Improvement of weldability of TRIP steels by use of in‐situ pre‐ and post‐heat treatments

Low alloy TRIP‐aided steels are very interesting for the automotive industry as they combine both a high strength and an excellent formability. Though the actually developed TRIP steels can be considered as low alloyed when compared to the first generations of steels exhibiting TRIP effect, due to their chemical composition, they still exhibit a quite high carbon equivalent. This is particularly detrimental for the weldability of those materials. After solidification, welds are very hard and can show a brittle behaviour. The hardness of the heat affected zone of the welds can even exceed 500HV and cold cracking phenomena is prone to occur. In the automotive industry, spot welding is the main joining process. During spot welding of TRIP steels, the interface between the plates can act like a notch and promote fracture of the weld. This is particularly dangerous when brittle welds are submitted to peel stresses. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate that a careful choice of the process parameters can significantly improve the resistance of the welds. The selection of the welding cycle parameters is far from being an easy task as many different parameters are involved. Therefore, a design of experiment methodology (DOE) was chosen to optimise the welding cycle for a cold‐rolled TRIP steel with a tensile strength above 700 MPa. Mechanical properties of the welds were significantly improved by use of pre‐ and post‐heat treatments. Those improved welding cycles were realised without excessive extension of the total weld cycle on a conventional spot welding machine. This means that the optimised welds can be obtained in the existing production lines without any additional investment or significant decrease in productivity.     

Heat transfer during Nd: Yag pulsed laser welding and its effect on solidification structure of austenitic stainless steels

Theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out to determine the effect of process parameters on weld metal microstructures of austenitic stainless steels during pulsed laser welding. Laser welds made on four austenitic stainless steels at different power levels and scanning speeds were considered. A transient heat transfer model that takes into account fluid flow in the weld pool was employed to simulate thermal cycles and cooling rates experienced by the material under various welding conditions. The weld metal thermal cycles and cooling rates are related to features of the solidification structure. For the conditions investigated, the observed fusion zone structure ranged from duplex austenite (γ)+ferrite (δ) to fully austenitic or fully ferritic. Unlike welding with a continuous wave laser, pulsed laser welding results in thermal cycling from multiple melting and solidification cycles in the fusion zone, causing significant post-solidification solid-state transformation to occur. There was microstructural evidence of significant recrystallization in the fusion zone structure that can be explained on the basis of the thermal cycles. The present investigation clearly demonstrated the potential of the computational model to provide detailed information regarding the heat transfer conditions experienced during welding.     

Microstructure and Residual Stress Formation in Induction‐Assisted Laser Welding of the Steel S690QL

Steels of high mechanical strength combined with high toughness, such as those in quenched and tempered condition are required to reduce weight in industrial machinery. Their mechanical performance is impaired by welding operations which often cause a reduction of toughness and increase the probability for cold cracking due to martensite formation in the weld seam. The limited weldability of high‐strength steels therefore demands appropriate joining procedures to increase their use in industrial construction and reduce reworking costs. Induction heating is capable of directly producing heat inside a work piece. This enables the integration of induction heat‐treatments into serial welding processes. In this work, the effect of induction‐assisted laser welding on the microstructure and residual stresses in S690QL butt joints was investigated. The results reveal that conventional laser welding causes strong martensite formation in the weld seam and the heat‐affected zone. This leads to prohibitive hardness values. Induction heat‐treatments result in an efficient reduction of hardness in the fusion zone. However, the efficiency decreases with increasing sheet thicknesses. The residual stress distributions after laser welding with and without induction heating are typical of fusion welding. Although an effective reduction of hardness is achieved by induction‐assisted laser welding, the residual stresses remain significantly high.     

