Evaluation of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Beam Welded AISI 409M Grade Ferritic Stainless Steel

 The microstructure analysis and mechanical properties evaluation of laser beam welded AISI 409M ferritic stainless steel joints are investigated. Single pass autogeneous welds free of volumetric defects were produced at a welding speed of 3000 mm/min. The joints were subjected to optical microscope, scanning electron fractographe, microhardness, transverse and longitudinal tensile, bend and charpy impact toughness testing. The coarse ferrite grains in the base metal were changed into dendritic grains as a result of rapid solidification of laser beam welds. Tensile testing indicates overmatching of the weld metal is relative to the base metal. The joints also exhibited acceptable impact toughness and bend strength properties.     

Effect of Welding Processes on Tensile and Impact Properties, Hardness and Microstructure of AISI 409M Ferritic Stainless Joints Fabricated by Duplex Stainless Steel Filler Metal

The effect of welding processes such as shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding and gas tungsten arc welding on tensile and impact properties of the ferritic stainless steel conforming to AISI 409M grade is studied. Rolled plates of 4 mm thickness were used as the base material for preparing single pass butt welded joints. Tensile and impact properties, microhardness, microstructure and fracture surface morphology of the welded joints have been evaluated and the results are compared. From this investigatio.n, it is found that gas tungsten arc welded joints of ferritic stainless steel have superior tensile and impact properties compared with shielded metal are and gas metal arc welded joints and this is mainly due to the presence of finer grains in fusion zone and heat affected zone.     

Effect of welding processes on tensile, impact, hardness and microstructure of AISI 409M ferritic stainless joints fabricated using duplex stainless steel filler metal

 The present investigation is aimed at to study the effect of welding processes such as shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding and gas tungsten arc welding on tensile and impact properties of the ferritic stainless steel conforming to AISI 409M grade. Rolled plates of 4 mm thickness were used as the base material for preparing single pass butt welded joints. Tensile and impact properties, micro hardness, microstructure and fracture surface morphology of the welded joints have been evaluated and the results are compared. From this investigation, it is found that gas tungsten arc welded joints of ferritic stainless steel showed superior tensile and impact properties compared with shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welded joints and this is mainly due to the presence of finer grains in fusion zone and heat affected zone.     

Effect of Cryotreatment on Tool Wear Behaviour of Bohler K390 and AISI H13 Tool Steel During Friction Stir Welding of Copper

Tool wear behaviour of powder metallurgically (P/M) produced Bohler K390 tool steel and the AISI H13 wrought tool steel before and after cryotreatment were compared by actual weight loss measurements. 3?mm thick pure copper plate was friction stir welded at a constant rotation speed of 1,200?rpm and at transverse speeds of 50,100?mm/min. It was found that the P/M tool has better wear resistance compared to the wrought alloy because of the uniform distribution of the carbides and low thermal conductivity. Cryotreatment increased the wear resistance of both the tools due to the conversion of retained austenite to martensite and formation of fine eta carbide particles.     

Comparison of Friction Stir and Gas Tungsten Arc Weldments of Modified 12 wt.% Cr Ferritic Stainless Steel

This paper presents the comparative evaluation of microstructural features and mechanical properties of a friction stir welded (solid‐state) and gas tungsten arc welded (fusion weld) 409 M grade ferritic stainless steel joints. Optical microscopy, microhardness, transverse tensile and impact tests were performed. The coarser ferrite grains in the base material are changed to very fine grains consisting of a duplex structure of ferrite and martensite due to the rapid cooling rate and high strain induced by severe plastic deformation caused by frictional stirring. On the other hand, grain growth was observed in the fusion zone as well as heat affected zone of the gas tungsten arc welded joint resulting in deterioration of mechanical properties.     

Effect of heat input on microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar joints of AISI 316L steel and API X70 high-strength low-alloy steel

The microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar joints of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel and API X70 high-strength low-alloy steel were investigated.For this purpose,gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW)was used in three different heat inputs,including 0.73,0.84,and 0.97 kJ/mm.The microstructural investigations of different zones including base metals,weld metal,heat-affected zones and interfaces were performed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.The mechanical properties were measured by microhardness,tensile and impact tests.It was found that with increasing heat input,the dendrite size and inter-dendritic spacing in the weld metal increased.Also,the amount of delta ferrite in the weld metal was reduced.Therefore,tensile strength and hardness were reduced and impact test energy was increased.The investigation of the interface between AISI 316L base metal and ER316L filler metal showed that increasing the heat input increases the size of austenite grains in the fusion boundary.A transition region was formed at the interface between API X70 steel and filler metals.     

