Residual Stresses and Micro-Hardness Testing in Evaluating the Heat Affected Zone’s Width of Ferritic Ductile Iron Arc Welds

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) in Ductile Irons (DI) is often required by foundries for practical manufacturing reasons. The mechanical properties of the welded structures are strongly dependent on their HAZ’s width. A model based on the behaviour of the ferritic matrix of high-Si DIs in order to make an approach in measuring their HAZ’s width is developed in this study. A series of thermal treatments on 3.35 and 3.75 wt% Si as-cast DIs and spot SMAWs is applied on these materials. The applied SMAWs are done on non-preheated and preheated samples (150℃ - 300℃). For welding we modify the amperage (100 - 140A). The micro-hardness Vickers changes in the ferrite of the as-cast samples and inside the HAZ of the welded ones can be attributed to the existence of residual stresses (RS) in the ferritic matrix and assist in estimating the HAZ’s width.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND INCLUSION CHARACTERIZATION IN THE SIMULATED COARSE-GRAIN HEAT AFFECTED ZONE WITH LARGE HEAT INPUT OF A Ti-Zr-MICROALLOYED HSLA STEEL

The microstructure and the characteristics of the inclusions embedded in ferrite matrix in simulated coarse-grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ) of a Ti-Zr-treated high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel have been investigated. The microstructure of the simulated CGHAZ dominantly consisted of intragranular acicular ferrite (IAF) combining with a small amount of polygonal ferrite (PF), widmanst tten ferrite (WF), bainite ferrite (BF), pearlite and martensite-austenite (M-A) islands. The PF, WF and BF were generally observed at the prior austenite grain boundaries and the interlocking acicular ferrite was usually found intragranularly. It was found that the inclusions were composed of Ti2O3, ZrO2, Al2O3 locating at the center of the particles and MnS lying on the surface layer of the inclusions. The intragranular complex inclusions promoted the acicular ferrite formation and the refinement of microstructure whilst those at prior austenite grain boundaries caused PF formation on the inclusions. The simulated CGHAZ consisting of such complicated microstructure exhibited desired mechanical properties.

EFFECT OF Zr ADDITION TO Ti-KILLED STEEL ON INCLUSION FORMATION AND MICROSTRUCTURAL EVOLUTION IN WELDING INDUCED COARSE-GRAINED HEAT AFFECTED ZONE

Effects of Zirconium on the chemical component and size distribution of Ti-bearing inclusions, favored the grain refinement of the welding reduced, coarse-grained heat affected zone （CGHAZ） with enhanced impact toughness in Ti-killed steels, which were examined based on experimental observations and thermodynamic calculations. It indicated that the chemical constituents of inclusions gradually varied from the TiO oxide to the Ti-O＋Zr-O compound oxide and a single phase of the ZrO2 oxide, as the Zr content increased from zero to 0.0100%. A trace of Zr （0.0030%-0.0080%, depending on the oxygen content in liquid steel） provided a large amount of nucleating core for Ti oxide because of the larger specific density of ZrO2 oxide, and produced a small size distribution of the inclusions favorable for acicular ferrite transformation with a high nucleation rate in the CGHAZ, and a high volume fraction of acicular ferrite was obtained in the CGHAZ, with enhanced impact toughness. Otherwise, a high content of Zr （-0.0100%） produced a single phase Zr02, which was impotent to nucleate acicular ferrite, and a microstructure composed of ferrite side plate and grain boundary ferrite developed in the CGHAZ. The experimental results were confirmed by thermodynamic calculations.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT IN THE SIMULATED HEAT AFFECTED ZONE OF V TREATED HSLA STEELS

