HAZ Of Steel Research Articles

Analysis of impact toughness scatter in simulated coarse-grained HAZ of E550 grade offshore engineering steel from the aspect of crystallographic structure

This study aims at providing a new insights into the impact toughness scatter from the aspect of crystallographic structure. It demonstrated that the large impact toughness scatter associated much to the microstructure diversity. The crystallographic structure with evident scatter will display obvious discrepancy. In this work, three groups of samples simulated coarse-grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ) of an offshore engineering steel were obtained at different cooling rates. The Charpy test results showed that the toughness decreases dramatically with the decrease of cooling rate. However, the largest scatter in impact toughness occurred in the sample with medium cooling rate (15 °C/s), which was attributed to the heterogeneity in crystallographic structures. The visualization of crystallographic features showed that the prior austenite grain size has a significant effect on bainitic variant selection, which governed the effective grain size and crack propagation mechanism. CP (close-packed plane) grouping of variants is more likely to take place in large austenite grain, indicating that the size of CP region is larger than Bain zone, and the crack is short and flexural. On the contrary, in smaller austenite grain, Bain grouping of variants that always forms low angle grain boundary and favors crack propagation dominates the transformation, and it will promote the crack to propagate through the entire Bain zone and then yield large long crack. However, these two cases can co-exist in the same sample at medium cooling rate, indicating that the cleavage fracture is controlled by the effective grain size (Bain-zone size) and the scatter in impact toughness is associated much to the proportion and relative location between fine and coarse Bain zones.

Development of thick copper claddings on SS316L steel for In-vessel components of fusion reactors and copper-cast iron canisters

Plasma vertical stabilization is a serious concern during Tokamak operation, which may cause melting of in-vessel components. To improve the vertical stability of plasma, pure copper layer/cladding of 3 mm-thickness has been recommended. Owing to this large thickness, development of such coatings is a challenging task. In this work, Cu-claddings of thickness 1 mm and 3 mm were developed using copper powder of particle sizes <63 μm and >63 μm respectively by laser cladding process on an in-vessel component material (SS316L). The deposited claddings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray radiography analysis. The cross-sectional microstructure of both the claddings was characterized with the help of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope (OM). Various mechanical properties such as micro-hardness, tensile strength, % elongation, adhesion strength, yield strength, Young’s modulus, nano hardness and density were evaluated for both the claddings and compared. Hardening was observed along the interface and HAZ of the cladded steel, which may be attributed to the diffusion of carbon from the substrate. Results of the study indicate that laser cladding could be a feasible solution to develop claddings for advanced fusion reactors, as well as, for manufacturing copper-cast iron canisters; however, further improvements in the properties need to be done by further refining the process parameters.

Metallurgy and mechanical properties variation with heat input,during dissimilar metal welding between stainless and carbon steel

The present research focus on the metallurgy and mechanical aspect of dissimilar metal welding.One of the common parameters that significantly contribute to the metallurgical aspect on the metal during welding is heat input. Regarding this point, in the present research, voltage, current and the welding speed has been varied in order to observe the effect of heat input on the metallurgical and mechanical aspect of both welded metals. Welding was conducted by Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) on stainless and carbon steel with filler metal of ER 309. After welding, hardness test (micro-Vickers), tensile test, macro and micro-structure characterization and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) characterization were performed. It was observed no brittle martensite observed at HAZ of carbon steel, whereas sensitization was observed at the HAZ of stainless steel for all heat input variation at the present research. Generally, both HAZ at carbon steel and stainless steel did not affect tensile test result, however the formation of chromium carbide at the grain boundary of HAZ structure (sensitization) of stainless steel, indicate that better process and control of welding is required for dissimilar metal welding, especially to overcome this issue.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTINUOUS COOLING RATE AND MICROSTRUCTURE IN THE HEAT AFFECTED ZONE (HAZ) OF THE DISSIMILAR WELD BETWEEN CARBON STEEL AND AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL

