Structure-property correlation of submerged-arc and gas-metal-arc weldments in HY-100 steel

Structure-property relationships of two HY-100 steel weldments prepared by submerged arc (SAW) and gas metal arc (GMAW) welding processes using identical heat input (2.2 kJ mm^-1) have been studied. It has been found that submerged arc welded (SAW) HY-100 steel weldments have a lower weld toughness than welds produced by the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. Optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy were used in conjunction with microhardness traverses to characterize and compare the various microconstituents that are present in the last weld pass of both weldments. TEM examination revealed the presence of coarse upper bainite, B-II bainite, and carbides in a highly dislocated ferrite matrix as well as in ferrite laths in the SAW weldment, while the GMAW weldment exhibited a typical fine low carbon lath martensite, autotempered martensite, and mixed B-II and B-III bainites which occasionally contained small regions of twinned martensite. The measured cooling rate in the SAW was found to be about 40 pct slower than that in GMAW. It was also found in the SAW that the weld metal inclusion number density was about 25 pct greater than that in GMAW. Micro-hardness traverses exhibited significantly lower hardness (about 50 HV) in the SAW weldment compared with GMAW, but the tempered weld metal microhardness in both the weldments was measured about the same, at 250 HV. The ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of both weldments was determined by Charpy impact test. Based on an average energy criterion, the DBTT of the SAW weldment was 323 K (50 °C) higher than that of the GMAW weldment. This difference in fracture resistance is due to the different weld metal microstructures. The different microstructures most probably result from differences in cooling rate subsequent to welding; however, the SAW weld also has a higher inclusion number density which could promote a higher transformation temperature for the austenite.     

Process Stability of Ultrasonic-Wave-Assisted Gas Metal Arc Welding

As a newly developed arc welding method, ultrasonic-wave-assisted arc welding successfully introduced power ultrasound into the arc and weld pool, during which the ultrasonic acts on the top of the arc in the coaxial alignment direction. The advanced process for molten metals can be realized by using an additional ultrasonic field. Compared with the conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW), the welding arc is compressed, the droplet size is decreased, and the droplet transfer frequency is increased significantly in ultrasonic-wave-assisted GMAW (U-GMAW). However, the stability of the metal transfer has deep influence on the welding quality equally, and the ultrasonic wave effect on the stability of the metal transfer is a phenomenon that is not completely understood. In this article, the stabilities of the short-circuiting transfer process and globular transfer process are studied systematically, and the effect of ultrasonic wave on the metal transfer is analyzed further. The transfer frequency and process stability of the U-GMAW process are much higher than those of the conventional GMAW. Analytical results show that the additional ultrasonic wave is helpful for improving welding stability.     

Structure-property correlation of submerged-arc and gas-metal-arc weldments in HY-100 steel

Structure-property relationships of two HY-100 steel weldments prepared by submerged arc (SAW) and gas metal arc (GMAW) welding processes using identical heat input (2.2 kJ mm^-1) have been studied. It has been found that submerged arc welded (SAW) HY-100 steel weldments have a lower weld toughness than welds produced by the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. Optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy were used in conjunction with microhardness traverses to characterize and compare the various microconstituents that are present in the last weld pass of both weldments. TEM examination revealed the presence of coarse upper bainite, B-II bainite, and carbides in a highly dislocated ferrite matrix as well as in ferrite laths in the SAW weldment, while the GMAW weldment exhibited a typical fine low carbon lath martensite, autotempered martensite, and mixed B-II and B-III bainites which occasionally contained small regions of twinned martensite. The measured cooling rate in the SAW was found to be about 40 pct slower than that in GMAW. It was also found in the SAW that the weld metal inclusion number density was about 25 pct greater than that in GMAW. Micro-hardness traverses exhibited significantly lower hardness (about 50 HV) in the SAW weldment compared with GMAW, but the tempered weld metal microhardness in both the weldments was measured about the same, at 250 HV. The ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of both weldments was determined by Charpy impact test. Based on an average energy criterion, the DBTT of the SAW weldment was 323 K (50 °C) higher than that of the GMAW weldment. This difference in fracture resistance is due to the different weld metal microstructures. The different microstructures most probably result from differences in cooling rate subsequent to welding; however, the SAW weld also has a higher inclusion number density which could promote a higher transformation temperature for the austenite. Formerly Adjunct Research Professor with the Materials Engineering Group, Naval Postgraduate School Formerly Graduate Student at NPS     

