formation of hard phases such as bainite and martensite in the HAZs, i.e., bainite and martensite phase have very high yield strength with high dislocation density at room temperature, while their strengths decrease rapidly at high temperature due to a great annihilation and recovery of dislocations at high temperature. In addition, the fire-resistance of the HAZ improved as the heat input was increased. The alloying of Mo and Nb improved the fire-resistance of both the base steels and the HAZs. Finally, the changes in the microstructures of the base steels and the HAZs upon alloying and the heat input and corresponding effects on the fire-resistance were carefully explored and discussed through transmission electron microscopy analyses, atom probe tomography analyses, and calculations of continuous cooling transformation diagrams.

High-carbon steel: microstructure and abrasive wear resistance of heat affected zone after welding with fast cooling

The goal of this work is to estimate the abrasive wear resistance of heat affected zone (HAZ) after welding high-carbon low-alloy steel 120Mn3Si2 with fast cooling. The following benchmark data were used: microstructures of HAZ of 120Mn3Si2 steel after welding with cooling in water; abrasive wear resistance of different microstructure constituents of 120Mn3Si2 steel in two-body abrasive wear conditions. It is shown that high abrasive wear resistance of material in HAZ is provided in the vicinity of fusion line. The reason is unstable retained austenite which appears in HAZ as a result of quenching at fast cooling right after welding. The wear resistance of material in HAZ is altered by microstructural changes from austenite to austenite+martensite and finally martensite. The martensitic zone is about 0.5 mm wide and it is followed by zone of tempering of initial structure of steel. Zone of tempering is 1.5-2.0 mm wide and is the only zone of low abrasive wear resistance in HAZ of 120Mn3Si2 steel welded with fast cooling. Welding of 120Mn3Si2 steel with fast cooling in water results in welding joints which have as high wear resistant as the base material or even higher. This enables manufacturing flat welded elements with high wear-resistance and large surface area

Research on Microstructure and Properties in Welded Joint of 700 MPa grade Low Carbon Micro-alloy steel

High-strength residual heat treatment steel bar was tested with welding thermal simulation in Gleeble 3500. Effect of heat input on the microstructure, impact toughness and microhardness of weld heat-affected zone (HAZ)was studied. The results show that with the increase of t8/5, microstructure of coarse grain heat-affected zone (CGHAZ)transforms into granular bainite and pearlite in stead of ferrite, feather-like upper bainite and strip-like lower bainite, HAZ impact value increases firstly then decreases and reaches maximum at t8/5= 100s and the hardness decreases. And when t8/5 increased to 60s there were only ferrite and pearlite in the microstructure of CGHAZ. The impact energy of high-strength residual heat treatment steel bar would be at the range of a good level for physical production with the range of t8/5 from 20s to 300s.

Semi in-situ local structure observation during PWHT of Cr–Mo weldments extent of the PWHT on local structure changes in heat affected zone microstructure

Soft zone formation in dissimilar Cr–Mo welding occurs during post weld heat treatment that could compromise the integrity of the weldment. The decomposition of martensite could cause this formation at the weld heat affected zone adjacent to the fusion boundary. There could not yet determine the actual width of this zone. The extent of martensite decomposition in soft zone Cr–Mo steel dissimilar weld was observed in semi in-situ stages using the x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at Synchrotron facility. 2.25Cr–1Mo was welded using ER90S–B9 using GTAW process. PWHT was performed at 730 °C for 0.5 h and 2.0 h in a chamber with opening for Synchrotron light analysis at various locations away from the fusion boundary. This was complemented by microstructure and grain size analysis. The results showed the decomposition of martensite started at the fusion boundary and could extend beyond 1000 microns covering both CGHAZ and FGHAZ. Since the experiment was performed in normal atmosphere, the oxide film could form during PWHT on the surface of the specimen. More oxide formed was observed more in the location with high carbide contents. There was more oxide formation at the locations further distance from fusion boundary due to less martensite decomposition. Therefore, the extent of the phenomena could be stated by using information from oxide formation and martensite decomposition which could help to determine the risk on both creep life and oxidation.

Effects of welding parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the AA6061 aluminium alloy joined by a Yb: YAG laser beam

In this study, the effects of Yb: YAG laser welding parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA6061-T4 joints were analysed. Samples without any welding defects such as porosity, melt pool collapse, and hot cracking were produced with different welding parameters. Energetic processing parameters had a significant influence on the fusion zone (FZ) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) microstructure and dimensions, in addition to local and global mechanical properties. The weld bead width increased with increasing power and energy densities and reduced the weld bead tensile properties. High welding travel speed produced a more elongated weld pool and ripples resulted in a ‘V’ shape. A significant quantity of axial heterogeneous nucleation was observed in the FZ centre of these weld beads because of the low-energy density. In contrast, low welding travel speed produced C-shaped ripples and a few axial grain nucleation sites in the FZ. The latter was evidence of a slower solidification rate. Dendrite secondary arm spacing measurements confirmed this hypothesis. It was observed that axial grains in the FZ centre improve the weld bead tensile properties. Compared to the base material (BM), the hardness in the FZ was reduced and identical in the HAZ. The FZ hardness depended on the welding parameters. Digital image correlation (DIC) strain measurements indicated higher deformation near the FZ, but when geometrical defects were removed, the FZ deformed more homogeneously.