This paper investigates the changed in the microstructure in HAZ of the dissimilar weld between carbon steel and 304 austenitic stainless steel. Continuous cooling transformation diagrams (CCT), peak temperature profiles and cooling rates can be used to predict the change in the microstructure of the HAZ during the welding process. Optical microscopy, X – ray, SEM and TEM were used to determine the phases which formed in HAZ of carbon steel and austenitic stainless steel. The results of this study indicate that grain size in HAZ depended on the temperature at that point could be reached during the welding. Fully Martensitic layer observed at the interface in carbon side due to the combination of the rapid cooling subsequent to weld and local chemical composition. Cooling rate played the rule on forming Widmanstatten ferrite, Bainite and Pearlite. On the other hand, microstructures and grain size in HAZ of austenitic stainless steel were not affected by temperature and cooling rate. Carbides precipitation (M23C6, M7C3), however, were found in the boundary of grains.

Investigation of physically simulated weld HAZ and CCT diagram of HSLA armour steel

The phase transformation under various cooling rates and in different HAZ regions for high-strength armour steel was analysed by dilatometry. To develop a continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram, the samples were heated up to a peak temperature of 1250 °C to achieve a coarse-grained microstructure and then cooled down with a cooling time t 8/5 varying from 3 to 240 s. Analysis of dilatation curves revealed the austenite decomposition process, during which transformation temperatures were determined. The results showed martensitic transformations for all welding-relevant cooling times. Furthermore, to analyse different heat-affected subzones of the weld, the peak temperature was varied between 550 and 1250 °C at a constant cooling time t 8/5 of 6 s. The simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) and fine-grained-heat affected zone (FGHAZ) showed only martensitic transformations with transformation temperatures below 400 °C. The steel exhibited an inhomogeneous hardness with hardening in the CGHAZ and FGHAZ and softening in the intercritical and subcritical HAZ. The physically simulated microstructure was validated by a real hybrid laser-arc weld microstructure.

The effect of strain strengthening on the mixed mode crack fatigue propagation in the HAZ of 06Cr19Ni10 stainless steel

The present study focuses on the mixed mode fatigue crack propagation in the HAZ of 06Cr19Ni10 stainless steel. The effects of strain strengthening on crack growth path, crack growth rate, residual stress and microstructures were analyzed separately. The results of crack propagation test show that a new fatigue crack initiated from pre-crack tip and propagated along a line perpendicular to the loading direction. It is noted that strain-strengthening could reduce the crack growth rate but it has no effect on crack propagation path. Strain strengthening can produce stress-induced martensite and the martensite volume fraction increases with the strain-strengthening level. Finite simulation analysis and experiment results show that residual tensile stresses of HAZ can be reduced significantly by strain-strengthening treatment.

Effect of Calcium and Magnesium Addition on the Rolled Microstructure Grain Size of HSLA Steel

A new technology to obtain a fine-structured and high-toughness HAZ of HSLA steel for high heat input welding is developed using metallurgical thermodynamics, physical chemistry of metallurgy and material processing methods synthetically in this study. The effect of calcium and magnesium addition on the rolled microstructure grain size of HSLA steel was analysed. The results show that adding Ca and Mg elements into the rolled steel can accelerate the nucleation and refrain the grain growth, so the grains are refined. Almost every rolled experimental steel grain becomes finer after adding Ca and Mg elements. The range of the mean grain size is from 0.518 mm to 0.879 mm. When adding 5wt% Mg, the mean grain size is the smallest, 0.518 mm, while the biggest grain size is 1.011mm in rolled raw steel. The grain size in Mg 5wt% steel is refined by 48% in contrast with the rolled raw steel. Almost every rolled experimental steel grain becomes finer contrast with cast experimental steel.