The simulated heat affected zone （HAZ） of the high strength low alloy （HSLA） steels containing 0%, 0.047%, 0.097% and 0.151% vanadium, respectively, were studied with Gleeble-2000 thermomechanical simulator to determine the influence of vanadium addition on the mechanical properties of the HAZ. The HAZ simulation involved reheating the samples to 1350℃, and then cooling to ambient temperature at a cooling rate of 5℃/s ranging from 800 to 500℃ （△8/5=60s）. The mechanical properties including tensile strength and -20℃ impact toughness were conducted. The microstructures of the base steel and the simulated HAZs were investigated using optical microscope, scanning electron microscope （ SEM ） and transmission electron microscope （TEM）. Based on the systemutic examination, the present work confirmed that about 0.05% vanadium addition to low carbon low alloy steels resulted in expected balance of strength and toughness of the HAZ. And more than 0.10% levels addition led to detrimental toughness of the HAZ SEM study showed that the simulated 0.097% and 0.151%V HAZs consisted of more coarse ferrite plates with greater and more M-A constituents along austenite grain and ferrite plate bound- aries. The impact fracture surfaces of the simulated 0.097% and 0.151%V HAZs showed typically brittle mode with predominant cleavages. The size of the facet in the fracture surface increased with increasing vanadium level from 0.097% to 0.151%.As a result, the simulated 0.151% V HAZ has the lowest impact toughness of the four specimens.

Excellent heat affected zone toughness technology improved by strong deoxidizers

Excellent heat affected zone(HAZ)toughness technology improved by strong deoxidizers(ETISI)technology has been developed by Baosteel.In the deoxidation process of molten steel by adding strong deoxidizers,the formation of micrometer inclusions and nano-meter precipitates in steel plates can be effectively controlled by a precise control of oxygen concentration.In the welding process with a high-heat input,the formation of acicular ferrite can be selectively promoted with the aid of the micrometer inclusions;the growth of γ grains can also be selectively restrained by the pinning effect of the nano-meter precipitates.After welding with a high-heat input of 400 kJ/cm,excellent HAZ toughness can be obtained in the steel plates with both of the above microstructures,and the average absorbed energy is greater than 200 J for the V-notch Charpy impact test at-20℃.

Factors governing heat affected zone during wire bonding

In the wire bonding process of microelectronic packaging,heat affect zone(HAZ)is an important factor governing the loop profile of bonding.The height of loop is affected by the length of the HAZ.Factors governing the HAZ were studied.To investigate this relationship,experiments were done for various sizes of wire and free air ball(FAB).Electric flame-off(EFO)current, EFO time,EFO gap and recrystallization were also studied.The results show that as the size of FAB becomes larger,the length of HAZ increases.With the increase of EFO current and time,the length of HAZ becomes longer.When FAB forms at the same parameter the length of HAZ becomes shorter with the high temperature of recrystallization.

Quantitative research on the heat affected zone of weave bead welding for Invar alloy

Quantitative research on the heat affected zone （ HAZ） o f weave bead welding （ WBW） joint fo r Invar alloy is carried out in this paper. Based on the morphology and related data analysis of the weld seam, the width difference o f each layer and the forming mechanism are analyzed. Results show that the bottom layer （ Layer 1 ） has the widest HAZ and the smallest fluctuation, which reaches 1 200 ｜jLm. HAZ width o f layer 2 to 5 is relatively narrower which is basically below 600 jjim, while the amplitude fluctuation is greater. The main reason lies in the welding path. The long straight welding without weave causes the base metal near the groove fully melts which causes by the long straight welding without weave, while welding with weave leads to the uneven and inadequate melting of metal near groove.

MICROSTRUCTURE TRANSFORMATION IN THE WELDING HEAT AFFECTED ZONE OF 800MPa GRADE ULTRA FINE STRUCTURED STEEL

The transformation behavior and microstructure development in the heat affected zone(HAZ) of 800MPa grade ultra fine structured steel was investigated. It was found thatthe HAZ has intermediate temperature transformation characteristics in a wide rangeof cooling rates, with the bainite sheaves consisting of bainite ferrite plates withoutcarbide precipitation and retained austenite in the fast cooling regime. At relativelyhigh cooling rates, which corresponded to low heat inputs, the hardness of the simulatedHAZ was above that of the base metal. When the cooling rate was below 9℃/s, thewelding HAZ would have an obvious softening. The analysis of transformation ratesin continuous cooling processes was completed by numerical differential method. Theresult indicated that the microstructure transformation rate of the HAZ in 800MPagrade ultra fine structured steel changed sharply to slow speeds when the cooling timet_(8/5) is longer than 7s.