Effect of welding consumables and processes on dynamic fracture toughness (J 1d) of armour grade Q&T steel joints

Abstract

Austenitic stainless steel (ASS) welding consumables are being used for welding armour grade Q&T steels, as they have higher solubility for hydrogen in the austenitic phase, to avoid hydrogen induced cracking (HIC). Even with austenitic stainless steel consumables under high dilution, the risk of HIC prevailed. In recent years, the developments of low hydrogen ferritic steel (LHF) consumables that contain no hygroscopic compounds are utilised for welding Q&T steels. The use of ASS fillers for welding armour grade Q&T steels creates a duplex microstructure (austenite and δ ferrite) in the welds, which drastically reduces the joint efficiency (ratio of ultimate tensile strength of the joint and the base metal). On the other hand, the weld made using LHF fillers exhibited superior joint efficiency due to the preferential ferrite microstructure in the welds. The use of ASS and LHF consumables for armour grade Q&T steels will lead to formation of distinct microstructures in their respective welds. This microstructural heterogeneity will have a drastic influence on the dynamic fracture toughness of the armour grade Q&T steel welds. Hence, in this investigation an attempt has been made to study the influence on the welding consumables and processes on the dynamic fracture toughness properties of armour grade Q&T steel joints. Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and flux cored arc welding (FCAW) processes were used for fabrication of the joints using ASS and LHF welding consumables. The joints fabricated by SMAW process using ASS consumables exhibited superior dynamic fracture toughness values compared to all other joints.     

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.     

TANDEM and GMAW Twin Wire Welding of Q690 Steel Used in Hydraulic Support

 Compared with using semi-automatic gas shielded arc welding, using automatic TANDEM twin wire welding and twin wire gas metal arc welding (GMAW) to weld Q690 steel, a low-alloy high-strength structural steel used in the hydraulic support in the fully-mechanized mining face, the welding speed, deposition rate, production environment and welding quality can be obviously improved. Compared with GMAW twin wire welding, a refined microstructure in the weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ), narrow HAZ and improved joint strength were achieved with TANDEM on Q690. Also, due to the push-pull pulsed way in TANDEM welding, the droplet transfer, distribution on heat flow and interaction between two arcs were completely different from those in GMAW twin wire system. The heat input of TANDEM is only about 766% of GMAW, and correspondingly, the welding speed and welding seam can be obviously improved. The complete oscillation caused by TANDEM pulsed current occurred in the welding pool, which refined the grains in the microstructure. The results show that TANDEM twin wire welding is very suitable in the welding of Q690 used in the hydraulic support.     

变极性电弧焊接的电流换向过程影响因素试验研究

采用基于反向再燃弧电压产生电路的变极性焊接电源为试验平台,研究了电源设备及其控制参数、焊接回路电缆寄生电感和焊接工艺参数对变极性焊接电流换向过程的影响规律. 试验结果表明,提高反向再燃弧电压值能够提升变极性过程的电流变化速率,而较大的焊接回路电缆寄生电感会降低电流变化速率,同时降低变极性结束时的电流值,不利于变极性过程的电弧可靠再引燃和稳定燃烧. 初始焊接电流越小,则变极性过程结束时的电流值越小,增加共同导通时间可以提高变极性结束时的电流值,但同时降低变极性开始时的电流大小. 因此小电流变极性焊接时可采用较大的反向稳压值并适当增加共同导通时间,以增强变极性过程中的电弧稳定性.      

Charpy V-notch properties and microstructures of narrow gap ferritic welds of a quenched and tempered steel plate

Multipass welds of quenched and tempered 50-mm-thick steel plate have been deposited by a single wire narrow gap process using both gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and submerged arc welding (SAW). Of the five welds, two reported much lower Charpy V-notch (CVN) values when tested at −20 °C. The CVN toughness did not correlate with either the welding process or whether the power source was pulsed or nonpulsed. The only difference in the ferritic microstructure between the two welds of low Charpy values and the three of high values was the percentage of acicular ferrite. There was no effect of the percentage of as-deposited reheated zones intersected by the Charpy notch or the microhardness of the intercellular-dendritic regions. In all welds, austenite was the microconstituent between the ferrite laths. The percentage of acicular ferrite correlated with the presence of MnO, TiO₂, γ Al₂O₃, or MnO. Al₂O₃ as the predominant crystalline compound in the oxide inclusions. In turn, the crystalline compound depended on the aluminum-to-titanium ratio in both the weld deposits and the oxide inclusions. In addition to the presence of less acicular ferrite, the two welds that showed lower Charpy values also reported more oxide inclusions greater than 1 μm in diameter. The combination of more oxide inclusions greater than 1 μm and less acicular ferrite is considered to be the explanation for the lower Charpy values.     