Prediction of the Temperature Distribution and Microstructure in the HAZ of SA508Gr4 Reactor Pressure Vessel Steel

Prediction of the Temperature Distribution and Microstructure in the HAZ of SA508Gr4 Reactor Pressure Vessel Steel

An Assessment of the Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Analysis of Dissimilar Material Welded Joint between Alloy 617 and 12Cr Steel

The most effective method to reduce CO2 gas emission from the steam power plant is to improve its performance by elevating the steam temperature to more than 700 °C. For this, it is necessary to develop applicable materials at high temperatures. Ni-based Alloy 617 and 12Cr steel are used in steam power plants, due to their remarkable mechanical properties, high corrosion resistance, and creep strength. However, since Alloy 617 and 12Cr steel have different chemical compositions and thermal and mechanical properties, it is necessary to develop dissimilar material welding technologies. Moreover, in order to guarantee the reliability of dissimilar material welded structures, the assessment of mechanical and metallurgical properties, fatigue strength, fracture mechanical analysis, and welding residual stress analysis should be conducted on dissimilar material welded joints. In this study, first, multi-pass dissimilar material welding between Alloy 617 and 12Cr steel was performed under optimum welding conditions. Next, mechanical properties were assessed, including the static tensile strength, hardness distribution, and microstructural analysis of a dissimilar material welded joint. The results indicated that the yield strength and tensile strength of the dissimilar metal welded joint were higher than those of the Alloy 617 base metal, and lower than those of the 12Cr steel base metal. The hardness distribution of the 12Cr steel side was higher than that of Alloy 617 and the dissimilar material weld metal zone. It was observed that the microstructure of Alloy 617 HAZ was irregular austenite grain, while that of 12Cr steel HAZ was collapsed martensite grain, due to repeatable heat input during multi-pass welding.

Low heat input gas metal arc welding for dissimilar metal weld overlays part I: the heat-affected zone

Dissimilar metal weld overlays of nickel base alloys on low alloy steel components are commonly used in the oil and gas, petro-chemical, and power generation industries to provide corrosion and oxidation resistance in a wide range of service environments and temperatures. Traditionally, weld overlays are produced using cold or hot wire gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Potential advantages of cold metal transfer (CMT) welding, a low heat input gas metal arc welding process, over the conventional GTAW in production of weld overlays were evaluated. Metallurgical characterization was performed on CMT overlays of Alloy 625 filler metal on Grade 11 and Grade 22 steels. Significant grain refinement was found in the high temperature HAZ compared to the traditional coarse-grained HAZ in arc welding. Evidences of incomplete carbide dissolution, limited carbon diffusion, and incomplete transformation to austenite were also found. These phenomena were related to high heating and cooling rates and short dwell times of the high-temperature HAZ in austenitic state. Tempering effects in the steel HAZ were identified, showing a potential for development of CMT temperbead procedures. Based on the results of this study, the steel HAZ regions in CMT overlays were classified as high-temperature HAZ and intercritical HAZ.

&lt;b&gt;Comparison of resistance to corrosion on haz of a ferritic stainless steel by different surface finishings

Certain techniques, comprising machining and GTAW dressing, have been used in the weld bead edge (region of the welded joint between the weld metal and the base metal) to increase the fillet radius of the region by reducing the stress concentrator factor, decreasing roughness, and increasing the life of weldings. Moreover, TIG Dressing may also provide a smooth change in the radius of the curvature and change the average grain size and promote a microstructural variation through the reflow of this region. Current study analyzes the effect of surface finish of the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) on resistance to corrosion of welded joints of simple deposition under plate by using machining techniques with sandpaper of different particle sizes and GTAW Dressing, comparing the effect of the two techniques in the resistance to corrosion in environments with chloride ions. ACE P410D ferritic stainless steel was employed as base metal and austenitic wire 308L for welding. Results showed that the condition sweetened with GTAW Dressing with pure argon at current 100A generated the lowest mass loss among the conditions under analysis.

Comparative study of the SCC behavior of E690 steel and simulated HAZ microstructures in a SO2-polluted marine atmosphere

Simulated microstructures of the typical CGHAZ, FGHAZ, and ICHAZ of an E690 welded joint were prepared with heat treatment at peak temperatures of 1300, 850, and 750°C, respectively. Slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests were implemented to investigate the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of E690 steel and the simulated HAZ microstructures in a SO2-polluted marine atmosphere. Results revealed that E690 steel and its simulated HAZ microstructures all had a high SCC susceptibility in the simulated SO2-polluted marine atmosphere with a combined mechanism of AD and HE. The SCC susceptibility gradually increased in the following order: BM, CGHAZ, FGHAZ, and ICHAZ. The cracking mode of BM and CGHAZ was transgranular, whereas that of FGHAZ and ICHAZ was intergranular. The lower SCC susceptibility of BM and CGHAZ was probably due to the impeding effect of lath bainitic grain boundaries on SCC propagation, whereas the higher SCC susceptibility of FGHAZ and ICHAZ was attributed to the facilitating effect of M-A islands on crack initiation and propagation.

