Comparison study on measurement of rail weld joint between inertial reference method and multi-point chord reference method

Purpose – Straightness measurement of rail weld joint is of essential importance to railway maintenance. Dueto the lack of efficient measurement equipment, there has been limited in-depth research on rail weld joint with a5-m wavelength range, leaving a significant knowledge gap in this field.Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the authors used the well-established inertial referencemethod (IR-method), and the state-of-the-art multi-point chord reference method (MCR-method). Two methodshave been applied in different types of rail straightness measurement trollies, respectively. These instrumentswere tested in a high-speed rail section within a certain region of China. The test results were ultimatelyvalidated through using traditional straightedge and feeler gauge methods as reference data to evaluate the railweld joint straightness within the 5-m wavelength range.Findings – The research reveals that IR-method and MCR-method produce reasonably similar measurementresults for wavelengths below 1 m. However, MCR-method outperforms IR-method in terms of accuracy forwavelengths exceeding 3 m. Furthermore, it was observed that IR-method, while operating at a slower speed,carries the risk of derailing and is incapable of detecting rail weld joints and low joints within the track.Originality/value – The research compare two methods’ measurement effects in a longer wavelength rangeand demonstrate the superiority of MCR-method.

Weld Joint Efficiency of the Kazakhstani Constructional Steel

In the Republic of Kazakhstan, the regulatory framework in construction based on Eurocodes has been in force since 2015. However, Kazakhstani produced steel has not been studied for compliance with the requirements of Eurocode 1993. This has resulted in limited use of Kazakhstani structural steel in construction. The feasibility of using structural steel in welded joints has been experimentally investigated. To verify the application of such joints in construction, including earthquake engineering, experimental studies of welded joints made of structural steel produced by Arcelor-Mittal in Temirtau have been carried out. In total, 7 types of structural steel of various thicknesses were selected. Five specimens have been used in each series of tests. The Brinell hardness values of the weld joint, yield strength of steel and tensile strength, relative rupture strain were determined. It was found that for all types of structural steel, the quality of weld joints complied with the requirements of Eurocode 1993—a sample rupture appeared along the plates (main body of the metal), not along the weld joints. It has been established that structural steel produced in the Republic of Kazakhstan fully complies with the requirements of Eurocode 1993. The studies on the dependence of Brinell hardness values of weld joint steel on the yield strength, tensile strength and relative rupture strain have been carried out. The correlation dependences between the values of yield strength of steel and tensile strength, relative rupture strain and BH Brinell hardness were studied. The results of work will allow for significantly increasing the use of Kazakhstani structural steel in seismic and conventional areas of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Residual stress relaxation in typical weld joints and its effect on fatigue and crack growth

Many factors influence the fatigue and crack growth behavior of welded joints. Some structures often undergo fairly large static loading before they enter service or variable amplitude cyclic loading when they are in service. The combined effect of both applied stress and high initial residual stress is expected to cause the residual stresses relaxation. Only a few papers seem to deal with appropriate procedures for fatigue analysis and crack growth by considering the combined effect of variable amplitude cyclic loading with residual stresses relaxation. In this article, some typical welded connections in ship-shaped structures are investigated with 3-D elastic-plastic finite element analysis. The effect of residual stress relaxation, initial residual stress, and the applied load after variable amplitude cyclic loading is revealed, and a formula for predicting the residual stress at hot spot quantitatively is proposed. Based on the formula, an improved fatigue procedure is introduced. Moreover, crack growth of typical weld joints considering residual stresses relaxation is studied.

Measurement of micro weld joint position based on magneto-optical imaging

In a laser butt joint welding process, it is required that the laser beam focus should be controlled to follow the weld joint path accurately. Small focus wandering off the weld joint may result in insufficient penetration or unacceptable welds.Recognition of joint position offset, which describes the deviation between the laser beam focus and the weld joint, is important for adjusting the laser beam focus and obtaining high quality welds. A new method based on the magneto-optical（MO） imaging is applied to measure the micro weld joint whose gap is less than 0.2 mm. The weldments are excited by an external magnetic field, and an MO sensor based on principle of Faraday magneto effect is used to capture the weld joint images. A sequence of MO images which are tested under different magnetic field intensities and different weld joint widths are acquired. By analyzing the MO image characteristics and extracting the weld joint features, the influence of magnetic field intensity and weld joint width on the MO images and detection of weld joint position is observed and summarized.