Deep Drawing of Friction Stir Welded Thin Sheet Aluminium Steel Tailored Hybrids

Friction stir welding undergoes a steep evolution in industrial applications since the invention in the early 1990s. Especially for aluminium alloys in sheet thicknesses over 2 mm a lot of applications are established, whereas a lack in knowledge about friction stir welding of thin sheets with sheet thickness less than 2 mm exists. This article deals with friction stir welding of thin sheet aluminium steel tailored hybrids and their formability. These investigations tend to close the gap of availability of friction stir welded blanks in the range of 1 mm sheet thickness and to offer new applications of this joining technology. For production of aluminium steel tailored hybrids AA5182 with a thickness of 1.2 mm and DC04 in 1.0 mm are used, the joining partners are friction stir welded in a lap joint. Different tool geometries and process parameters are performed to achieve the highest strength and elongation at fracture of the tailored hybrids. The influence of the stirring on the arrangement and distribution of both materials in the welding zone and its microstructure is analysed using light optical and scanning electron microscopy. In addition to tensile tests planar microhardness measurements help to detect the local changes of the mechanical properties in the characteristic zones of the weld seam. Tailored hybrids, which were friction stir welded with the best welding parameters in accordance to the mechanical properties of the weld seams, were used for deep drawing tests of friction stir welded thin sheet aluminium steel tailored hybrids. The maximum drawing ratio of these tailored hybrids coincides with the one of the parent material of AA5182.     

Effect of Process Parameters on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties in Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloy

Friction stir welding process is a promising solid state joining process with the potential to join low melting point materials, particularly aluminum alloys. The most attractive reason for this is the avoidance of solidification defects formed during conventional fusion welding processes. Tool rotational speed and the welding speed play a major role in deciding the weld quality. In the present work an effort has been made to study the effect of the tool rotational speed and welding speed on mechanical and metallurgical properties of friction stir welded joints of aluminum alloy AA6082-T651. The micro hardness profiles obtained on welded zone indicate uniform distribution of grains in the stir zone. The maximum tensile strength obtained is 263 MPa which is about 85% of that of base metal. Scanning electron microscope was used to show the fractured surfaces of tensile tested specimens.     

Structure and mechanical properties of 1570C alloy welds produced by friction stir welding

The effect of the conditions of friction stir welding (FSW) of 1570C aluminum alloy sheets on the structure and mechanical properties of the welded joints is studied. A recrystallized fine-grained structure with a grain size changing with the rate of welding tool rotation forms in a weld during FSW. As compared to the base metal, the yield strength of the weld metal decreases by 9–22% depending on the rate of welding tool rotation, and the ultimate tensile strength is almost independent of the FSW conditions and accounts for ～90% of the ultimate tensile strength of the base metal. The plasticity of the weld metal is >13% for all rates of welding tool rotation. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld zone are discussed.     

Effect of Autogenous Arc Welding Processes on Tensile and Impact Properties of Ferritic Stainless Steel Joints

 The effect of autogeneous arc welding processes on tensile and impact properties of ferritic stainless steel conformed to AISI 409M grade is studied. Rolled plates of 4 mm thickness have been used as the base material for preparing single pass butt welded joints. Tensile and impact properties, microhardness, microstructure, and fracture surface morphology of continuous current gas tungsten arc welding (CCGTAW), pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding (PCGTAW), and plasma arc welding (PAW) joints are evaluated and the results are compared. It is found that the PAW joints of ferritic stainless steel show superior tensile and impact properties when compared with CCGTAW and PCGTAW joints, and this is mainly due to lower heat input, finer fusion zone grain diameter, and higher fusion zone hardness.     

A Study on Friction Stir Multi Spot Welding Techniques to Join Commercial Pure Aluminum and Mild Steel Sheets

To achieve significant improvement in the shear strength of dissimilar joints between aluminum and mild steel sheets, four methods of friction stir multi-spot welding processes, were investigated. Initially, in all these methods, plasticized aluminum layer was deposited on the steel side by friction surfacing. Subsequently, the deposited aluminum was compacted by friction forming. After dressing, spot welding with different tool configurations was performed. Tool rotational speeds of 900, 1120, 1400 and 1800 rpm were used to analyze their effects on the weld nugget. Different mechanical and metallurgical characterizations were done on the welds thus made. The process with aluminum layer on grooved mild steel followed by friction stir multi-spot welding using concave tipped welding tool resulted in welds. These welds had better metallurgical bonding characteristics and higher shear strength, which at a rotational speed of 1120 rpm was more than twice that of the welds made with conventional friction stir spot welding.     