Modelling the crack propagation behavior in 9Cr/CrMoV welds

Crack propagation behavior in different zones of advanced 9Cr/CrMoV dissimilar steel welded joint was simulated by ABAQUS software. The Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) damage model and brittle cracking model were introduced to analyze the crack propagation behavior for ductile and brittle region on the dissimilar steel welded joint, respectively. It is found that the numerically calculated J–△a resistance curves for the ductile regions i.e., the CrMoV base metal (CrMoV-BM), the heat affected zone of CrMoV (CrMoV-HAZ) and weld metal (WM) matched the experimental results, implying the reliability of the model developed in the present study. Three cases with different initial crack length (a0) were simulated to probe into the effect of a0 on the crack propagation resistance. The simulated results revealed that higher equivalent plastic strain and stress triaxiality occurred on the right ahead of the crack tip for longer initial crack length, which induces the lower crack propagation resistance. The brittle crack propagation behavior in 9Cr base metal (9Cr-BM) and heat affected zone of 9Cr (9Cr-HAZ) was well simulated by the brittle cracking model. The local stress distribution around the crack tip before crack destabilization could be obtained from the established model for BM and HAZ of 9Cr steel.

Effect of Close-Packed Plane Boundaries in a Bain Zone on the Crack Path in Simulated Coarse-Grained HAZ of Bainitic Steel

Global effect of Bain-zone boundaries and the local effect of close-packed plane (CP) boundaries on the path of secondary cleavage cracks (observed on a fractured V-notch Charpy specimen) were visualized and discussed in simulated coarse-grained HAZ of bainitic steel. Microstructural unit map (Bain-zone map and CP map) was obtained by electron backscatter diffraction method for a prior austenite grain of a few hundred micrometers. Furthermore, a correlation between CP boundaries and sites that favored formation of the blocky martensite–austenite (M–A) constituent was confirmed. It was clarified that two crack deviation/local changing factors (CP boundaries and blocky M–A) are paired.

Grain size distribution after similar and dissimilar gas tungsten arc welding of a ferritic stainless steel

In this study, gas tungsten arc welding of ferritic stainless steel and grain size distribution in heat affected zone of the welded samples were investigated. Both similar and dissimilar arc welding operations were considered where in dissimilar welding joining of stainless steel to mild steel was examined. In the first stage, a three-dimensional model was developed to evaluate temperature field during and after arc welding while the model was performed using finite element software, ANSYS. Then, the effects of welding heat input and dissimilarity of the joint on the weld pool shape and grain growth in HAZ of stainless steel was investigated by means of model predictions and experimental observations. The results show that the similar joint produces wider HAZ and considerably larger grain size structure while in the dissimilar welds, the low carbon part acts as an effective heat sink and prevents the grain growth in the stainless steel side as well reduces the welding maximum temperature.

Microstructural Effects between AHSS Dissimilar Joints Using MIG and TIG Welding Process

ABSTRACTGas tungsten arc welding-tungsten inert gas (GTAW-TIG) is focused in literature as an alternative choice for joining high strength low alloy steels; this study is performed to compare the differences between gas metal arc welding-metal inert gas (GMAW-MIG) and GTAW welding processes. The aim of this study is to characterize microstructure of dissimilar transformation induced plasticity steels (TRIP) and martensitic welded joints by GMAW and GTAW welding processes. It was found that GMAW process lead to relatively high hardness in the HAZ of TRIP steel, indicating that the resultant microstructure was martensite. In the fusion zone (FZ), a mixture of phases consisting of bainite, ferrite and small areas of martensite were present. Similar phase’s mixtures were found in FZ of GTAW process. The presence of these mixtures of phases did not result in mechanical degradation when the GTAW samples were tested in lap shear tensile testing as the fracture occurred in the heat affected zone. In order to achieve light weight these result are benefits which is applied an autogenous process, where it was shown that without additional weight the out coming welding resulted in a high quality bead with homogeneous mechanical properties and a ductile morphology on the fracture surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to obtain information about the specimens that provided evidence of ductile morphology.