Effect of Heat Input and M-A Constituent on Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Heat Affected Zone in Low Carbon Steel

Microstructure evolution and impact toughness of simulated heat affected zone（HAZ） in low carbon steel have been investigated in this study. Thermal simulator was used to simulate microstructure evolution in HAZ with heat input of 10-100 kJ/cm welding thermal cycle. Results indicated that microstructure of HAZ mainly consisted of acicular ferrite（AF） inside grain and high volume fraction of grain boundaries ferrite（GBF） at prior austenite boundaries; the size of GBF and effective grain size increased with increasing heat input. Excellent impact toughness（more than 150 J at-40 ℃） was obtained in HAZ with heat input less than 50 k J/cm. When heat input was 100 kJ/cm, the impact toughness of HAZ decreased to 18 J because of the presence of large M-A constituent with lath-form in HAZ, assisting the micro-crack initiation and decreasing the crack initiation energy seriously. Effect of inclusions on acicular ferrite transformation in HAZ was also discussed.

STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN HEAT AFFECTED ZONE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON PROPERTIES OF WELDED WHITE CAST IRON

The structural change in heat affected zone(HAZ)and its influence on properties of welded white cast iron have been investigated by means of thermal cycle simulation technique.The structure of the white cast iron at peak temperature 800℃ was examined as cementite in pearlitic matrix,of which the hardness and impact toughness are the lowest,while the struc- ture after cyclic heating at high peak temperature is mainly cementite together with twin martensite,of which the hardness and impact toughness are rather higher.The phase bounda- ries in the structure of low hardness are smooth and regular as well as with fine precipitates. Both the cleavage and interphase fracture were revealed in the structure of low hardness,while the transgranular fracture was found in those areas of higher hardness.

Effect of Laser Power on the Cladding Temperature Field and the Heat Affected Zone

H13 powder is cladded on steel P20 （base） by continuous COe laser, and the influence of technological pa rameters such as the laser power is analyzed. The 3-D model of synchronous powder feeding is built under Gauss heat source. The simulative results in the heat affected zone are compared with the experimental ones, and the average er rors of width and depth are 15% and 4.5%, respectively. It is found that the simulative results provide basic data for investigating of laser cladding further.

Effect of Magnesium on Inclusion Formation in Ti-Killed Steels and Microstructural Evolution in Welding Induced Coarse-Grained Heat Affected Zone

Effects of Mg on the chemical component and size distribution of Ti-bearing inclusions favored grain refinement of the welding induced coarse-grained heat affected zone （CGHAZ）, with enhanced impact toughness in Ti-killed steels, which were examined based on experimental observations and thermodynamic calculations. The results indicated that the chemical constituents of the inclusions gradually varied from the Ti-O＋Ti-Mg-O compound oxide to the Ti-Mg-O＋MgO compound oxide and the single-phase MgO, as the Mg content increased from 0.002 3M to 0.006%. A trace addition of Mg （approximately 0. 002%） led to the refinement of Ti-bearing inclusions by creating the Ti-Mg-O compound oxide and provided favorable size distribution of the inclusions for acicular ferrite transformation with a high nucleation rate in the CGHAZ, and a high volume fraction of acicular ferrite was obtained in the CGHAZ with enhanced impact toughness. Otherwise, a high content of Mg （approximately 0. 006%） produced a single-phase MgO, which was impotent to nucleate an acicular ferrite, and a microstructure comprised of a ferrite side plate and a grain boundary ferrite developed in the CGHAZ. The experimental results were confirmed by thermodynamic calculations.

Effect of Heat Input on Microstructure and Toughness of Coarse Grain Heat Affected Zone in Nb Microalloyed HSLA Steels

The influence of Nb on microstructure, mechanical property and the transformation kinetics of the coarse grain heat affected zone （CGHAZ） in HSLA steels for different heat inputs, has been investigated. When welded at higher heat inputs （100-60 kJ/cm）, impact toughness values of the steel without Nb are much higher than those of the steel with Nb, and the lowest span is 153 J at 60 kJ/cm. But only a little higher values are observed at lower heat inputs （40-30 kJ/cm）, and the highest span is 68 J at 30 kJ/cm. Dilatation studies indicate that continuous cooling transformation starting temperatures （Ts） of CGHAZ for the steel with Nb are approximately 15-30℃ which are lower than those of the steel without Nb at all heat inputs. For higher heat inputs, Nb in solid solution suppresses ferrite transformation and promotes the formation of granular bainite which has detrimental effect on impact toughness. For lower heat inputs higher Charpy impact energy values in the steel with Nb are associated with the formation of low carbon self-tempered martensite.