Laser Welding of Ultra-Fine Grained Steel SS400

Steeliswidelyusedbecauseofitsgoodcompre hensive properties ,plentyofresourceandlowerprice .Thestrengthandtoughnessaretwoimpor tantpropertiesofsteels ,andpeoplemakeeffortstoincreasetheirvalues .Addingalloyingelementandcontrollingmicrostructurearetwobasicwaystoac complishtheaim .Therefinedmicrostructureob tainedbyprocessingtechniqueenablesthestrengthandtoughnessofsteeltobeincreasedwithoutaddingalloyingelementandtheratioofperformance costtobeincreased .Theultra finegrainedsteelshavefer ritegrains…     

Effect of Hardfaced Interlayer Thickness and Low Hydrogen Ferritic Capping on Ballistic Performance of Shielded Metal Arc Welded Armour Steel Joints

Armour grade quenched and tempered steel closely confirming to AISI 4340 is well known for its superior ballistic performance and hence used in the fabrication of combat vehicles. The traditional fillers like austenitic stainless steel showed poor ballistic performance of these welded joints as compared to the base metal. Attempts have been made to deposit hardfaced interlayer between austenitic stainless steel weld metals. Though this method, marginal improvements in ballistic performance can be yielded, and cracks were observed in between base metal and hardfaced layer. Thickness of the hardfaced interlayer plays a vital role for the effective ballistic performance. Thus, an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of hardfaced interlayer thickness on ballistic performance of armour steel welds. The results of effect of buttering, low hydrogen ferritic (LHF) filler and three different hardfaced layer thicknesses (4, 5.5 and 7 mm) on ballistic performance of shielded metal arc welded armour steel joints were given.     

Friction welding of Cu-tube to Al-tube plate using an external tool

In the present study, friction welding of tube to tube plate using an external tool (FWTPET) was used to weld copper tubes with aluminum plates. Tubes were prepared with holes along the faying surfaces of tubes and cleaned before welding. The weld microstructure shows line of stir zone (SZ), a narrow thermo mechanically affected zone and heat affected zone (HAZ). The welded samples were found to have satisfactory joint strength and the XRD study showed the presence of AlCu intermetallic in the weld zone. The hardness survey revealed that there was a slight increase in hardness adjacent to the weld interface due to grain refinement. Better weld joints were achieved when the tool rotation speed and interference are 1500 rpm and 0.8 mm respectively. The present study confirms that a high quality copper tube to aluminium tube plate joint can be achieved by FWPET process.     

Effect of Arc Welding Processes on the Weld Attributes of Type 316LN Stainless Steel Weld joint

The present study aims at understanding the effect of various arc welding processes on the evolution of microstructure, mechanical properties, residual stresses and distortion in 9 mm thick type 316LN austenitic stainless steel weld joints. Weld joints of type 316LN stainless steel were fabricated by three different arc welding processes which were commonly employed in the nuclear industry. All the weld joints passed radiographic examination. Microstructural characterization was done using optical and scanning electron microscope. Volume fraction of δ-ferrite was lowest in the A-TIG weld joint. The A-TIG welded joint exhibited adequate strength and maximum impact toughness values in comparison to that of weld joints made by SMAW and FCAW processes. The A-TIG weld joint was found to exhibit lowest residual stresses and distortion compared to that of other welding processes. This was attributed to lower weld metal volume and hence reduced shrinkage in the A-TIG weld joint compared to that of weld joints made by FCAW and SMAW processes which involved v-groove with filler metal addition. Therefore, type 316LN stainless steel A-TIG weld joint consisting of lower δ-ferrite, adequate strength, high impact toughness, lower residual stresses and distortion was suited better for elevated temperature service compared to that of SMAW and FCAW weld joints.     

