Effects of Electron Beam Local Postweld Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Properties of 30CrMnSiNi2A Steel Welded Joints

To improve the microstructure and properties of the electron beam welded joints, the vacuum or furnace whole post weld heat treatment (FWPWHT) usually should be done on it. The electron beam local post weld heat treatment (EBLPWHT) is a rather new heat treatment procedure that provides the advantages of high precision, flexibility and efficiency, energy saving and higher productivity. In this paper, the microstructure, mechanical properties, fracture toughness and fatigue properties of electron beam welded joints of 30CrMnSiNi2A steel in as-welded (AW) and EBLPWHT conditions have been investigated respectively. The results show that the microstructures of different zones of joints in as-welded condition are changed by EBLPWHT procedure, in which the welds from coarse needle martensite into lath-shaped martensite; the main structures of heat affected zones (HAZ) from lath-shaped martensite into lower bainite. The properties of welded joints can be improved by the EBLPWHT in some extent, especially the fracture toughness of the welds and the fatigue crack resistance of welded joints can be sufficiently improved. However, more appropriate heat treatment parameters of the EBLPWHT have to be studied in order to increase the mechanical properties of base metal near by the HAZ.

Microstructure and property of the Ti-24Al-15Nb-1.5Mo/TC11 joint welded by electron beam welding

The Ti-24Al-15Nb-1.5Mo alloy, in the as-forged and heat-treated states, was joined to the as-forged TC 11 titanium alloy by electron beam welding with the heat inputs of 135 and 150 kJ/m. Then the microstructure and property of the Ti-24Al-15Nb- 1.5Mo/TC 11 welding interface were investigated. The results show that the phase constitution of the weld is not related to the heat input, and is mainly composed of α＇ phase. Moreover, the intermetallic phases of TiEAlNb, MoNb, NbaAl, and TiAl3 are formed in the weld zone. Therefore, the microhardness value of the weld zone is higher than that of the other portions in the same sample. The profile of the weld is asymmetrically fimnel-like. The grain sizes of the weld and its heat-affected zones are increased with increasing heat input. There is an obvious difference in the element content of the welding interface; only the alloying elements in the fusion zone reach a new balance during solidification.

Microstructural characterization of electron beam welded joints of TiAl-based intermetallic compound

The feasibility to use electron beam welding to join the nominal compositionTi-48Al-2Cr-2Nb (at. percent) alloy was assessed. The microstructure characterization and crackingsusceptibility of the joints were evaluated by means of OM, SEM, XRD, and microhardness. It wasfound that the welded microstructure exhibited columnar and dendritic structures. Microstructuralconstituents in the fusion zone were a massive gamma structure and some amount of lamellar structureconsisting of alternating platelets of alpha_2 and gamma. The major contributing factor to thesusceptibility to solidification cracking was microsturctural change in this study for thesuppression of a phase decomposition leading to produce more retained alpha_2 brittle phase.Compared with transgranular cleavage fracture in the base metal, the weld metal exhibited mainlytranslamellar fracture.

3D Finite Element Numerical Simulation of Residual Stresses on Electron Beam Welded BT20 Plates

A three-dimensional finite-element model (FEM) used for calculating electron beam (EB) welding temperature and stresses fields of thin plates of BT20 titanium has been developed in which the nonlinear thermophysical and thermo-mechanical properties of the material has been considered. The welding temperature field, the distributions of residual stresses in as-welded (AW) and electron beam local post-weld heat treatment (EBLPWHT) conditions have been successfully simulated. The results show that: (1) In the weld center, the maximum magnitude of residual tensile stresses of BT20 thin plates of Ti alloy is equal to 60%- 70% of its yield strength σs. (2) The residual tensile stresses in weld center can be even decreased after EBLPWHT and the longitudinal tensile stresses are decreased about 50% compared to joints in AW conditions. (3) The numerical calculating results of residual stresses by using FEM are basically in agreement with the experimental results. Combined with numerical calculating results, the effects of electron beam welding and EBLPWHT on the distribution of welding residual stresses in thin plates of BT20 have been analyzed in detail.

