Micrometre scale residual stress measurement in fusion boundary of dissimilar steel welded joints using nanoindenter system

Abstract

In the present paper, an approach for measuring the micrometre scale residual stress around the fusion boundary in dissimilar steel welded joints was introduced. An as welded joint and a post-weld heat treated joint were examined using a nanoindenter system. The results revealed that a compressive residual stress existed around the fusion boundary in a range 200 μm extending to the overheated heat affected zone (HAZ) and 300 μm to the weld metal, and the compressive stresses were reduced after post-weld heat treatment. The maximum compressive stress occurred in the fusion boundary and then dramatically decreased in the adjacent HAZ base metal and weld metal. In comparison with the regular approaches for macrometre scale measurement, the nanoindentation has the advantages of high resolution and precision for effectively evaluating the residual stresses in a narrow region. The measuring error was analysed.     

Phase formation in Ti/Ni dissimilar welds

We explore phase formation in Ti/Ni dissimilar welds using a combination of microscopy and composition analysis (TEM, SEM and EDS). Main microstructural features are NiTi dendrites and Ti₂Ni grains in the inter-dendritic space. The high temperature B2 phase of NiTi is found to transform to trigonal ‘R’-phase, B19^′martensite, and rhombohedral Ni₄Ti₃ phase; these different transformation products highlight the composition inhomogeneity in the parent B2 phase and probable non-equilibrium solidification events during rapid cooling of the weld. Solidification sequence of NiTi and Ti₂Ni was found to vary depending on local conditions in the weld. Formation of impurity nitride phases of titanium is observed which signify incomplete shielding during welding.     

Residual stress measurement on Titanium Grade 5 and Inconel 625 thin dissimilar welded joints by contour method

Journal of Materials Science - Residual stress assessment is a key factor in engineering design owing to its impact on engineering properties of materials, structural components and welded joints....     

Development and comparison of residual stress measurement on welds by various methods

Abstract

Residual stress constitutes an integral part of the total stress acting on any component in service. It is imperative to determine residual stress to estimate the life of critical engineering components, especially those that are welded. The stresses caused by non-uniform temperature distribution due to welding and the effect of these multiaxial stresses upon service performance are discussed. A controlled thermal severity test (CTS) was performed on mild steel plates bolted together, with anchor welds deposited on opposite sides. After cooling, bithermal and trithermal test welds were deposited one after the other. Varying welding stresses were deliberately introduced by using different thicknesses of both plates to change the thermal severity numbers (TSN). The main experimental technique used here to determine the magnitude and nature of residual stress is based on X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was utilised to develop and standardise other techniques. The XRD method is based on the peak shiftin the diffraction profile due to the presence of stress using a sin² ψ method. The peak shift is determined by orienting the sample at different angles ± ψ to the incident X-ray beam. The semidestructive technique of hole drilling and use of a strain gauge was also employed to determine residual stress in CTS specimens. The magnitude, nature, and direction of principal stresses were determined by relieving stresses through incremental blind hole drilling and measuring strain values at each step. The surface displacements arising due to hole drilling can also be determined by laser holography. A sandwich holography technique was developed to avoid unwanted rigid body motions of samples due to hole drilling when relieving stresses. Stress values were obtained by measuring fringe displacement between two exposures of a sandwich hologram, due to hole drilling. Results on the change in residual stress values with TSN are discussed. The residual stress values determined by XRD and sandwich holography were found to be comparable, and stress values obtained by hole drilling/strain gauge measurement were higher than these values. The reasons are discussed.     

Through‐wall welding residual stress profiles for dissimilar metal nozzle butt welds in pressurized water reactors

This paper provides approximate expressions for through‐wall welding residual stresses in dissimilar metal nozzle butt welds of pressurized water reactors. An idealized shape of nozzle is proposed, based on which systematic elastic–plastic thermo‐mechanical finite element analyses are conducted by varying the thickness and radius of the nozzle and the length of the safe‐end. Based on the results, a through‐wall welding residual stress profile for dissimilar metal nozzle butt welds is proposed by modifying the existing welding residual stress profile for austenitic pipe butt welds in the R6 procedure.     