Weldability of Low Carbon Transformation Induced Plasticity Steel

Transformation induced plasticity （TRIP） steel exhibited high or rather high carbon equivalent （CE） because of its chemical composition, which was a particularly detrimental factor affecting weldability of steels. Thus the weldability of a TRIP steel （grade 600） containing （in mass percent, %） 0.11C-1. 19Si-1.67Mn was extensively studied. The mechanical properties and impact toughness of butt joint, the welding crack susceptibility of weld and heat affected zone （HAZ） for tee joint, control thermal severity （CTS） of the welded joint, and Y shape 60° butt joint were measured after the gas metal arc welding （GMAW） test. The tensile strength of the weld was higher than 700 MPa. Both in the fusion zone （FZ） and HAZ for butt joint, the impact toughness was much higher than 27 J, either at room temperature or at -20 ℃, indicating good low temperature impact ductility of the weld of TRIP 600 steel. In addition, welding crack susceptibility tests revealed that weldments were free of surface crack and other imperfection. All experimental results of this steel showed fairly good weldability. For application, the crossmember in automobile made of this steel exhibited excellent weldability, and fatigue and durability tests were also accomplished for crossmember assembly.     

800 MPa级TRIP钢窄搭接焊接工艺研究

通过杯突试验、表面质量观察、焊缝金相组织分析,研究了800MPa级TRIP钢的焊接工艺性能。实验结果表明,焊接前无需预热处理;随着焊接电流的降低,焊缝表面起皮缺陷减轻;采用低电流、低焊接速度的合理匹配,并投入后退火工艺,焊缝熔合线区金相组织为贝氏体,可获得合格的杯突试验和优异的焊缝表面质量;试验钢焊接工艺选择与普材搭接焊接可获得最佳焊缝质量焊缝。     

Hardness,Microstructure, and Residual Stresses in Low Carbon Steel Welding with Post-weld Heat Treatment and Temper Bead Welding

This paper investigates the effects of post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) and temper bead welding (TBW) on hardness, microstructure and residual stresses in multi-layer welding on low carbon steel specimens made with two different weld geometries, viz. (1) smooth-contoured and (2) U-shaped. It was found that the PWHT technique gave overall lower hardness than the TBW technique, but the hardness values in both techniques were acceptable. Microscopy analysis showed that the TBW technique was more effective in tempering the heat affected zone as the grain size decreased slightly at the fusion line in spite of the higher temperature at the fusion line. Residual stresses measured using the hole-drilling method showed that the residual stress is not reduced below yield stress near the last bead solidified in TBW. Only PWHT gives low residual stress results in this area. High tensile residual stresses may result in sensitivity to fatigue loading.     

Sheet metal forming behaviour and mechanical properties of TRIP steels

Recently various kinds of high-strength sheet steels have been developed to meet the requirements of the automotive industry such as passive safety, weight reduction and saving energy. Usually the main problem of high-strength steels is their inferior ductility. Multiphase steels however show a very good combination of strength and formability so that the applicable region of high-strength steels has been widely enlarged. Multiphase steels have been developed for various purposes because of their ability to tailor properties by adjusting the type, the amount, and the distribution of different phases. Especially new developed triple-phase steels which make use of the TRIP effect (transformation induced plasticity) can further improve formability as well as strength due to the transformation of retained austenite to martensite during the deformation. In this work the transformation behaviour and the mechanical properties of low alloyed TRIP steels were investigated. The influence of the annealing parameters on transformation behaviour and on the amount of retained austenite were determined. In addition the temperature dependence of the mechanical properties and the effect of testing speed on the formability were studied. The investigation was carried out on seven different TRIP steels with different chemical compositions, especially the influence of the microalloying element niobium was considered. For reasons of comparison various mild and high-strength steels were tested parallel to the TRIP steels. It was found that the investigated TRIP steels offer very attractive combinations of elongation and strength values. An interesting temperature dependence of the mechanical properties can be observed, in such a way that the elongation values of the TRIP steels possess a maximum between +50 and +100°C. Due to its effect on grain size and on precipitation behaviour the addition of niobium leads to higher strength values without a strong decrease in ductility. In general, the mechanical properties are strongly affected by the type and the distribution of the different phases. The most important parameters, however, to influence the mechanical behaviour are the amount and the stability of the retained austenite, which are mainly controlled by the heat treatment and the chemical composition.     