Microstructure and performance of dissimilar joint QCr0.8/TC4 welded by uncentered electron beam

The mechanical property of dissimilar metal joint between QCr0.8 and TC4 alloy made with centered electron beam is bad and the highest tensile strength of the joint is only about 82.1 MPa.The bad mechanical property is mainly caused by the asymmetric fusion of the two base metals and the generation of the brittle Ti-Cu intermetallic compounds.The finite element analysis shows that the amount of the melted QCr0.8 copper alloy can be added to reduce the amount of the brittle intermetallic compounds.The bias distance to the copper alloy hc has obvious effect on the tensile strength.When hc=0.8 mm,the tensile strength of the joint can reach 270.5 MPa.The reaction layer near the fusion line on the TC4 side consists of the intermetallic compound and the melted base metal which does not react.The joint fractures at the reaction layer and presents quasi-cleavage or transcrystalline rupture in tensile tests.

Fracture Assessment for Electron Beam Welded Damage Tolerant Ti-6Al-4V Alloy by the FITNET Procedure

Fracture assessment of the cracked structures is essential to avoiding fracture failure.A number of fracture assessment procedures have been proposed for various steel structures.However,the studies about the application of available procedures for titanium alloy structures are scarcely reported.Fracture assessment for the electron beam(EB) welded thick-walled damage tolerant Ti-6Al-4V(TC4-DT) alloy is performed by the fitness-for-service(FFS) FITNET procedure.Uniaxial tensile tests and fracture assessment tests of the base metal and weld metal are carried out to obtain the input information of assessment.The standard options and advanced options of FITNET FFS procedure are used to the fracture assessment of the present material.Moreover,the predicted maximum loads of compact tensile specimen using FITNET FFS procedure are verified with the experimental data of fracture assessment tests.As a result,it is shown that the mechanical properties of weld metal are inhomogeneous along the weld depth.The mismatch ratio M is less than 10% at the weld top and middle,whereas more than 10% at the weld bottom.Failure assessment lines of standard options are close to that of advanced option,which means that the standard options are suitable for fracture assessment of the present welds.The accurate estimation of the maximum loads has been obtained by fracture assessment of standard options with error less than 6%.Furthermore,there are no potential advantages of applying higher options or mismatch options.Thus,the present welded joints can be treated as homogeneous material during the fracture assessment,and standard option 1 can be used to achieve accurate enough results.This research provides the engineering treatment methods for the fracture assessment of titanium alloy and its EB welds.

Microstructure characterization of electron beam welded joints of Ti_3Al after post-weld heat treatment

The effect of post-weld heat treatment on the microstructure characterization of electron beam welded(EBW) joints of Ti3Al-Nb was investigated.The results show that the microstructure of the weld is predominantly metastable,the columnar crystal metastructure of B2 phase.The microstructure morphology of the weld is significantly influenced by the method of the heat treatment.The microstructure of the weld is laminar structure(Widmanstaten structure) consisted of interphase α2 and B2 after post-weld heat treatment of 1000 ℃/2 h.The mechanism of the post-weld heat treatment makes the hardness distribution of joints homogeneous,but makes the whole joint somehow softened.

Limit Load Solution for Electron Beam Welded Joints with Single Edge Weld Center Crack in Tension

