Microstructures and Plane Energy Spectra of X80 Pipeline Steel Welded Joints by Submerged Arc Automatic Welding

X80 pipeline steel was welded with submerged arc automatic welding, the microstructures, cavity sizes, fusion depths and plane scanning of chemical elements in the welded zone, fusion zone, heat affected zone and base steel were observed with OM（optical microscope） and SEM（scanning electron microscope）, respectively. The experimental results show that there is main acicular ferrite in the base steel and welded zone, the microscopic structure of fusion zone is a blocked bainite, and the heat affected zone is composed of multilateral ferrite and pearlite. M-A unit of the welded zone is the main factor to strengthen the welded zone, composed of acicular ferrites. The percentage of cavities in the welded joint is less than that in the base steel, which is beneficial to increasing its mechanical performance and corrosion resistance. The fusion depth in the fusion zone and welded zone is 101.13 μm and 115.85 μm, respectively, and the distribution of chemical elements in the welded zone is uniform, no enrichment phenomena.

Multiaxial Fatigue Analysis on Reeled Deepwater Steel Catenary Risers with Girth Weld Defects

In the present study, we simulated the reel-lay installation process of deepwater steel catenary risers（SCRs） using the finite element method and proposed multiaxial fatigue analysis for reeled SCRs. The reel-lay method is one of the most efficient and economical pipeline installation methods. However, material properties of reeled risers may change, especially in the weld zone, which can affect the fatigue performance. Applying finite element analysis（FEA）, we simulated an installation load history through the reel, aligner, and straightener and analyzed the property variations. The impact of weld defects during the installation process, lack of penetration and lack of fusion, was also discussed. Based on the FEA results, we used the Brown-Miller criterion combined with the critical plane approach to predict the fatigue life of reeled and non-reeled models. The results indicated that a weld defect has a significant influence on the material properties of a riser, and the reel-lay method can significantly reduce the fatigue life of SCRs. The analysis conclusion can help designers understand the mechanical performance of welds during reel-lay installation.

Simulation study on heat-affected zone of high-strain X80 pipeline steel

The microstructure evolution and impact-toughness variation of heat-affected zone（HAZ）in X80 highstrain pipeline steel were investigated via a welding thermal-simulation technique,Charpy impact tests,and scanning electron microscopy observations under different welding heat inputs and peak temperatures.The results indicate that when heat input was between 17 and 25kJ·cm^（-1）,the coarse-grained heat-affected zone showed improved impact toughness.When the heat input was increased further,the martensite-austenite（M-A）islands transformed from fine lath into a massive block.Therefore,impact toughness was substantially reduced.When the heat input was 20kJ·cm^（-1） and the peak temperature of the first thermal cycle was between 900 and 1300°C,a higher impact toughness was obtained.When heat input was 20kJ·cm^（-1） and the peak temperature of the first thermal cycle was 1300°C,the impact toughness value at the second peak temperature of 900°C was higher than that at the second peak temperature of 800°C because of grain refining and uniformly dispersed M-A constituents in the matrix of bainite.