Effect of welding parameters on the heat-affected zone of AISI409 ferritic stainless steel

One of the main problems during the welding of ferritic stainless steels is severe grain growth within the heat-affected zone （HAZ） In the present study, the microstmctural characteristics of tungsten inert gas （TIG） welded AISI409 ferritic stainless steel were investigated by electron backscattered diffraction （EBSD）, and the effects of welding parameters on the grain size, local misorientation, and low-angle grain boundaries were studied. A 3-D finite element model （FEM） was developed to predict the effects of welding parameters on the holding time of the HAZ above the critical temperature of grain growth. It is found that the base metal is not fully recrystallized. During the welding, complete recrystallization is followed by severe grain growth. A decrease in the number of low-angle grain boundaries is observed within the HAZ. FEM results show that the final state of residual sWains is caused by competition between welding plastic strains and their release by recrystallization. Still, the decisive factor for grain growth is heat input.

Excellent Heat Affected Zone Toughness Technology Improved by Use of Strong Deoxidizers

Excellent Heat Affected Zone Toughness Technology Improved by use of Strong Deoxidizers (ETISD Technology) has been developed by Baosteel. When deoxidation of molten steel is conducted at the precisely controlled oxygen concentrations, the formation of the micro-meter inclusions and the nano-meter precipitates in the steel plate can be effectively controlled. During the welding process with high-heat input, the formation of acicular ferrite can be selectively promoted with the aid of micro-meter inclusions; the growth of γ grain can also be selectively restrained by the pinning effect of nano-meter precipitates. After welding with high-heat input of 400 kJ/cm, excellent heat affected zone toughness can be obtained for the steel plates with both of the above microstructures, and the average absorbed energy is greater than 200 J for V notch Charpy impact test at -20℃ .

Study on the microstructure of 12%chromium low carbon stainless steel in a high temperature heat-affected zone

Coarsening, embrittlement and corrosion sensitization in a high temperature heat-affected zone （HTHAZ） are the major problems when 12% chromium low carbon stainless steel is being welded, which induce the deterioration of the impact toughness at a low temperature and intergranular corrosion resistance property. This study investigates the corresponding microstructures in HTHAZ with different chemical compositions and heat inputs through thermal simulation tests. The results show that the martensite content increases with the descending of ferrite factor （FF） when FF is below 9.0 and heat input influences the microstructure of high FF steel in HTHAZ. Martensite of 12% Cr stainless steel in HTHAZ with only Nb stabilization reticularly distributes at ferrite grain boundaries.

Development in oxide metallurgy for improving the weldability of high -strength low-alloy steel-Combined deoxidizers and microalloying elements

The mechanisms of oxide metallurgy include inducing the formation of intragranular acicular ferrite(IAF)using micron-sized inclusions and restricting the growth of prior austenite grains(PAGs)by nanosized particles during welding.The chaotically oriented IAF and refined PAGs inhibit crack initiation and propagation in the steel,resulting in high impact toughness.This work summarizes the com-bined effect of deoxidizers and alloying elements,with the aim to provide a new perspective for the research and practice related to im-proving the impact toughness of the heat affected zone(HAZ)during the high heat input welding.Ti complex deoxidation with other strong deoxidants,such as Mg,Ca,Zr,and rare earth metals(REMs),can improve the toughness of the heat-affected zone(HAZ)by re-fining PAGs or increasing IAF contents.However,it is difficult to identify the specific phase responsible for IAF nucleation because ef-fective inclusions formed by complex deoxidation are usually multiphase.Increasing alloying elements,such as C,Si,Al,Nb,or Cr,con-tents can impair HAZ toughness.A high C content typically increases the number of coarse carbides and decreases the potency of IAF formation.Si,Cr,or Al addition leads to the formation of undesirable microstructures.Nb reduces the high-temperature stability of the precipitates.Mo,V,and B can enhance HAZ toughness.Mo-containing precipitates present good thermal stability.VN or V(C,N)is ef-fective in promoting IAF nucleation due to its good coherent crystallographic relationship with ferrite.The formation of the B-depleted zone around the inclusion promotes IAF formation.The interactions between alloying elements are complex,and the effect of adding dif-ferent alloying elements remains to be evaluated.In the future,the interactions between various alloying elements and their effects on ox-ide metallurgy,as well as the calculation of the nucleation effects of effective inclusions using first principles calculations will become the focus of oxide metallurgy.