Limit loads are widely studied and several limit load solutions are proposed to some typical geometry of weldments.However,there are no limit load solutions exist for the single edge crack weldments in tension（SEC（T））,which is also a typical geometry in fracture analysis.The mis-matching limit load for thick plate with SEC（T） are investigated and the special limit load solutions are proposed based on the available mis-matching limit load solutions and systematic finite element analyses.The real weld configurations are simplified as a strip,and different weld strength mis-matching ratio M,crack depth/width ratio a/W and weld width 2H are in consideration.As a result,it is found that there exists excellent agreement between the limit load solutions and the FE results for almost all the mis-matching ration M,a/W and ligament-to-weld width ratio（W-a）/H.Moreover,useful recommendations are given for evaluating the limit loads of the EBW structure with SEC（T）.For the EBW joints with SEC（T）,the mis-matching limit loads can be obtained assuming that the components are wholly made of base metal,when M changing from 1.6 to 0.6.When M decreasing to 0.4,the mis-matching limit loads can be obtained assuming that the components are wholly made of base metal only for large value of（W-a）/H.The recommendations may be useful for evaluating the limit loads of the EBW structures with SEC（T）.The engineering simplifications are given for assessing the limit loads of electron beam welded structure with SEC（T）.

Superplastic formability of Ti-6Al-4V butt-welded plate by laser beam welding

The superplasticity of Ti-6Al-4V butt-welded plates by laser beam welding(LBW)was studied in virtue of hot tensile tests and superplastic bulging tests.Furthermore,microstructural evolution of weld metal upon superplastic forming was systematically analyzed via metallographical tests and scanning electron microscope(SEM).The relation between the microstructure of weld metal and its superplastic ability was discussed.The experimental results show that Ti-6Al-4V butt-welded plates by LBW possess superplasticity.The maximum elongation is up to 154%and the maximum bulge height can be up to 1.81 times the internal radius of the female die.There is an optimum value of the bulge height for bulging gas pressure.

Microstructure and fracture toughness of electron beam welded joints of 30CrMnSiNi2A steel

Two post weld heat treatments (PWHT), 900 ℃ oil quenched and low temperature tempered (PWHTA) and high temperature tempered and then 900 ℃ oil quenched and low temperature tempered (PWHTB), are employed to treat the weldment. Then the effect of two post weld heat treatment processes on the microstructure,mechanical properties and fracture toughness of electron beam welded joints of 30CrMnSiNi2A steel have been discussed. The results show that, after two kinds of PWHT the microstructure and hardness at every zones of EBW joints are nearly same. Although the welds have good mechanical properties, fracture toughness of both weld and heat affected zone (HAZ) is low, the CTOD values of welds are comparatively higher than that of HAZ. Microstructure and fracture toughness of two EBW joints have no evident differences.

Effect of cooling rate on the microstructure of electron beam welded joints of two-phase TiAl-based alloy

The analysis of the microstructural characterization and phase composition of electron beam welded joint zones of Ti- 43Al-9V-O. 3Y alloy has been done in this study. The welded seam is mainly composed of B2 phase, the partial γ ＋ α2 twophase lamellar structure and granular γm phase. And the lanthanon Y existed as YAl2 phase and served as grain refined. The impact of different cooling rates on joint microstructure, fracture characteristic and tensile strength were investigated. The high cooling rate restrained the structural transformation and resulted in the ordering structure. The fracture of the joint was brittle cleavage fracture because the ordering structure went against restraining the crack propagation. With the decrease of cooling rate, the transformation amounts of lamellar structure increased, and the fracture presented the layered and crosslayered characteristic.

