Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Intercritical Heat-affected Zone of X80 Pipeline Steel in Simulated In-Service Welding

The intercritical heat-affected zone（ICHAZ） of X80 pipeline steel was simulated by using the Gleeble-3500thermal/mechanical simulator according to the thermal cycle of in-service welding.The microstructures of ICHAZ with different cooling rates were examined,and the hardness,the toughness and corresponding fractography were investigated.Results show that untransformed bainite and ferrite as well as retransformed fine bainite and martensite–austenite（M–A）constituents constitute the microstructure of ICHAZ.The two different morphologies of M–A constituents are stringer and block.Second phase particles which mainly composed of Ti,Nb,C,Fe and Cu coarsened in ICHAZ.Compared with normal welding condition,the toughness of ICHAZ is poor when the cooling time is short under in-service welding condition because of the large area fraction and size of M–A constituents that connect into chains and distribute at the grain boundaries.The Vickers hardness of ICHAZ that decreases with the increase in the cooling time is independent with the area fraction of M–A constituents.

Microstructural Evolution and Softening Behavior of Simulated Heat-Affected Zone in 2219 Aluminum Alloy

The effect of peak temperature （Tp） at 200, 300, 400, 500 and 550 ℃ on the microstructural evolution and softening behavior of the simulated heat-affected zone （HAZ） was studied in the 2219-T87 alloy by electron-backscatter diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, micro-hardness and micro-tensile tests. The results showed that the grain size in the HAZs at 200-500 ℃ was comparable, but the number density of the strengthening precipitates （GP zones/θ′） decreased with increasing Tp. At a Tp of 550 ℃, the grain size significantly decreased and the distribution of the misorientation angles corresponded to the MacKenzie distribution. The GP zones/θ′ phase coarsened and translated into θ phases at Tp values in the range of 200-400 ℃. Increasing the Tp to 500 ℃ and above, some θ′ phases translated into θ phases and others dissolved into the α-Al matrix which led to an increase in the solid solution strengthening. The reduction of the number density of the GP zones/θ′ was responsible for the softening behavior.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of weld metal in laser and gas metal arc hybrid welding of 440-MPa-grade high-strength steel

Fiber laser and gas metal arc hybrid welding of 440-MPa-grade high-strength marine steel was carried out at different welding speeds.The influence of welding speed on the micro structure and mechanical properties of weld metal was investigated.The weld-metal microstructure mainly consisted of pre-eutectoid ferrite,side-plate ferrite,acicular ferrite and lath bainite at a low welding speed.With the increase in welding speed,acicular ferrite and lath bainite were the dominant weld-metal microstructures.All samples failed at the base metal during tensile tests,which indicates that there is no soft zone in the hybrid welds.The welding speed had a significant effect on the impact toughness of the weld metal.The impact absorbed energy of the weld metal increased from 35 to 105 J with the increase in welding speed from 0.8 to 2.0 m/min.Large amounts of acicular ferrite and lath bainite were formed in the weld metal at a high welding speed,which resulted in an excellent impact toughness.

Effect of Post-weld Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Deposited Metal of a High- Chromium Nickel-Based Alloy

The evolution of Cr23C6 carbides in the deposited metal （DM） of a high-chromium nickel-based alloy was investigated after the post-weld heat treatment （PWHT） at 650, 750, 850, and 950 ℃, respectively. With the increase in temperature, the morphology of the Cr23C6 carbides at the grain boundaries was transformed from the continuous lamellar- like to the semi-continuous rod-like and then to the discontinuous granular. Besides, the needle-like Cr23C6 carbides precipitated from 7 matrix after PWHT at 850 ℃. The coarsening kinetics of the needle-like Cr23C6 carbides obeyed the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner law with the growth speed of 4.93 μm3/h in length and 5.56 ×10^-3 μm3/h in width. Moreover, the ratio of the carbide length to width increased rapidly at first and then flattened as the holding time increased to 850 ℃. The results of electrochemical corrosion experiment indicated that the needled-like Cr23C6 carbides impaired the corrosion resistance of DM due to the formation of chromium depletion around the carbides.