Investigating the heat input effect of the GTAW process upon the microstructure and HAZ extension of HSLA-100 steel weld joints using thermal cycles

In the current research, the welding of HSLA-100 steel was accomplished with three different heat inputs using the GTAW process. The microstructure of various joint zones was investigated utilizing an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. For the purpose of assessing the impact of thermal cycles upon the extension and alterations in the heat-affected zone, the thermocouples were placed at distinct distances from the fusion line. The results indicated that the weld metal microstructure comprised of acicular ferrite and a number of polygonal and quasi-polygonal Ferrite with M/A constituent. An epitaxial growth was observed in the fusion line in all heat inputs. It was determined that the heat-affected zone microstructure consisted of two regions, namely a coarse-grained heat-affected zone with a granular and lath bainite microstructure and a fine-grained heat-affected zone with the prevailing microstructure of granular Bainite. The results indicated that increasing the heat input leads to a decrease in the amount of acicular ferrite and M/A constituent volume fraction in the weld metal and an increase in lath bainite in coarse-grained zone. It was found that by increasing the heat input from 0.78kJ/mm to 1.42 kJ/mm, the grain size increases from 29.2μm to 76.5 μm and from 15.7μm to 32.5μm in coarse-grained and fine-grained zone, respectively. The thermal cycles evaluation pertinent to the implanting of a thermocouple disclosed that the heat-affected zone width is extended from 3.6 mm to 4.5mm by increasing the heat input from 0.78kJ/mm to 1.42 kJ/mm.

The measurement of SH-CCT curve and analysis on microstructure and performance of heat-affected zone of Q690 high-strength bridge steel

The heat-affected zone continuous cooling transition curve (SH-CCT) of the experimental steel is drawn by using the Gleeble-3500 thermal simulation testing machine. The influences of different cooling rates and peak temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of HAZ were studied. The results show as the cooling rate increases, the experimental steel undergoes LB + GB and LM + LB + GB phase transformations successively, and the micro-hardness gradually increases. When the heat input is 20kJ/cm, the microstructure of inter-critical heat-affected zone (ICHAZ) is F + B, the microstructure of fine grain heat-affected zone (FGHAZ) and the coarse grain heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) is LM + LB + GB. As the peak temperature increases, the micro-hardness first increases and then decreases, the -40°C impact absorbing energy gradually decreases. This conclusion can provide a reference for further study on the microstructure and mechanical properties of HAZ of Q690 bridge steel.

Creep Strength and Microstructure of Heat-affected Zone on 9Cr-3W-3Co-Nd-B Heat-resistant Steel

Creep Strength and Microstructure of Heat-affected Zone on 9Cr-3W-3Co-Nd-B Heat-resistant Steel

Microstructure, Toughness and Hardness of a Simulated HAZ in Steel S1100QL and of the HAZ of an Actual MAGWelded Joint Made Using a Metallic Flux-Cored Wire

Simulation tests discussed in the article involved structural steel S1100QL having a yield point of more than 900 MPa. The simulations included single (Tmax = 1250°C) and double welding thermal cycle (Tmax = 1250°C + 600°C, Tmax = 1250°C + 760°C and Tmax = 1250°C + 900°C) as well as cooling times t8/5 = 3, 5 and 10 s. Specimens with the simulated heat affected zone (HAZ) were subjected to impact strength tests performed at a temperature of -40°C and +20°C, Vickers hardness tests (HV10) and microscopic metallographic tests (involving light microscopy). Test results were presented in diagrams and photographs. Related comparisons included results of the structural, hardness and toughness tests of simulated HAZs with analogous results obtained during the actual repair welding of a MAG-welded joint made of steel S1100QL. The final part of the article contains discussion concerning the test results and the statement concerning the obtainment of the significant conformity of the phase composition and the morphology of the microstructure as well as the average hardness values of the HAZ areas obtained in the simulations and those of the HAZ area obtained in the actual welded joint. In relation to all tested simulation variants, the impact energy of the simulated HAZ area of steel S1100QL satisfied the minimum criterion of KV = 27 J both in relation to a test temperature of -40°C and that of +20°C. The number of repeated (1 through 4) thermal cycles having preset parameters did not trigger explicitly noticeable changes in impact energy values as regards the simulated HAZ of steel S1100QL.

The critical influence of La content on the microstructure-toughness relationship in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone of high-strength low-alloy steels

The present study was envisaged to investigate the role of La content on the particle, microstructure and toughness in the simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of high-strength low-alloy steels. Three steels with La content of 0.016 wt.%, 0.046 wt.% and 0.093 wt.% were prepared and simulated in a 100 kJ/cm heat input welding thermal cycle. Subsequently, the particle and microstructure of selected specimens were characterized and the impact absorb energy was measured at −20 °C. The results indicated that the La2O2S inclusions in 0.016 wt.%-La steel were gradually modified to LaS-LaP in 0.046 wt.%-La steel and to LaP in 0.093 wt.%-La steel. A higher fraction of acicular ferrite was obtained in the simulated CGHAZ of 0.016 wt.%-La steel, since the inclusion of La2O2S was more powerful to induce the formation of acicular ferrite. Furthermore, the fraction of M-A constituents in the simulated CGHAZ increased with increasing La content. The impact toughness in the simulated CGHAZ of 0.016 wt.%-La steel was the highest, owing to the high fraction of the fine-grained acicular ferrite and low fraction of M-A constituent.