Effect of Heat Input on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 07MnCrMoVR Weld Joints

As a new type of low cracking suscepbility high strength steel,07MnCrMoVR steel has excellent weldability,with low carbon equivalent and cold cracking susceptibility coefficient.However,there are still some problems when this steel is on the outdoor actual welding condition,such as having some extend cold cracking suscepbility and embrittlement of heat affected zone.Currently, researching works for the welding of this steel mostly focus on the evaluation the weldability of it,only few works are concentrated in how the heat input affecting the embrittlement of HAZ.The goal of this research is to study the effect of heat input on the embrittlement of the heat affected zone so as to get the optimal welding heat input range for it.In this paper,38 mm 07MnCrMoVR steel made by Shougang is welded by manual arc welding technology,and the effect of heat input on the microstructure and mechanical properties of weld joints is also investigated by use of optical microscope（OM）,scanning electron microscope（SEM）,mechanical properties testing machines and Viker hardness tester.The microstructure and fractography observation results and the mechanical properties testing results indicate that the 07MnCrMoVR steel made by Shougang has a wide adaptable range for heat input,and when the heat input is in the range of 15-42 kJ/cm,the toughness of the weld joints is well.With the increase of heat input,the impact toughness of weld zone and heat affected zone decrease,whereas the tensile strength of the weld joints does not change at all.The microstructure of the weld is acicular ferrite with small amount of proeutectoid ferrite,and with the increase of heat input,the ratio of proeutectoid ferrite and the amount of M-A constituent increase,as well as the grain size and the width of the bainite lath in coarsened grain heat affected zone. Fractography results show that with the increase of heat input,the number of dimples in impact fracture specimens decreases,and the cleavage patterns increase,inducing the fracture from ductility to embrittlement.This research provides a theory support for guiding the penstock constructor how to use 07MnCrMoVR steel in actual welding.

Development of steel plate for large-heat input welding by nanometer precipitates

The mechanism of the improvement of heat affected zone(HAZ) toughness with nanometer precipitates is discussed in this paper.The austenite grain growth during welding process can be effectively prevented with the aid of the pinning effect of fine particles,so that the steel plate can be improved in large-heat input welding performance.The oxide metallurgy technology with strong deoxidizers is developed in Baosteel.Large number of nanometer precipitates are formed during deoxidation,solidification and phase transformation processes.With the pinning effect of these fine particles,after welding with large-heat input of 400 kJ/cm,the average austenite grain size is 61μm in HAZ,the average energy absorbed value is 142 J for V-notch Charpy test at - 20℃.

Effects of Zr on acicular ferrite formation in HAZ of Ti-bearing low carbon steels with high heat input of weld thermal simulations

To research the effect of Zr addition on inhibiting austenite grain growth of Ti-bearing low carbon steels, two steels with different Zr contents were prepared using a laboratory vacuum induction furnace. The performance of HAZ under weld thermal simulations was investigated. The impact toughness, microstmcture and the second-phase particle performance of HAZ under weld thermal simulations were investigated. The HAZ toughness was improved from 13 J to 87 J by addition of 0.010 % Zr into the steel, with the fracture mechanism changing from cleavage fracture to toughness fracture, which was mainly attributed to the second-phase particles that were potent to nucleate acicular ferrite in HAZ during welding. It was concluded that the second-phase particles TiOx ＋ MnS, ZrO2 ＋ MIlS or TiO/＋ ZrO2 ＋ MnS were nucleated on ZrO2 or TiOx （x = 1.5,2）. This method can be applied to grain refinement by promoting the acicular ferrite formation and growth during large-scale welding, as in the cases of thick steel plates requiring higher heat inputs during welding.