Effects of welding wire composition and welding process on the weld metal toughness of submerged arc welded pipeline steel

The effects of alloying elements in welding wires and submerged arc welding process on the microstructures and low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals have been investigated. The results indicate that the optimal contents of alloying elements in welding wires can improve the low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals because the proeutectoid ferrite and bainite formations can be suppressed, and the fraction of acicular ferrite increases. However, the contents of alloying elements need to vary along with the welding heat input. With the increase in welding heat input, the contents of alloying elements in welding wires need to be increased accordingly. The microstructures mainly consisting of acicular ferrite can be obtained in weld metals after four-wire submerged arc welding using the wires with a low carbon content and appropriate contents of Mn, Mo, Ti-B, Cu, Ni, and RE, resulting in the high low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals.

Microstructures and Toughness of Weld Metai of Ultrafine Grained Ferritic Steel by Laser Welding

3 mm thick 400 MPa grade ultrafine grained ferritic steel plates were bead-on-plate welded by CO2 laser with heat input of 120-480 J/mm. The microstructures of the weld metal mainly consist of bainite, which form is lower bainite plates or polygonal ferrite containing quantities of dispersed cementite particles, mixed with a few of low carbon martensite laths or ferrite, depending on the heat input. The hardness and the tensile strength of the weld metal are higher than those of the base metal, and monotonously increase as the heat input decreases. No softened zone exists in heat affected zone (HAZ). Compared with the base metal, although the grains of laser weld are much larger, the toughness of the weld metal is higher within a large range of heat input. Furthermore, as the heat input increases, the toughness of the weld metal rises to a maximum value, at which point the percentage of lower bainite is the highest, and then drops.

Numerical simulation of deep cryogenic treatment electrode tip temperature for spot welding aluminum alloy

Deep cryogenic treatment technology of electrodes is put forward to improve electrode life of resistance spot welding of aluminum alloy LF2. Deep cryogenic treatment makes electrode life for spot welding aluminum alloy improve. The specific resistivity of the deep cryogenic treatment electrodes is tested and experimental results show that specific resistivity is decreased sharply. The temperature field and the influence of deep cryogenic treatment on the electrode tip temperature during spot welding aluminium alloy is studied by numerical simulation method with the software ANSYS. The axisymmetric finite element model of mechanical, thermal and electrical coupled analysis of spot welding process is developed. The numerical simulation results show that the influence of deep cryogenic treatment on electrode tip temperature is very large.

Effect of deep cryogenic treatment on mechanical behavior of a Cu-Cr-Zr alloy for electrodes of spot welding

The effects of deep cryogenic treatment on mechanical behavior of a Cu-Cr-Zr alloy for electrodes of spot welding were investigated employing Brinell-hardness testing unit, abrasion examination machine, electronic almighty testing machine and X-ray stress analyzer. Tensile fracture surfaces of the alloy were characterized by scanning electronic microscope （SEM） with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS）. The results showed that, after deep cryogenic treatment, σb and σ0.2 increased 23 MPa and 21 MPa respectively, the wear rate of the alloy exhibited the trend of decrease with the decreasing temperature and increasing time of deep cryogenic treatment, and the surface residual stress of the alloy was partially eliminated by deep cryogenic treatment.

Influence of welding parameters on fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rate in friction stir welded nugget of 2024-T351 aluminum alloy joints

Friction stir welding （FSW） was performed on 2024-T351 aluminum alloy plates. Metallographic analysis, Vickers microhardness and XRD tests were conducted to determine the properties of the welded zone. FE simulation of the FSW process was implemented for the different welding conditions to extract the residual stress and stress intensity factor （SIF）. Fracture and fatigue behaviors of the welds which have the initial crack in the nugget zone and the crack orientation along the welding direction, were studied based on standard test methods. Fracture behavior of the welds was also evaluated by shearography method. The results showed that the tool rotational and traverse speeds affect the fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rate. FSW provides 18%-49% reductions in maximum fracture load and fracture toughness. A slight diminution in fracture toughness of the joints was observed for lower traverse speed of the tool, and at higher traverse or rotational speeds, increasing the probability of defects may contribute to low fracture toughness. Fatigue crack propagation rate of all welds was slower than that of the base metal for low values of stress intensity factor range ΔK （ΔK〈13 MPa·m^1/2）, but is much faster for high values of ΔK.