Heat Flow during the Autogenous GTA Welding of Pipes

A theoretical and experimental study of heat flow during the welding of pipes was carried out. The theoretical part of the study involves the development of two finite difference computer models: one for describing steady state, 3-dimensional heat flow during seam welding, the other for describing unsteady state, 3-dimensional heat flow during girth welding. The experimental part of the study, on the other hand, includes: measurement of the thermal response of the pipe with a high speed data acquisition system, determination of the arc efficiency with a calorimeter, and examination of the fusion boundary of the resultant weld. The experimental results were compared with the calculated ones, and the agreement was excellent in the case of seam welding and reasonably good in the case of girth welding. Both the computer models and experiments confirmed that, under a constant heat input and welding speed, the size of the fusion zone remains unchanged in seam welding but continues to increase in girth welding of pipes of small diameters. It is expected that the unsteady state model developed can be used to provide optimum conditions for girth welding, so that uniform weld beads can be obtained and weld defects such as lack of fusion and sagging can be avoided.     

烧结金属过滤管法兰焊接强度测试

本文介绍了一种新型方法———“T”型支撑杆式测试多孔金属过滤管法兰焊缝强度 ,并从理论上推算出满足焊接强度要求的最小熔深值 ,结合强度测试结果和理论上溶深的最小值 ,判断焊缝质量 ,为焊接工艺和焊后处理工艺提供了参考     

Post-weld Tempered Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Laser-Arc Welded Cast Martensitic Stainless Steel CA6NM

Manufacturing of hydroelectric turbine components involves the assembly of thick-walled stainless steels using conventional multi-pass arc welding processes. By contrast, hybrid laser-arc welding may be an attractive process for assembly of such materials to realize deeper penetration depths, higher production rates, narrower fusion, and heat-affected zones, and lower distortion. In the present work, single-pass hybrid laser-arc welding of 10-mm thick CA6NM, a low carbon martensitic stainless steel, was carried out in the butt joint configuration using a continuous wave fiber laser at its maximum power of 5.2 kW over welding speeds ranging from 0.75 to 1.2 m/minute. The microstructures across the weldment were characterized after post-weld tempering at 873 K (600 °C) for 1 hour. From microscopic examinations, the fusion zone was observed to mainly consist of tempered lath martensite and some residual delta-ferrite. The mechanical properties were evaluated in the post-weld tempered condition and correlated to the microstructures and defects. The ultimate tensile strength and Charpy impact energy values of the fully penetrated welds in the tempered condition were acceptable according to ASTM, ASME, and industrial specifications, which bodes well for the introduction of hybrid laser-arc welding technology for the manufacturing of next generation hydroelectric turbine components.     

Weld microstructure of (Ni,Fe)3(V,Ti) long-range-ordered alloy

The microstructure of gas tungsten arc (GTA) welds of a (Ni, Fe)₃ (V, Ti) long-range-ordered alloy has been investigated. Crack-free welds were produced in which the heat affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone were disordered and softened. A post-weld heat treatment increased the hardness of both zones by reordering the structure. The reordering treatment produced additional hardening in the fusion zone due to precipitation of small VC particles on grain boundaries and matrix dislocations.     