IN SITU TEM OBSERVATION OF MICROSTRUCTURES OF AUSTENITIC-0.45%C STEELS WELD JOINT

The successive alteration o the microstructure from the weld metal zone through weld bond to the heat affected zone of a Cr18Ni13 austenitic-0.45%C steels weld joint was observed in situ using transmission electron microscopy.It was found a new type of microstructure called pearlite-like structure and observed the characteristics of the boundary of dissimilar phases. Based on the definition of various zones of the dissimilar steels weld joint under the optical mi- croscope,the transmission electron microscopic characteristics,including microstructures and compositions,of each zone are described and discussed.

Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Different Zones in an Annealed Automatic Gas Tungsten Arc Weld Joint of TA16 and TC4 Titanium Alloys

Based on the investigated microstructure of different zones in the annealed automatic gas tungsten arc weld joint of TA16 and TC4 titanium alloys,the mechanical property of them was assessed under fatigue crack growth rate tests.For evaluation of fatigue crack growth rate,three points bending specimens were used.The correlation between the range of stress intensity factor and crack growth rate was determined in different zones of the annealed weld joint.Fatigue crack growth rates were obviously different in different zones of weld joint of dissimilar titanium alloys,due to their different microstructures.Scanning electron microscope examinations were conducted on the fracture surface in order to determine the relevant fracture mechanisms and crack growth mechanisms with respect to the details of microstructure.

Ratcheting Behavior of Weld Joints Under Uniaxial Cyclic Loading Using Miniature Specimen

Because of the size limitation of weld joints in different regions, the traditional standard bar specimen is not suitable to investigate the mechanical properties of weld joints. In this study, miniature specimens were extracted from specific regions(base metal, weld metal, and three heat-affected zones) of API X80 and X70 weld joints. Uniaxial tensile tests were conducted to obtain the mechanical properties of different regions, and then uniaxial ratcheting tests were conducted to investigate the ratcheting behaviors of the different regions under the same peak and nominal stresses. Under both the tensile tests and ratcheting tests, the weld joints exhibit heterogeneous results, such as different mechanical properties and ratcheting behaviors, which were region dependent. Furthermore, the yield strength and yield-to-tensile strength ratio contribute differently to the ratcheting response.

Monitoring of weld joint penetration by sensing double-side vision images of weld pool

In order to emulate a skilled human operator determining weld penetration from feature sizes of weld pool,such us topside maximum width and half-length of weld pool, a CCD camera assisted with electronic shutter and composed filter system is used to simultaneously capture topside and backside images of weld pool in the same frame. Neural networks are used to investigate the complicated relationships between the weld penedrion and different parameters, they are capabe of modeling complicated nonlinear functions. Bead-on-plate welding experiments and simulations show that a neural network model has adequate accuracy required for monitoring full penetration duringpulsed GTAW dynamic process.

Effect of Ni content on the weldability of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless steels 00Cr21Ti

Excellent weldability substantially contributes to the intrinsic quality of steels,while appropriate chemical composition plays a primary role in the essential weldability of steels.The poor weldability of ferritic stainless steels could be improved through modification with minor alloy elements while minimally increasing the cost.Therefore,studying the effect of minor alloy elements on the weldability of steels is of considerable importance.In this study,several steels of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless 00Cr21Ti with different Ni content(0.3%,0.5%,0.8%,and 1.0%)were developed,and their weldabilities of butt joint samples welded using the metal inert gas welding process,including the influence of welded joints on the microstructure,tensile performance,corrosion resistance,and fatigue property,were investigated.Results show that the steels with w(Ni)≥0.8%exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with those with low-Ni content steels,further,their impact toughness at normal atmospheric temperature meets the industrial application standard and the fatigue property is similar to that of 304 austenitic stainless steel.Moreover,results show that the corrosion resistance of all the samples is almost at the same level.The results acquired in this study are supposed to be useful for the optimization of the chemical composition of stainless steels aiming to improve weldability.