Investigation on Electron Beam Welded Copper to AISI 316 Stainless Steel Joints

Joints of copper and stainless steels are used in a er ospace applications. Production of these joints by fusion welding faces many dif ficulties. This may be due to the differences in their physical, metallurgical a nd mechanical properties. Electron Beam Welding (EBW) process has been found to be especially well suited in this area. Selection of the appropriate welding par ameters needs thorough investigations. These parameters include: preheat tempera ture (℃), welding current (I w), focusing current (I F), welding spee d (V), height between the gun and workpiece surface (H), scan width (S w) and shift distance (S). The present work aims firstly, setting the pr oper welding conditions to get sound joint between commercially pure copper (C10 200) and AISI 316 stainless steel plates 8 mm thickness. Secondly, investigate t he effect of Electron Beam (EB) shift, single-sided and double-sided welds on the mechanical, metallurgical and chemical properties of the weld bead. Due to t he high difference in thermal conductivity between copper and stainless steel, E lectron Beam (EB) was shifted towards copper with different values. These values were ranged from 0.3 to 0.9 mm in welding without preheating of copper plate an d from 0.1 to 0.4 mm with preheating. Number of joints were welded using variabl e EBW parameters in view to obtain the sound weld bead. These parameters are as follows: gradual reduction I w=51 to 49 mA, I F=845 mA, V=8 mm/sec , H=130 mm, S w=500 μm and S=0.4 mm. The investigation has shown t hat, the copper (C10200) plate must be preheated to get sound welded joint with AISI 316 stainless steel using the EBW process. The tensile fracture in all wel ded samples occurred in copper plate away from the weld bead. This reflects that the weld bead tensile strength is greater than the copper strength. The EB shif t has slight effect on hardness distribution through weld bead. The hardness val ue (H v) reduces in gradual manner from stainless steel hardness to copper one. The EB shift distance has no significant effect on the impact toughness.

Effect of forced cooling on weld appearance and microhardness of electron beam welded QCr0. 8 alloy

Electron beam welding of QCr0. 8 chromium bronze was ineestigated to improve weld appearance and reduce the size of softened zone of the joints. Effect of forced cooling on weld appearanee and microhardness of the joints was studied by both experiment and numerical simulation. Both welding with and without forced cooling were conducted and analyzed comparatively. The results showed that a quasi steady state temperature.field and a large temperature gradient perpendicular to welding direction could achieved by forced cooling. A consistent weld width throughout the entire weld and smooth surface for both the top and bottom was achieved by forced cooling process. The width of softened zone of the joint was reduced from 2. 6 mm to I mm by forced cooling.

Experimental study of electron beam welded titanium alloy to chromium bronze joint with a vanadium sheet

Electron beam welding experiment of titanium alloy to chromium bronze with a vanadium filler metal was carried out. Microstructure of the joint was observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Tensile strength of the joint was evaluated. The fracture surface of the joint was also analyzed. The results showed that the addition of vanadium filler metal reduced the brittleness of joint by increasing the amount of vanadium-based solid solution in the weld. But the melting point of vanadium.filler metal was so high that large heat input was needed to completely melt the filler metal. Thus, a large amount of interfacial compounds were produced. The tensile strength of joint was 280 MPa with a brittle fracture mode.

Investigations of microstructures and properties in electron beam welded joints of TiAl to TC4

The normally centered electron beam and non-centered electron beam welding of TiAl to TC4 was investigated in order to analyze the electron beam weldability between TiAl/TC4 dissimilar materials. Macroscopic cold crack easily occurred near TiAl substrate in the joints. The optimal tensile strength was related to the welding heat input. The weld structures were composed of bulky columnar grains and equiaxed grains. The isolated phases consisted of large quantities of α2 -Ti3Al phase, small quantity of B2 phase, γ-TiAl phase and YAl2 phase. Insufficient melting of the base metal occurred in the weld when the beam position leaned to the TC4 side. The tensile strength could be improved when the deflection was limited in the optimum range. Otherwise, non-fusion zone was easily generated in the weld, which led to the low tensile strength.

Effect of Al_2O_3 film on weld appearance of stationary electron beam welded aluminum

Aluminum specimens with and without chemically cleaning were welded by electron beam to investigate the effect of Al2O3 film on weld appearance. The removal mechanism of Al2O3 film during vacuum electron beam welding of aluminum was analyzed and the effect of Al2O3 film on molten pool flow behavior and weld appearance was investigated. The results showed that the weld width of the specimen was enlarged by chemically cleaning. The solid Al2O3 film transformed into gaseous Al2O3 via the reaction with liquid aluminum at the temperature higher than 1 350 K was the main reason for the removal of the film. The weld width was narrowed down by the oxide film due to the inhibition of outward flow driven by the surface tension gradient and the drag force between the Al2O3 film and liquid Al. The weld penetration was reduced in the initial stage and then enhanced in the metastable stage.