Microstructure and fatigue properties of Mg-to-steel dissimilar resistance spot welds

The structural application of lightweight magnesium alloys in the automotive industry inevitably involves dissimilar welding with steels and the related durability issues. This study was aimed at evaluating the microstructural change and fatigue resistance of Mg/steel resistance spot welds, in comparison with Mg/Mg welds. The microstructure of Mg/Mg spot welds can be divided into: base metal, heat affected zone and fusion zone (nugget). However, the microstructure of Mg/steel dissimilar spot welds had three different regions along the joined interface: weld brazing, solid-state joining and soldering. The horizontal and vertical Mg hardness profiles of Mg/steel and Mg/Mg welds were similar. Both Mg/steel and Mg/Mg welds were observed to have an equivalent fatigue resistance due to similar crack propagation characteristics and failure mode. Both Mg/steel and Mg/Mg welds failed through thickness in the magnesium sheet under stress-controlled cyclic loading, but fatigue crack initiation of the two types of welds was different. The crack initiation of Mg/Mg welds was occurred due to a combined effect of stress concentration, grain growth in the heat affected zone (HAZ), and the presence of Al-rich phases at HAZ grain boundaries, while the penetration of small amounts of Zn coating into the Mg base metal stemming from the liquid metal induced embrittlement led to crack initiation in the Mg/steel welds.     

Softened zone formation and joint strength properties in dissimilar friction welds

The mechanical properties of dissimilar MMC/AISI 304 stainless steel friction welds with and without silver interlayers were examined. The notch tensile strengths of MMC/AISI 304 stainless steel and MMC/Ag/AISI 304 stainless steel friction welds increased when high friction pressures were applied during the joining operation. The higher notch tensile strengths of dissimilar MMC/AISI and MMC/Ag/AISI 304 stainless steel friction welds resulted from the formation of narrow softened zones in MMC material immediately adjacent to the bondline. The influence of softened zone width and hardness (yield strength) on the notch tensile strengths of dissimilar welds was analysed using finite element modelling (FEM). FEM in combination with the assumption of a ductile failure criterion was used to calculate the notch tensile strengths of dissimilar joints. The key assumption in this work is that dissimilar weld failure wholly depended on the characteristics (mechanical properties and dimensions) of the softened zone formed in MMC material immediately adjacent to the bondline. The modelling results produced based on this assumption closely correspond with the actual notch tensile strengths of dissimilar MMC/Ag/AISI 304 stainless steel and MMC/Ag/AISI 304 stainless steel friction welds.     

Prediction of residual stresses in welds of similar and dissimilar steel weldments

The fabrication of structural member using dissimilar steels renders steel structures lighter and more economical. However, it always involves welding process and produces different residual stresses in welds as compared with welding of similar steels. This paper presents the characteristics of residual stresses in welds of similar and dissimilar steel weldments by carrying out three-dimensional (3-D) thermal elastic-plastic finite element (FE) analysis. The materials used in this investigation were SM400, SM490, SM520 and SM570, widely used structural steels in welded structure. Results show that the maximum longitudinal residual stresses in welds of the similar steel weldments increase with increasing yield stress of the steel welded (SM400 < SM490 < SM520 < SM570). In case of the dissimilar steel weldments, the difference between the longitudinal residual stresses in welds increases with increasing yield stress of the steel welded together with SM400 (SM490 < SM520 < SM570).     