Comparison of FSW and TIG welded joints in Al-Mg-Mn-Sc-Zr alloy plates

In order to study the welding process,microstructure and properties of Al-Mg-Mn-Sc-Zr alloy,comparative methods of friction stir welding（FSW） and tungsten inert gas（TIG） were applied to the two conditions of this alloy,namely hot rolled plate and cold rolled-annealed plate.The relationships between microstructures and properties of the welded joints were investigated by means of optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.Compared with the base metal,the strength of FSW and TIG welded joints decreased,and the FSW welding coefficients were higher than the TIG welding coefficients.The loss of substructure strengthening and a very little loss of precipitation strengthening of Al3（Sc,Zr） cause the decreased strength of FSW welded joint.But for the TIG welded joint,the disappearance of both the strain hardening and most precipitation strengthening effect of Al3（Sc,Zr） particles contributed to its softening.At the same time,the grains in weld nugget zone of FSW welded joints were finer than those in the molten zone of TIG welded joints.

Fatigue behavior and life prediction of A7N01 aluminium alloy welded joint

Fatigue characteristics of A7N01 aluminium alloy welded joint were investigated and a fatigue crack initiation life-based model was proposed. The difference of fatigue crack initiation life among base metal, weld metal and heat affected zone (HAZ) is slight. Furthermore, the ratio of fatigue crack initiation life (Ni) to fatigue life to failure(Nf) is a material dependent parameter, 26.32%, 40.21% and 60.67% for base metal, HAZ and weld metal, respectively. Total fatigue life predicted using the presented model is in good agreement with the experimental data and that using Basquin’s model. The observation results of fatigue fracture surfaces, using scanning electron microscope (SEM), demonstrate that fatigue crack initiates from smooth surface due to welding process for weld metal, blowhole in HAZ causes fatigue crack initiation, and the crushed second phase particles play an important part in fatigue crack initiation in base metal.

Microstructure and intergranular stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of a SA508-52M-316L dissimilar metal weld joint in primary water

Correlation of microstructure and intergranular stress corrosion cracking （IGSCC） susceptibility for the SA508-52M-316L dissimilar metal weld joint in primary water was investigated by the interrupted slow strain rate tension test following a microstructure characterization. The susceptibility to IGSCC in var- ious regions of the dissimilar metal weld joint was observed to follow the order of Alloy 52 Mb〉 the heat affected zone of 316L〉 the dilution zone of Alloy 52 Mw〉 Alloy 52 Mw weld metal. The chromium- depletion at the grain boundary is the dominant factor causing the high IGSCC susceptibility of Alloy 52 Mh. However, IGSCC initiation in the heat affected zone of 316L is attributed to the increase of resid- ual strain adjacent to the grain boundary. In addition, the decrease of chromium content and increase of residual strain adjacent to the grain boundary increase the IGSCC susceptibility of the dilution zone of Alloy 52 Mw.

Microstructure and corrosion behavior of the heat affected zone of a stainless steel 308L-316L weld joint

Microstructure of the heat affected zone （HAZ） of a 308L-316L stainless steel （SS） weld joint and its corrosion behavior in high temperature water were studied. Peak of the residual strain was observed to approach to the fusion boundary in the HAZ while the strain increased from the top to root areas of the HAZ. The root area of the HAZ shows a lower corrosion resistance in high temperature water than the top and middle areas of the HAZ. This is attributed to a higher level of residual strain in association with a higher density of tangled dislocations in the top area of the HAZ. The results suggest that the residual strain in the HAZ could also promote the SCC through its effect on corrosion, in addition to that on the local microstructure and mechanical property of the steel.

In Situ DIC Study on LCF Behavior of Retired Weld Joint Subjected to Prolonged Service at Elevated Temperature

By using digital image correlation(DIC), low-cycle fatigue(LCF) behavior of CrMoV weld joint taken from a retired gas turbine rotor after 15-year service was investigated at 500 ℃ and 540 ℃. The most remarkable plastic strain was observed in the weld metal(WM), which was up to 6 times of the global strain at mid-life cycle. Due to the cyclic accumulation of local deformation, the stress–strain hysteresis loops relative to tensile or compressive strain concentration area in WM displayed the ratchetting shape. The local deformation accumulation of WM was attributed to the effect of the equiaxed grain zone near the WM center. The accumulated plastic strain was considered as the main fatigue failure mechanism.

