Microstructures and hardness of flat overhead weld of the high strength steel thick plate using double-sided arc welding

High strength steel thick plate is widely used in shipbuilding, pressure vessels, etc., the balance between weld quality and welding efficiency is becoming a research focus. In this paper, double sided double arc flat-overhead welding experiments for high strength steel thick plate were conducted. Microstructures of weld have been observed through optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Transformation of microstructures under thermal cycles of multi peaks was analyzed. Macro and micro hardness were also tested. The results show that the heat-affected zone (HAZ) near the fusion line experiences thermal cycles up to three times. The microstructures there are the most complex, including coarse lath martensite in original coarse-grained zone, and net like structure along grain boundaries in critical reheat coarse grained zone. After several times of tempering for backing welding, the features of acicula and lath are weakened. Its microstructure approaches to the microstructure of base metal which is tempering sorbite. The hardness test shows that the maximum hardness occurs at critical reheat coarse-grained zone, the hardness of reticulation structure at grain boundary can be up to 450HV.