Comparative Study on Microstructures of Zincalume Steel(G550)Welded Joint Between Metal Inert Gas and Laser Beam Welding

Zincalume steel(G550)is commonly used in various construction fields because of its high corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties.In recent years,a number of steel companies have massively produced zincalume steel(G550)with large volumes of waste.For the reduction of massive industrial wastes,the zincalume steel(G550)was welded in the lap joint configuration using different welding parameters in the metal inert gas(MIG)welding and laser beam welding(LBW)process in this study.The MIG welding and LBW are more welcomed welding methods due to their high efficiency and low cost.However,they are different as the LBW offers welding speed three to five times faster than MIG welding,while LBW’s heat transfer to workpieces is much less than MIG welding,which can avoid some distortions.The microstructure of zincalume steel(G550)was investigated using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and the microstructure characterizations of welded specimens were analyzed.The experiment found the columnar dendrites extended under the heat flow direction during the MIG welding and LBW process.Thus,the columnar grains were formed in between the equiaxed zone and fusion zone(FZ)at high heat input and slow cooling rate.Moreover,the grain size of FZ was comparatively smaller than heat affected zone(HAZ)and base metal(BM).

INVESTIGATION OF LASER BEAM WELDING PROCESS OF AZ61 MAGNESIUM-BASED ALLOY

Laser welling process of AZ61 magnesium alloys is investigated using a special CO2 laser experimental system. The effect of processing parameters including laser power, welling speed, and protection gas flow at the top and bottom is researched. The results show that an ideal well bead can be formed by choosing the processing parameters properly. An optimized parameter range is obtained by a large number of experiments. Among them, laser power and welling speed are the two main parameters that determine the well width and dimensions. The protect gas flow rate has a slight effect on the well width, but it directly effects the surface color of the well. The test results for typical welds indicate that the microhardness and tensile strength of the well zone are better than that of the base metal A fine-grained well region has been observed and no obvious heat-affected zone is found. The well zone mainly consists of small α-Mg phase, （α ＋ Al12Mg17）, and other eutectic phases. The small grains and the eutectic phases in the joint are believed to play an important role in the increase of the strength of wells for AZ61 magnesium alloys.

Effect of shielding gas and defocusing on porosity during laser beam welding of 7A52 alloy

Laser beam welding is used to fabricate the 7A52 aluminum alloy plates.Effects of shielding gas and defocusing on porosities are investigated.Porosities are divided into hydrogen porosities and keyhole-induced porosities.With the increasing flow rate of the front shielding gas,the porosity ratio firstly decreases,then increases.The porosity ratio is lowest under the flow rate of 25 L/min.When the flow rate is 30 L/min,the porosity ratio is higher because the large flow rate can affect the stability of the keyhole.The porosity ratio is also higher when the flow rate is less than 25 L/min because the protection is weakened.With the increase of the defocusing,the porosity ratio firstly decreases,then increases.When the defocusing is-2 mm,the porosity ratio is lowest.When the defocusing is more than 0 mm or less than-4 mm,the porosity ratio is higher due to the movement of the instable keyhole.

Analysis of metal transfer during electron beam welding with filler wire

The metal transfer mode of electron beam welding （EBW） with filler wire was studied experimentally. The spatial position between the electron beam and the filler wire was defined. Basing on the charge coupled device （CCD） visual sensing system, the metal transfer mode of filler wire was investigated. The results showed that there were five transfer modes during EBW process due to different wire feed rates and spatial positions between beam and filler wire, such as short-circuiting mode, molten metal bridge mode, small droplet mode, big droplet mode and mixed mode. By comparing the weld appearance of different transfer modes, the molten metal bridge transfer was proved to be the best transfer mode.