高锰钢高速冲击时剪切区TRIP行为的准原位分析

利用背散射电子衍射技术对高速冲击前后高锰钢样品强制剪切区域的晶粒进行准原位观察,分析了剪切区域不同位置晶粒的相变情况,并借助有限元模拟及受力计算对不同晶粒相变程度差异的原因做了进一步分析.结果表明,在高速变形下,应力应变水平、奥氏体取向及晶粒间的相互作用共同影响TRIP行为:应力应变水平越高,相变程度越大;由于帽型样中剪切应力的存在,相比于近〈111〉取向奥氏体,近〈100〉和近〈110〉取向奥氏体相变程度更大,近〈110〉取向相变程度最大.具有有利取向的奥氏体,晶粒尺寸越大,其相变行为受周围晶粒影响越小,越容易充分相变;具有有利取向的长条状奥氏体晶粒,若其两侧晶粒难相变,则该晶粒相变将受到束缚;带有尖角的晶粒,变形时应力集中难以释放,易发生相变;当晶粒的孪生分力大于滑移,但其最大和次大的孪生分力相差不大,可能导致在这两个方向孪生互相竞争,反而不易相变.高速变形时体心马氏体多在晶界应力集中处产生,很少在晶粒内部大量产生,形态多为细片状,变体选择强.      

Stability and Constitutive Modelling in Multiphase TRIP Steels

Multiphase TRIP steels are a relatively new class of steels exhibiting excellent combinations of strength and cold formability, a fact that renders them particularly attractive for automotive applications. The present work reports models regarding the prediction of the stability of retained austenite, the optimisation of the heat‐treatment stages necessary for austenite stabilization in the microstructure, as well as the mechanical behaviour of these steels under deformation. Austenite stability against mechanically‐induced transformation to martensite depends on chemical composition, austenite particle size, strength of the matrix and stress state. The stability of retained austenite is characterized by the M^σ_S temperature, which can be expressed as a function of the aforementioned parameters by an appropriate model presented in this work. Besides stability, the mechanical behaviour of TRIP steels also depends on the amount of retained austenite present in the microstructure. This amount is determined by the combinations of temperature and temporal duration of the heat‐treatment stages undergone by the steel. Maximum amounts of retained austenite require optimisation of the heat‐treatment conditions. A physical model is presented in this work, which is based on the interactions between bainite and austenite during the heat‐treatment of multiphase TRIP steels, and which allows for the selection of treatment conditions leading to the maximization of retained austenite in the final microstructure. Finally, a constitutive micromechanical model is presented, which describes the mechanical behaviour of multiphase TRIP steels under deformation, taking into account the different plastic behaviour of the individual phases, as well as the evolution of the microstructure itself during plastic deformation. This constitutive micromechanical model is subsequently used for the calculation of forming limit diagrams (FLD) for these complex steels, an issue of great practical importance for the optimisation of stretch‐forming and deep‐drawing operations.     

Investigation on Precipitation Transition in CGHAZ for TRIP Steels Containing Vanadium and Titanium

Two kinds of low-carbon low-silicon TRIP (Transformation Induced Plasticity) steels containing vanadium are designed using ThermoCalc software in the light of both thermodynamics and kinetics.TRIP heat treatment process of different steels is determined according to the calculation results respectively.Weld HAZ (Heat-Affected Zone) simulation tests indicate the weldability of TRIP steels is crucially sensitive to CE (carban equivelent) of the steel.However the impact toughness of CGHAZ (Coarse Grain Heat-Affected Zone) does not decrease drastically for TRIP steels microalloyed with Ti+V.The steel containing both of vanadium and titanium shows smaller grain size compared with that containing vanadium solely.This is because the precipitation of Ti/V carbonitride slows down the grain boundary motion speed and then retards the grain size coalescence in CGHAZ.     

