Heat Effected Zone Research Articles

A novel method for fully penetrated U-rib-to-deck joints: Single-sided oscillating laser arc hybrid welding

U-rib-to-deck (RTD) joints represent one of the most critical and vulnerable welding details of orthotropic steel decks. Aiming for full penetration and high-level service performance, a novel method with single-sided oscillating laser-arc hybrid welding (OLAHW) technique was proposed for the RTD joint. The weld formation, microstructure and mechanical properties were extensively investigated. The results indicated that the porosity and lack of fusion (LoF) defects effectively suppressed with the beam oscillation during LAHW process. The OLAHW technique has good spatial accessibility with larger laser beam incidence angle of 20° Beam oscillation led to an increase in acicular ferrite in the fusion zone (FZ) while simultaneously a reduction of martensite in the heat effected zone (HAZ). This was related to the cooling time, and the thermal simulation results revealed that the OLAHW sample demonstrated comparable cooling times in both the Laser-FZ and arc-FZ. Consequently, beam oscillation can generated more homogeneous microstructures and microhardness. Although the microhardness of the OLAHW sample in the FZ was increased compared to the conventional arc welding (CAW) and LAHW sample, the highest microhardness value remained within acceptable limits (380 HV). Moreover, the ultimate tensile strength of the OLAHW weld sample increased by 7 % compared to the CAW weld sample. The application of the OLAHW technique demonstrates its feasibility for engineering applications in orthotropic steel decks manufacturing.

Rotary Friction Welding of Inconel 718 to Inconel 600

Nickel-based superalloys exhibit excellent high temperature strength, high temperature corrosion and oxidation resistance and creep resistance. They are widely used in high temperature applications in aerospace, power and petrochemical industries. The need for economical and efficient usage of materials often necessitates the joining of dissimilar metals. In this study, dissimilar welding between two different nickel-based superalloys, Inconel 718 and Inconel 600, was attempted using rotary friction welding. Sound metallurgical joints were produced without any unwanted Laves or delta phases at the weld region, which invariably appear in fusion welds. The weld thermal cycle was found to result in significant grain coarsening in the heat effected zone (HAZ) on either side of the dissimilar weld interface due to the prevailing thermal cycles during the welding. However, fine equiaxed grains were observed at the weld interface due to dynamic recrystallization caused by severe plastic deformation at high temperatures. In room temperature tensile tests, the joints were found to fail in the HAZ of Inconel 718 exhibiting good ultimate tensile strength (759 MPa) without a significant loss of tensile ductility (21%). A scanning electron microscopic examination of the fracture surfaces revealed fine dimpled rupture features, suggesting a fracture in a ductile mode.

Friction Stir Welded AISI 304 Metal Sheets for Application in Food Implants

Stainless steels are indispensable materials in many industrial fields. They can be easily shaped and joined by traditional welding methods. Some problematics such as possible decrease in corrosion resistance at the welding bead and in the heat-effected zone, residual stress, crack formation and distortions may take place after welding. Friction Stir Welding (FSW) may be used for joining stainless steels in a single pass and for optimising microstructure and mechanical properties of the processed region. The application of FSW to the widely used AISI304 stainless steel is investigated in food implants. The mechanical properties together with corrosion resistance and surface finishing are characterized. A high energy input is chosen for the welding (2000 rpm tool rotational speed and 50 mm/min advancing speed). The stirred zone (SZ) is characterized by optical microscopy. Vickers microhardness in the SZ results 37% higher than in the base material. Tensile tests highlight elongations up to 40% keeping maximum stress values at 600 MPa. All samples pass accelerated corrosion tests that simulate 20 years of cleaning cycles in a typical food implant.