Microstructures and Properties of HAZ of JB800 Bainite Steel

JB800 steel has grain boundary allotriomorphic ferrite and granular bainite (FGBA/BG), and it is a kind of high strength low alloy steels, which has simple produce procedure, lower cost and excelled property. The law of microstructure transformation in CGHAZ, hardness, and impact toughness in HAZ of JB800 steel were studied by means of thermal simulation. The test results show that under the general condition of welding process (t8/5=5~50s), microstructure of CGHAZ is composed of mixture microstructure of Martensite and Bainite and with the increase of cooling rate, the content of Martensite will decrease, but that of Bainite will increase; when t8/5 is 20s, CGHAZ zone have better impact toughness, which is composed of 95% Martensite and 5% Bainite. Therefore t8/5 should be controlled at about 20s to get better impact toughness.

Effect of Calcium and Magnesium Addition on the Inclusions Distribution in the Cast Microstructure of HSLA Steel

A new technology to obtain a fine-structured and high-toughness HAZ of HSLA steel for high heat input welding is developed using metallurgical thermodynamics, physical chemistry of metallurgy and material processing methods synthetically in this study. A kind of HSLA steel is designed in this experiment. The thermal stability second phase particles which would not be dissolved or aggregated at high temperature will be expected by means of adding calcium and magnesium into the steel in the form of Si-Ca alloy and Mg-Zr alloy, respectively. The effect of calcium and magnesium addition on the morphology and distribution of the inclusions in the cast microstructure of HSLA steel was analysed. The results show that the distribution of the inclusions is more dense and uniform with respect to the raw steel, and the size of the inclusions is smaller than the ones in the raw steel after adding Ca and Mg elements. Ca and Mg elements can accelerate the nucleation of the inclusions. The nucleation rate of the Mg element is relatively higher. The number of the inclusions in the adding Mg steel decrease more slowly relative to the adding Ca steel with the extension of the steelmaking time.

Effect of cyclic load on microstructure and cold resistance of the 10g2fb steel haz metal

The Paton Welding Journal, 2014, №05. International Scientific-Technical and Production Journal «The Paton Welding Journal» «The Paton Welding Journal» has been published monthly since 2000 in English, ISSN 0957-798X. «The Paton Welding Journal» is a cover-to-cover English translation of the «Avtomaticheskaya Svarka» (Automatic Welding) journal. The «Avtomaticheskaya Svarka» journal has been published monthly since 1948 in Russian, ISSN 005-111X.

Relationship between Creep Crack Propagation Rates of P92 Steel and Welding HAZ and High Temperature Creep Fracture Parameter C* Based on Reference Stress Method

Uniaxial creep tests on micro-regions of P92 steel base metal and welding HAZ specimens were carried out at 923 K and under different stress levels. The creep equation of index of B and n was obtained from the test data fitted by using least square method. Then, creep crack growth tests based on the reference stress method on P92 steel base metal and welding HAZ compact tensile samples were carried out at 923 K and under stress intensity factor K of 18 MPa·m1/2. From the calculated and experimental data, it was found that a good relationship existed between the creep crack growth rate da/dc and high temperature creep fracture parameter C*. The reference stress method was verified to calculate the C* of compact tension specimens and can predict the creep crack growth rate of the P92 steel base metal and welding HAZ materials under steady state creep conditions. At the same time, high temperature defect evaluation parameters of D0 and Φ were obtained by fitting the linear parts in the relation curves using the log-log method. This study provides tests data on the defects evaluation and life prediction of P92 steel welding materials.