2种含铝TRIP钢连续冷却转变动力学分析

用热膨胀法,通过对含1.5%w（Al）和含w（Al）1.0%＋w（Si）0.5%的2种TRIP钢的显微组织观察,绘制了2种不同w（Al）、w（Si）的TRIP钢的静态CCT曲线,研究了含Al TRIP钢在冷却过程中的相转变,分析了冷却速率及不同w（Al）对微观组织和贝氏体转变动力学的影响。结果表明,Al元素加速TRIP钢冷却时铁素体转变和贝氏体转变,但是推迟珠光体转变。     

双相钢激光焊管的焊缝组织演变及扩口性能研究

介绍了马氏体含量不同的双相钢(DP590和DP780)激光焊管的焊缝组织演变,研究了焊缝硬度分布特征及其对扩口性能的影响。结果表明:激光焊缝的熔合区存在明显硬化,组织为单一的马氏体,DP780钢热影响区出现了显著的软化,DP590钢无软化区存在,造成这一差别的原因在于两者马氏体含量不同;软化区的存在导致DP780钢激光焊管的扩口率急剧下降,仅为DP590钢的10%左右;建立了焊管扩口的数值模型,模拟结果与试验结果相吻合。     

Investigation into the Influence of Post-Weld Heat Treatment on the Friction Stir Welded AA6061 Al-Alloy Plates with Different Temper Conditions

In this study, the effect of post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir butt-joined AA6061 Al-alloy plates both in O and T6-temper conditions was investigated by detailed microstructural investigations and microhardness measurements, in combination with transverse tensile testing. It was determined that the PWHT might result in abnormal grain growth (AGG) in the weld zone particularly in the joints produced in O-temper condition depending on the weld parameters used during friction stir welding. The PWHT generally led to an improvement in the mechanical properties even if AGG took place. Thus, the post-weld heat-treated joints exhibited mechanical properties much higher than those of respective as-welded plates and comparable to those of the respective base plates.     

Al-TRIP钢焊缝熔合区的组织和硬度特征

对铝合金化TRIP钢开展焊接试验,研究了冷却速度对焊缝熔合区的组织和显微硬度的影响,结果表明,熔合区均含有骨骼状的铁素体(δ),熔合区冷却速度的变化没有改变铁素体为初生相的凝固特征,但会影响熔合区组织的相对含量以及尺寸,硬度则随着冷却速度的增大而增大,且与马氏体的理论硬度值的差值逐步减小。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In Situ</Emphasis> Local Measurement of Austenite Mechanical Stability and Transformation Behavior in Third-Generation Advanced High-Strength Steels

Austenite mechanical stability, i.e., retained austenite volume fraction (RAVF) variation with strain, and transformation behavior were investigated for two third-generation advanced high-strength steels (3GAHSS) under quasi-static uniaxial tension: a 1200 grade, two-phase medium Mn (10 wt pct) TRIP steel, and a 980 grade, three-phase TRIP steel produced with a quenching and partitioning heat treatment. The medium Mn (10 wt pct) TRIP steel deforms inhomogeneously via propagative instabilities (Lüders and Portevin Le Châtelier-like bands), while the 980 grade TRIP steel deforms homogenously up to necking. The dramatically different deformation behaviors of these steels required the development of a new in situ experimental technique that couples volumetric synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurement of RAVF with surface strain measurement using stereo digital image correlation over the beam impingement area. Measurement results with the new technique are compared to those from a more conventional approach wherein strains are measured over the entire gage region, while RAVF measurement is the same as that in the new technique. A determination is made as to the appropriateness of the different measurement techniques in measuring the transformation behaviors for steels with homogeneous and inhomogeneous deformation behaviors. Extension of the new in situ technique to the measurement of austenite transformation under different deformation modes and to higher strain rates is discussed.     

TIG焊接热循环对AZ31B镁合金硬度的影响

以AZ31B镁合金为研究对象，采用TIG焊方法进行焊接，考察了焊接热循环对镁合金的硬度的影响。测量、比较、分析了焊缝、热影响区、母材的硬度。结果表明，表面处理过程（研磨、抛光、侵蚀液体及工艺等）对镁合金硬度的影响很大，直接影响到“焊接工艺-硬度”之间关系。与母材相比，由于焊缝的冷却速率高，组织细小，硬度较高。热影响区的组织虽比母材粗大，但硬度与母材相近。焊缝区不同部位的硬度存在一定差异。