Microstructure and properties in dissimilar/similar weld joints between DP780 and DP980 steels processed by fiber laser welding

The microstructure and mechanical properties（strength, fatigue and formability） of dissimilar/similar weld joints between DP780 and DP980 steels were studied. The microstructure in fusion zone（FZ） was lath martensite（LM）, and alloying elements in the FZ were uniformly distributed. The hardness in the FZ of dissimilar weld joint was similar to the average value（375 HV） of the two similar weld joints. The microstructural evolution in heat affected zone（HAZ） of dissimilar/similar weld joints was as follows：LM（coarse-grained HAZ） →finer LM（fine-grained HAZ） →M-A constituent and ferrite（intercritically HAZ） →tempered martensite（TM） and ferrite（sub-critical HAZ）. Lower hardness in intercritically HAZ and sub-critical HAZ（softening zones） was observed compared to base metal（BM） in dissimilar/similar weld joints. The size of softening zone was 0.2-0.3 mm and reduction in hardness was ~7.6%-12.7% of BM in all the weld joints, which did not influence the tensile properties of weld joints such that fracture location was in BM. Formability of dissimilar weld joints was inferior compared to similar weld joints because of the softening zone, non-uniform microstructure and hardness on the two sides of FZ. The effect of microstructure on fatigue life was not influenced due to the presence of welding concavity.

Microstructure Characterization of the Fusion Zone of an Alloy 600-82 Weld Joint

Characterization of the microstructure of the fusion zone of an Alloy 600-82 weld joint was conducted, with focus on the weld residual strain distribution and the comparison of the microstructure of heat affected zone （HAZ） with that of cold worked alloy. Peak of the residual strain was observed to approach to the fusion boundary in HAZ while the strain increased from the top of the weld to the root. Strain distribution in the HAZ was found to be concentrated adjacent to grain boundaries （GBs）, with a peak of approximately three times of that in grain. Further, triple junctions of the GB appear to cause a higher strain concentration than single GBs. The microstructure of HAZ consists of partially tangled dislocations, which is different from slip bands of high density dislocations in cold worked alloy. This may cause a relatively higher intergranular cracking resistance of HAZ due to the difficulty in transferring tangled dislocations to GB in HAZ under deformation.

Prediction of vulnerable zones based on residual stress and microstructure in CMT welded aluminum alloy joint

Numerical simulation and experimental results were employed for the identification of the most vulnerable zones in three-pass cold-metal-transferring （CMT） welded joint. The residual stress distribution in the joint was predicted by finite element （FE） method, while the structural morphology of distinctive zones was obtained through metallographic experiments. The highest principal stress made the symmetric face of the joint most sensitive to tensile cracks under service conditions. Whereas, the boundaries between the weld seam and the base plates were sensitive to cracks because the equivalent von Mises stress was the highest when the first interpass cooling was finished. The third weld pass and the inter-pass remelted zones exhibited the modest mechanical performances as a result of the coarse grain and coarse grain boundary, respectively. The most vulnerable zones were regarded to be the crossed parts between the zones identified by numerical and experimental methods.

PATH DEPENDENCE OF J-INTEGRAL IN WELDED JOINT WITH AN OVERMATCHING WELD

By elastic-plastic finite deformation finite element analysis (FEA), the conservation of J-integral is investigated in detail for a welded joint with an overmatchingweld in plane stress case. It is indicated that J-integral is path dependent under various conditions at least in the cases studied in this paper. Meanwhile, the above conclusions are verified by the hybrid method results in which combined Moire interferometry with FEA.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON J-DOMINANCE IN HETEROGENEOUS WELDED JOINTS BY MOIRE INTERFEROMETRY

Moire interferometry method is introduced to study the feasibilities of J integral as a plastic singularity parameter at the tip of the notch in the welded joints. The results show that J dominance in most studied cases is not validated in v and u displacement fields. Therefore, it can be concluded that J-integral as controlling parameter used to estimate the safety of welded structures is not always valid.

Fatigue behavior of AZ31B magnesium alloy electron beam welded joint based on infrared thermography

Fatigue behavior of AZ31B magnesium alloy electron beam welded joint undergoing cyclic loading was investigated by infrared thermography. Temperature evolution throughout a fatigue process was presented and the mechanism of heat generationwas discussed. Fatigue limit of the welded joint was predicted and the fatigue damage was also assessed based ontheevolution of the temperatureand hotspot zone on the specimen surfaceduring fatigue tests. The presented results show that infrared thermography can not onlyquicklypredict the fatigue behavior of the welded joint, but also qualitatively identify the evolution of fatigue damage in real time. It is found that the predicted fatigue limit agrees well with the conventionalS-Nexperimental results. The evolution of the temperatureand hotspot zone on the specimen surface can be an effectivefatigue damage indicatorfor effectiveevaluationof magnesium alloy electron beam welded joint.