Influence of Rotational Speed on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Dissimilar Metal AISI 304-AISI 4140 Continuous Drive Friction Welds

 Fundamental investigation of continuous drive friction welding of austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) and low alloy steel (AISI 4140) is described. The emphasis is made on the influence of rotational speed on the microstructure and mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength, notch tensile strength and impact toughness of the dissimilar joints. Hardness profiles across the weld show the interface is harder than the respective parent metals. In general, maximum peak hardness is observed on the stainless steel side, while other peak hardness is on the low alloy steel side. A trough in hardness distribution in between the peaks is located on the low alloy steel side. Peak hardness on the stainless steel and low alloy steel side close to the interface increases with a decrease in rotational speed. All transverse tensile joints fractured on stainless steel side near the interface. Notch tensile strength and impact toughness increase with increase in rotational speed up to 1500 r/min and decrease thereafter. The mechanism of influence of rotational speed for the observed trends is discussed in the torque, displacement characteristics, heat generation, microstructure, fractography and mechanical properties.     

Friction Stir Welding in HSLA-65 Steel: Part I. Influence of Weld Speed and Tool Material on Microstructural Development

A systematic set of single-pass full penetration friction stir bead-on-plate and butt-welds in HSLA-65 steel were produced using a range of different traverse speeds (50 to 500?mm/min) and two tool materials (W-Re and PCBN). Microstructural analysis of the welds was carried out using optical microscopy, and hardness variations were also mapped across the weld-plate cross sections. The maximum and minimum hardnesses were found to be dependent upon both welding traverse speed and tool material. A maximum hardness of 323?Hv(10) was observed in the mixed martensite/bainite/ferrite microstructure of the weld nugget for a welding traverse speed of 200?mm/min using a PCBN tool. A minimum hardness of 179?Hv(10) was found in the outer heat-affected zone (OHAZ) for welding traverse speed of 50?mm/min using a PCBN tool. The distance from the weld centerline to the OHAZ increased with decreasing weld speed due to the greater heat input into the weld. Likewise for similar energy inputs, the size of the transformed zone and the OHAZ increased on moving from a W-Re tool to a PCBN tool probably due to the poorer thermal conductivity of the PCBN tool. The associated residual stresses are reported in Part II of this series of articles.     

不同强度级别低合金钢焊缝金属的组织特征及其对韧性的影响

焊接区的微观组织是决定其力学性能的关键因素。为了改善低合金钢焊缝的冲击韧性,对500~1 000MPa级焊条的焊缝金属的化学组成、金相组织和力学性能进行了对比研究。采用金相显微镜和透射电子显微镜对不同强度级别的低合金钢焊缝组织进行了观察和电子衍射分析,并进行了焊缝金属拉伸强度和冲击韧性测试。结果表明,随着焊条强度级别的增加,焊缝组织由先共析铁素体、针状铁素体加珠光体变成粒状贝氏体,最后变成贝氏体加马氏体组织;当焊缝组织为粒状贝氏体时其韧性最低。     

Study of welding ultra‐fine grained ferrite steel by CO2 laser

Ultra‐fine grained ferrite steels have higher strength and better toughness than the normal ferrite steels because of their micrometer or sub‐micrometer sized grains. In this paper the ultra‐fine grained steel SS400 is welded by CO₂ laser. The shape of weld, cooling rate of HAZ, width of HAZ, microstructures and mechanical properties of the joint are discussed. Experimental results indicate that laser beam welding can produce weld with a large ratio of depth to width. The cooling rate of HAZ of laser beam welding is fast, the growth of prior austenite grains of HAZ is limited, and the width of weld and HAZ is narrow. The microstructures of weld metal and coarse‐grained HAZ of laser beam welding mainly consist of B_L + M (small amount). With proper laser power and welding speed, good comprehensive mechanical properties can be acquired. The toughness of weld metal and coarse‐grained HAZ are higher than that of base metal. There is no softened zone after laser beam welding. The tensile strength of a welded joint is higher than that of base metal. The welded joint has good bending ductility.     

Microstructural Evolution of Inconel 625 and Inconel 686CPT Weld Metal for Clad Carbon Steel Linepipe Joints: A Comparator Study

Microstructural evolution of Inconel 625 and Inconel 686CPT filler metals, used for the fusion welding of clad carbon steel linepipe, has been investigated and compared. The effects of iron dilution from the linepipe parent material on the elemental segregation potential of the filler metal chemistry have been considered. The results obtained provide significant evidence to support the view that, in Inconel 686CPT weld metal, the segregation of tungsten is a function of the level of iron dilution from the parent material. The data presented indicate that the incoherent phase precipitated in the Inconel 686CPT weld metal has a morphology that is dependent on tungsten enrichment and, therefore, iron dilution. Furthermore, in the same weld metal, a continuous network of finer precipitates was observed. The Charpy impact toughness of each filler metal was evaluated, and the results highlighted the superior impact toughness of the Inconel 625 weld metal over that of Inconel 686CPT.