Microstructure of deep cryogenic treatment electrode for resistance spot welding of aluminium alloy

Cr-Zr-Cu alloy electrodes for resistance spot welding of aluminium alloy are treated by deep cryogenic treatment processes. The Cr-Zr-Cu alloy electrodes are analyzed by transmission electron microscope（ TEM ） , and results show that the common dislocation in Cr-Zr-Cu alloy electrodes is changed into the dislocation loop, and twin crystal is found after deep cryogenic treatment. The parallel twin crystal band is observed by selected electron diffraction（SED） and the twin crystal plane is marked as （ 111 ）. The Cr-Zr-Cu alloy electrode is studied by X-ray diffraction（ XRD ） and results show that the intensity of diffraction peak is obviously changed after deep cryogenic treatment, and the grain rotates to preferred orientation. The Cr-Zr- Cu alloy electrode is studied by positron annihilation technique （PAT） and results indicate that the amount of vacancy defects is less than that of Cr-Zr-Cu alloy before deep cryogenic treatment. The main elements in Cr-Zr-Cu alloy are studied with X- ray photoelctron spectroscopy（ XPS ） and the intensity of spectrum peak is increased after deep cryogenic treatment.

Effect of Zr-Ti combined deoxidation on impact toughness of coarse-grained heat-affected zone with high heat input welding

In this study, the effects of Zr-Ti combined deoxidation and AI deoxidation on the impact toughness of coarse- grained heat-affected zone in high-strength low-alloy steels were investigated. More fine oxides were formed in the Zr-Ti-killed steel than in Al-killed steel. It was also found that more acicular ferrite grains were formed in the coarse-grained heat-affected zone in the Zr-Ti-killed steel than in Al-killed steel. The impact toughness of coarse-grained heat-affected zone of Zr-Ti-kiUed steel was higher than that of Al-killed steel. The good impact toughness was attributable to the pinning effect of fine oxides and the formation of acicular ferrite grains on fine oxides.

Microstructure and toughness of thick-gauge pipeline steel joint via double-sided friction stir welding combined with preheating

Fusion welding easily causes microstructural coarsening in the heat-affected zone(HAZ) of a thick-gauge pipeline steel joint. This is most significant in the inter-critically coarse-grained HAZ(ICCGHAZ), which considerably deteriorates the toughness of the joint. In the present work, 11-mm thick pipeline steel was joined by preheating and double-sided friction stir welding(FSW). A comparative study on the microstructure and toughness in the ICCGHAZs for FSW and gas metal arc welding(GMAW) was performed. The toughness in the ICCGHAZ for FSW was improved significantly than that in the ICCGHAZ for GMAW. Generally, the nugget zone(NZ) has a coarse microstructure in the FSW steel joint formed at the highest peak temperature. However, in the current study, the microstructure in the one-pass NZ was remarkably refined owing to the static recrystallization of ferrite. An excellent toughness was achieved in the NZ of the pipeline steel joint that employed FSW.

Development of 30Cr06A,a high strength cast steel and its welding ability

High performance hydraulic supports have a high requirement in strength,toughness and welding ability of socket mate- rial.Targeting this problem,we analyzed the properties of the high strength socket material 30Cr06,used in high performance hy- draulic supports both at home and abroad and developed a new kind of high strength cast steel 30Cr06A,by making use of an or- thogonal experiment,which provided the design conditions for its optimal composition.The result shows that the strength and toughness of the newly developed high strength cast steel 30Cr06A is much better than that of 30Cr06.Theoretical calculations,mechanical property tests and hardness distribution tests of welded joints were carried out for a study of the welding ability of the new material,which is proved to be very good.Therefore,this 30Cr06A material has been successfully used in the socket of high performance hydraulic support.

Influence of MIG/MAG Welding Process on Mechanical and Pitting Corrosion Behaviors on the Super-Duplex Stainless Steel SAF 2507 Welded Joints