Characterisation of dissimilar P91 and P92 steel welds joint

In the present study, dissimilar weld joint was prepared using the P91 and P92 steel plate of 8-mm thickness, using the multi-pass gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding with filler (weld 1) and autogenous tungsten inert gas welding (A-TIG) process (weld 2). Evolution of δ-ferrite patches was studied in weld zone and heat affected zone (HAZ) for both weld 1 and weld 2. Effect of varying post weld heat treatment (PWHT) duration was also studied on δ-ferrite patches and mechanical properties of the dissimilar weld joint. PWHT was carried out at 760°C. For weld 2, weld zone showed poor impact toughness and higher peak hardness as compared to weld 1. After the PWHT, a considerable reduction in hardness was obtained for both weld 1 and weld 2,while impact toughness of weld zone showed a continuous increment with PWHT duration. For weldments characterisation, optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and microhardness tester were utilised.     

Out-of-plane constraint effect on local fracture resistance of a dissimilar metal welded joint

An experimental investigation on effect and mechanism of out-of-plane constraint induced by specimen thickness on local fracture resistance of two cracks (A508 heat-affected-zone (HAZ) crack and A508/Alloy52Mb interface crack) located at the weakest region in an Alloy52M dissimilar metal welded joint (DMWJ) between A508 ferritic steel and 316L stainless steel in nuclear power plants has been carried out. The results show with increasing out-of-plane constraint (specimen thickness), the fracture mechanism of the two cracks changes from ductile fracture through mixed ductile and brittle fracture to brittle fracture, and the corresponding crack growth resistance decreases. The crack growth path in the specimens with different out-of-plane constraints deviates to low-strength material side, and is mainly controlled by local strength mismatch. For accurate and reliable safety design and failure assessment of the DMWJ structures, it needs to consider the constraint effect on local fracture resistance. The new safety design and failure assessment methods incorporating both in-plane and out-of-plane constraint effects need to be developed for the DMWJ structures.     

Application of low Ms temperature consumable to dissimilar welded joint

Abstract

The welding of dissimilar joints is very common in systems used in oil exploration and production in deep sea waters. Commonly involves welding of low carbon steel pipes with low alloy steel forgings both with inner Inconel clad. The forged steel part undergoes a process of buttering with Inconel or carbon steel electrode before the weld of the joint. The buttering process is followed by a process of residual stresses relief. The conventional way of reducing the level of residual stresses in welded joints is to apply post welding heat treatments. Depending on the size and complexity of the parts to be joined, this can become a serious problem. An alternative technique for reducing residual stresses is to use an electrode that during the cooling process undergoes a displacive transformation at a relatively low temperature so that the deformation resulting from the transformation compensates the contraction during the cooling process, and, although many papers have been published in this direction using Fe–Cr–Ni alloys, most of them report a loss of toughness in the weld metal. Maraging steel is a family of materials with M_s temperature below 200°C and even without the final heat treatment of aging has superior mechanical properties to low alloy steels used in forgings. In this work, forged piece of AISI 4130 was buttered with Maraging 350 weld consumable and subsequently welded to ASTM A36 steel using Inconel 625 filler metal. In addition, the dissimilar base metal plates were welded together using Maraging 350 steel weld consumable. The levels of residual stress, and the toughness and microstructures of heat affected zone and weld metal were investigated.     

Weldability in dissimilar welds between Type 310 austenitic stainless steel and Alloy 657

Microstructural evolution and solidification cracking susceptibility of dissimilar metal welds between Type 310 austenitic stainless steel and Inconel 657, a nickel-based alloy, were studied using a combination of electron microscopy analysis and Varestraint testing techniques. In addition, the effect of filler metal chemistry on the fusion zone composition, microstructure, and resultant weldability was investigated. The good cracking resistance of welds prepared with Inconel A was due to a small amount of secondary phase (NbC) and narrow solidification temperature range. The relatively poor cracking resistance of welds prepared with Inconel 82 and Type 310 stainless steel (310 SS) was a result of a wide solidification temperature range and an increase in the amount of secondary phases. Consequently, it is concluded that for the joint between Inconel 657 and 310 SS, filler material of Inconel A offers the best weldability.