The Investigation of Ultrasonic Energy Attenuation in AISI 316 Stainless Steel Weld Joint

This research aims to study and describe the effect of microstructure on shape of distance amplitude correction (DAC) curve and ultrasonic inspectability of stainless steel weld joint. Two calibration blocks (side drilled hole block) were prepared from AISI 316 stainless steel plate according with ASME section V version 2013. One calibration block was varied the grain size by annealing process. The annealing temperature and holding time were 1,200 °C and 4 hours, respectively and then cooled down in furnace. AISI 316 Butt joint welding specimens were prepared to establish the artificial discontinuities. Lack of fusion and drill hole, diameter 1 and 2.5 mm, were selected to establish as discontinuities. Specimens were welded by gas tungsten arc welding and shielded metal arc welding process. Then, the gain size and microstructure of two calibration blocks were analyzed by microscope. The macrostructure, gain size and microstructure of weld joint were determined by microscope. Longitudinal and transverse wave with probe frequency 2.25 and 4 MHz and angle probe 45, 60 and 70 degrees were used to describe the effect of microstructure on shape of DAC curve and investigate the ultrasonic inspectability in stainless steel weld. The experiment results found that the ultrasonic energy of longitudinal and transverse wave in calibration blocks decreased as the gain size increased. The attenuation due to gain size affected to the shape of DAC curve. The grain size in heat effected zone (HAZ) of weld specimen is larger than base material and the ultrasonic transverse wave can detect lack of fusion and drill hole diameter 2.5 mm but cannot detect drill hole diameter 1 mm. The usefulness of this research is utilizable for searching the discontinuities in the weld zone of stainless steel by ultrasonic. The attenuation of ultrasonic energy in the weld zone of AISI 316 is usually high and the amplitude displayed at the screen is very low. This reason can be made the operator wrong result interpretation, if they did not consider about the attenuation from microstructure.

Microstructural and Mechanical Evolution of a Low Carbon Steel by Friction Stir Processing

A low carbon steel (Grade A) was subjected to friction stir processing (FSP), and the effect of FSP on the microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated systematically. It was found that two distinct zones called stir zone (SZ) and heat-effected zone (HAZ) were formed during FSP. The SZ and HAZ consist mainly of ferrite, widmanstatten ferrite, ferrite+cementite aggregates, and martensite. FSP considerably refined the microstructure of the steel by means of dynamic recrystallization mechanism and formed a volumetric defect-free basin-like processed region. The ferritic grain size of the steel decreased from 25 µm in the coarse-grained state to about 3 µm in the fine-grained state, and the grains formed were separated mostly by high angle of misorientation with low density of dislocations. This microstructural evolution brought about a considerable increase in both hardness and strength values without a considerable decrease in ductility. Ultrafine-grained microstructure formed around and just beneath the pin increased the hardness of the steel from 140 Hv0.3 to about 245 Hv0.3. However, no hardness uniformity was formed throughout the processed zone due to the changes in deformation- and temperature-induced microstructure. Both yield and tensile strength values of processed zone increased from 256 and 435 MPa to about 334 and 525 MPa, respectively.

Investigations on the structure – property relationships of PCGTA welds involving Inconel 718 and AISI 430

The present investigation deals with the weldability, structure – property relationship of dissimilar metallurgical joints involving Nickel based superalloy Inconel 718 and ferritic stainless steel AISI 430 using pulsed current gas tungsten welding (PCGTAW) process employing ER2553 and ERNiCrMo-4 filler wires. NDT analysis and macrostructure examination corroborated for defect free weldments. Microstructure studies revealed the presence of unmixed zone at the weld interface of Inconel 718 whereas grain coarsening effect was observed at the heat effected zone (HAZ) of AISI 430. Both cellular and equiaxed dendrites were dominated at the fusion zone of ERNiCrMo-4 weldment; whereas different types of ferrite morphologies such as delta and widmanstätten ferrite were observed at the cap and middle zones of ER2553 fusion zone respectively. It was opined that the tensile failures occurred at the parent metal of AISI 430 for both the fillers. Charpy V-notch studies showed that ERNiCrMo-4 weldment exhibited better impact toughness than ER2553 weldment. Similarly the bend test also recommended the use of ERNiCrMo-4 filler due to the acquaintance of excellent bending strength and soundness. This study also addressed the structure – property relationships of these weldments. The outcomes of the study would be highly beneficial to the nuclear, aerospace and petrochemical industries.