The main objective of this research is to better understand the correlation between the constituent phases presented in the super-duplex steel SAF 2507 when it is under welding process by arc shielding gas MIG-MAG (Metal Inert Gas-Metal Active Gas). Conventional short circuit transfer and derivative STT (Surface Tension Transfer) using the 2594 welding wire as a filler metal and the effects on welding power in hardness, toughness and pitting corrosion are considered here. The results showed that the welding energy (Ew) changed the α/γ-phase’s balance and occasionally formed σ-phase in ferrite grain boundaries which led to changes in hardness, toughness and pitting corrosion resistance in molten zone (MZ), heat activated zone (HAZ) and metal base regions (MB). Furthermore, the increased amount of γ-phase improved the pitting corrosion resistance index (PRENγ) mainly in the MZ. This is due to decrease of α-phase fraction and formation of coarser grains, for higher welding energy. The toughness in the MZ decreased with less formation of γ-phase, coalescence of ferritic grains and localized formation of σ-phase, raising the hardness in the HAZ when the welding energy was lower.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF DEEP CROGENIC TREATMENT ELECTRODES FOR SPOT WELDING HOT DIP GALVANIZED STEEL

The microstructure and elements distribution of the deep cryogenic treatmentelectrodes and non-cryogenic treatment electrodes for spot welding hot dip galvanized steel areobserved by a scanning electrical microscope. The grain sizes, the resistivity and the hardness ofthe electrodes before and after deep cryogenic treatment are measured by X-ray diffraction, the DCdouble arms bridge and the Brinell hardness testing unit respectively. The spot welding processperformance of hot dip galvanized steel plate is tested and the relationship between microstructureand physical properties of deep cryogenic treatment electrodes is analyzed. The experimental resultsshow that deep cryogenic treatment makes Cr, Zr in deep cryogenic treatment electrodes emanatedispersedly and makes the grain of deep cryogenic treatment electrodes smaller than non-cryogenictreatment ones so that the electrical conductivity and the thermal conductivity of deep cryogenictreatment electrodes are improved very much, which make spot welding process performance of the hotdip galvanized steel be improved.

Twin-wire Submerged Arc Welding Process of a High-strength Low-alloy Steel

The measurement of thermal cycle curves of a high-strength low-alloy steel （HSLA） subjected twin-wire submerged arc welding （SAW） was introduced. The thermal simulation test was performed by using the obtained curves. The impact toughness at -50 ℃ temperature of the simulated samples was also tested. OM, SEM and TEM of the heat-affected zone （HAZ） of some simulation specimens were investigated. The results showed that the HSLA endured the twin-wire welding thermal cycle, generally, the low-temperature toughness values of each part of HAZ was lower than that of the parent materials, and the microstructure of coarse-grained zone（CGHAZ） mainly made up of granular bainite is the reason of the toughness serious deterioration. Coarse grain, grain boundary carbide extract and M-A island with large size and irregular polygon, along the grain boundary distribution, are the reasons for the toughness deterioration of CGHAZ. The research also showed that selected parameters of twin-wire SAW can meet the requirements to weld the test steel.

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℃.

Study of welding technology on Baosteel high-strength heavy steel Bweldy620QL6

This study aims to conduct the weldability test for a high-strength structural steel, Bweldy620QL6, developed by Baosteel. This steel was subjected to welding,and the effects of two kinds of shielding gas,a binary gas of 80% Ar ＋ 20% CO, and ternary gas of 90% Ar ＋ 8% CO, ＋ 2% O2, on the performance of the welded joints of high-strength heavy steel were compared. The results show that Bweldy620QL6 has good weldability,and the joints obtained using binary gas and ternary gas meet common requirements.

Effect of welding processes on mechanical and microstructural characteristics of high strength low alloy naval grade steel joints

Naval grade high strength low alloy(HSLA) steels can be easily welded by all types of fusion welding processes. However, fusion welding of these steels leads to the problems such as cold cracking, residual stress, distortion and fatigue damage. These problems can be eliminated by solid state welding process such as friction stir welding(FSW). In this investigation, a comparative evaluation of mechanical(tensile, impact,hardness) properties and microstructural features of shielded metal arc(SMA), gas metal arc(GMA) and friction stir welded(FSW) naval grade HSLA steel joints was carried out. It was found that the use of FSW process eliminated the problems related to fusion welding processes and also resulted in the superior mechanical properties compared to GMA and SMA welded joints.

Microstructural Evolution and Toughness in the HAZ of Submerged Arc Welded Low Welding Crack Susceptibility Steel

Microstructural characteristics of different sub-regions of heat affected zone （HAZ） of low welding crack susceptibility steel weldment were investigated by using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy equipped with electron backscattered diffraction system. And the focus was put on the correlation between microstructural characteristics and HAZ toughness of the weldment. The results reveal that the toughness of fusion line zone （FLZ） specimens is much lower than that of fine grained HAZ （FGHAZ） specimens. The coarse inclusions in the weld metal and the large martensite-austenite constituents in the coarse grained HAZ （CGHAZ） have an obvious negative effect on the crack initiation energy of FLZ. Meanwhile, the coarse granular bainite with large effective grain decreases the crack propagation energy seriously. By contrast, fine crystallographic grains in the FGHAZ play a key role in increasing toughness, especially in improving crack propagation energy.

Microstructural refinement mechanism and its effect on toughness in the nugget zone of high-strength pipeline steel by friction stir welding

High-strength pipeline steel was subjected to friction stir welding(FSW)at rotation rates of 400-700 rpm,and the grain refinement mechanism of the nugget zone(NZ)was determined.The thermomechanical process during FSW in the NZ was simulated by multi-pass thermal compression,thereby achieving the austenitic non-recrystallization temperature(T_(nr)).The austenitic non-recrystallization in the NZ at the lowest rotation rate of 400 rpm caused a significant grain refinement.Furthermore,the reduced rotation rate also resulted in the formation of a high ratio of island-like martensite-austenite(M-A)constituent.The toughness of the NZs was enhanced as the rotation rate decreased,which is attributed to the fine effective grains and homogeneously distributed fine M-A constituents dramatically inhibiting crack initiation and propagation.

Impact toughness variations of EH36 weld metal treated by CaF_(2)–SiO_(2)–MnO submerged arc welding flux

Fused ternary CaF_(2)–SiO_(2)–MnO fluxes have been manufactured and applied to join EH36 shipbuilding steel under high heat input submerged arc welding.Five fluxes have been designed to clarify the effect of MnO content in CaF_(2)–SiO_(2)–MnO flux on the impact toughness of the weld metal,with the added amount of MnO from 10 to 50 wt.%at the expense of CaF_(2).With the increase in MnO content,the Charpy impact energy increases first and then decreases,experiencing a maximum value at 30 wt.%MnO.Microstructure of the weld metals has also been studied to account for impact toughness variations.It has been demonstrated that the highest acicular ferrite volume fraction in the weld metal is achieved at 30 wt.%MnO,which is concurrent to the maximum value of Charpy impact energy.It is believed that the Mn and O content variations in the weld metal contribute synergistically to such an interesting phenomenon.

EVALUATION OF EMBRITTLEMENT BEHAVIOR DUETO SENSITIZATION IN A CRYOGENIC AUSTENITICSTAINLESS STEEL BY MEANS OF SMALL PUNCHAND FRACTURE TOUGHNESS TESTS

In order to evaluate the tendency of mechanical properties degrudation due to weld-ing and other processing in materials used for supporting coils in super conducting rnaguets utilized in thermonuclear jusion reactore, a small punch (SP) test was used.This test, which was originally developed to study irradiation damage using miniatursized specimens was performed at 77 and 4 K for solution treated and sensitized JN1 austenitic stainless steel, a candidate cryogenic structural material. The area under the load-deflection curve up to the maximum applied load in SP test was defined as the SP enerpy, to characterize the resistance to fracture. Although solution treated material exhibited ductile fracture mode with high SP enerpy, embrittlement behavior due to sensitization at 650-800°for 1-5 h was shown clearlg by SP test with brittle intergranular fracture and decreased SP enerpy. Comparison of the results obtained by SP test with those by fracture toughness test showed the usefulness of SP test for evaluation of sensitization induced embrittlement at cryogenic temperature. The re-sults obtained in this study can be very usefol in predicting the degradation due to welding and other processing in cryogenic materials.

Effect of Welding Processes and Consumables on Tensile and Impact Properties of High Strength Quenched and Tempered Steel Joints

Quenched and tempered steels are prone to hydrogen induced cracking in the heat affected zone after welding. The use of austenitic stainless steel consumables to weld the above steel was the only available remedy because of higher solubility for hydrogen in austenitic phase. In this investigation, an attempt was made to determine a suitable consumable to replace expensive austenitic consumables. Two different consumables, namely, austenitie stain less steel and low hydrogen ferritic steel, were used to fabricate the joints by shielded metal are welding （SMAW） and flux cored arc welding （FCAW） processes. The joints fabricated by using low hydrogen ferritic steel consumables showed superior transverse tensile properties, whereas joints fabricated by using austenitic stainless steel consumables exhibited better impact toughness, irrespective of the welding process used. The SMAW joints exhibited superior mechanical and impact properties, irrespective of the consumables used, than their FCAW counterparts.