The Improvement of Machining Accuracy on Quartz and Glasses by Electrochemical Discharge Machining

In the present study, a tungsten rod with diameter of 100μm is used as the tool to drill a quartz plate by Electrochemical Discharge Machining (ECDM). KOH solution mixed with different concentration of Ethanol is used as the electrolyte. The influences of different working parameters, such as electrolyte concentration, applied voltage, pulse frequency, and electrolyte level, on the gas film stability, gas film thickness, and machining accuracy are investigated. The experimental results show that the overcut and surface roughness is improved by the use of electrolyte with addition of 6.5wt% ethanol. The effect of gaseous bubbles is reduced during the machining, and the circulation of electrolyte is better. Compared with machining with pure KOH electrolyte, the overcut is reduced around 57% by the use of electrolyte with addition of 6.5wt% ethanol. The heat-effected zone on the machining is also largely reduced.

Heat treatment in two phase region and its effect on microstructure and mechanical strength after welding of a low carbon steel

1010 steel was welded under controlled atmosphere of argon and then treated by intermediate and intercritical quenching techniques to produce a duplex microstructure. Resulting microstructures and complementary hardness and tensile properties were studied. It is clear that the microstructure after intermediate quenching treatment is particularly more homogeneous, where irregularly distributed fine martensite islands are dense and mostly surround small equi-axed ferrite grains in the matrix. With increasing the annealing temperature in the two-phase region, martensite islands increase in number apparently and consequently beneficial mechanical properties can be achieved even the heat effected zone (HAZ) has the weakest strength. Thus, fracturing almost always took place along HAZ, showing an inter-granular mode for intermediate quenching treatment and trans-granular mode of fracturing for intercritical quenching treatment at the end of tensile tests.

Cold processing of green state LTCC with a CO2 laser

We report a novel “cold” self-cleaning technique for processing low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) in the “green” state at high resolution and high speed, using a low power carbon dioxide laser. A particle ejection process involving both the ceramic grains and the organic binder produces material removal rates of >100 μm per pulse with lateral processing resolution of 50 μm and depth resolution comparable to ceramic grain size with no heat-effected zone or other deleterious thermal effects. The process has been used to drill microvias and to machine arbitrary shapes with high resolution.

Artificial neural network application to the friction stir welding of aluminum plates

An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for the analysis and simulation of the correlation between the friction stir welding (FSW) parameters of aluminium (Al) plates and mechanical properties. The input parameters of the model consist of weld speed and tool rotation speed (TRS). The outputs of the ANN model include property parameters namely: tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, hardness of weld metal and hardness of heat effected zone (HAZ). Good performance of the ANN model was achieved. The model can be used to calculate mechanical properties of welded Al plates as functions of weld speed and TRS. The combined influence of weld speed and TRS on the mechanical properties of welded Al plates was simulated. A comparison was made between measured and calculated data. The calculated results were in good agreement with measured data.

Prediction and comparison of the area of the heat-affected zone for the bead-on-plate and bead-on-joint in submerged arc welding of pipes

The effect of controllable process variables on the heat input and the area of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) for bead-on-plate and bead-on-joint welding were calculated and analyzed using mathematical models developed for the submerged arc welding of pipes (SAW). A comparative study of the area of the heat-effected zone between bead-on-plate and bead-on-joint welding was carried out. This comparative study reveals that the models developed for bead-on-plate for predicting weld bead qualities need further modification before applying to the actual joining of metals by welding. It is found that the area of the HAZ is greater for bead-on-plate than that for bead-on-joint and that the effects of SAW process variables on the area of the HAZ on plate is as same as that of the area of the HAZ on joint, and follows the same trend.

Prediction of Cooling Time for Ferrite-Austenite Transformation in Duplex Stainless Steel.

Study has been carried out aimed at predicting the cooling time from 1200 to 800°C (t12/8) of arc welds in stainless steel using an existing heat flow model and direct measurement of the weld thermal cycle. The properties of welds in austenitic-ferritic duplex stainless steel depended on the delta (δ) ferrite content of the weld metal (WM) and the heat effected zone (HAZ). The t12/8 was the major cooling parameter relating to the δ-ferrite content. It was shown that the travel speed and the distribution of the heat source had negligible effect on the value of t12/8 in a practical welding situation. The proposed equation predicted t12/8 with an error of approximately 15% relative to experimental measurement.