Multi-objective Optimization of Welding Parameters in Submerged Arc Welding of API X65 Steel Plates

Submerged arc welding(SAW)is one of the main welding processes with high deposition rate and high welding quality.This welding method is extensively used in welding large-diameter gas transmission pipelines and high-pressure vessels.In welding of such structures,the selection process parameters has great influence on the weld bead geometry and consequently affects the weld quality.Based on Fuzzy logic and NSGA-II(Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II)algorithm,a new approach was proposed for weld bead geometry prediction and for process parameters optimization.First,different welding parameters including welding voltage,current and speed were set to perform SAW under different conditions on API X65 steel plates.Next,the designed Fuzzy model was used for predicting the weld bead geometry and modeling of the process.The obtained mean percentage error of penetration depth,weld bead width and height from the proposed Fuzzy model was 6.06%,6.40% and 5.82%,respectively.The process parameters were then optimized to achieve the desired values of convexity and penetration indexes simultaneously using NSGA-II algorithm.As a result,a set of optimum vectors(each vector contains current,voltage and speed within their selected experimental domains)was presented for desirable values of convexity and penetration indexes in the ranges of(0.106,0.168)and(0.354,0.561)respectively,which was more applicable in real conditions.     

非调质低焊接裂纹敏感性(WDB620)钢的焊接

采用焊条电弧焊，气体保护焊，埋弧焊以及焊接热模拟的方法，研究了了WDB620钢焊接接头力学性能及抗冷裂性能，结果表明：当焊接热输小于35kJ/cm时，可以获得良好的焊接接头性能，非调质工艺生产的WDB620钢具有很低的焊接冷裂纹敏感性。     

Effect of Welding Processes and Consumables on Tensile and Impact Properties of High Strength Quenched and Tempered Steel Joints

Quenched and tempered steels are prone to hydrogen induced cracking in the heat affected zone after welding. The use of austenitic stainless steel consumables to weld the above steel was the only available remedy because of higher solubility for hydrogen in austenitic phase. In this investigation, an attempt was made to determine a suitable consumable to replace expensive austenitic consumables. Two different consumables, namely, austenitie stain less steel and low hydrogen ferritic steel, were used to fabricate the joints by shielded metal are welding （SMAW） and flux cored arc welding （FCAW） processes. The joints fabricated by using low hydrogen ferritic steel consumables showed superior transverse tensile properties, whereas joints fabricated by using austenitic stainless steel consumables exhibited better impact toughness, irrespective of the welding process used. The SMAW joints exhibited superior mechanical and impact properties, irrespective of the consumables used, than their FCAW counterparts.     

Effect of welding consumables on hydrogen induced cracking of armour grade quenched and tempered steel welds

Abstract

Armour grade quenched and tempered (Q&T) steels are susceptible to hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) in the heat affected zone after welding. Austenitic stainless steel (ASS) consumables are selected for welding Q&T steels as they have higher solubility for hydrogen in the austenitic phase and it is the most beneficial method for controlling HIC in Q&T steel welds. Recent studies reveal that high nickel steel and low hydrogen ferritic steel consumables can be used to weld Q&T steels, which can give very low hydrogen levels in the weld deposits. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to study the effect of welding consumables on hydrogen induced cracking of Q&T steel welds by implant testing. Shielded metal arc (SMAW) welding process has been used for making welds using three different consumables, namely austenitic stainless steel, low hydrogen ferritic steel (LHF) and high nickel steel (HNS) to assess HIC by implant testing. The high nickel steel consumables exhibited a higher value of lower critical stress (LCS) and thus they offered a greater resistance to hydrogen induced cracking of armour grade Q&T steel welds than other consumables. The diffusible hydrogen content and the value of the LCS meets the specified limit for armour grade Q&T steel welds and hence, the LHF consumables can be accepted as an alternative to the to the traditionally used ASS consumables and the proposed HNS consumables.     

Characteristics of a pulsed-current, vertical-up gas metal arc weld in steel

The performance of the pulsed-current gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process for vertical-up weld deposition of steel has been found to be superior over the use of the short-circuiting arc GMAW process with respect to the tensile, impact, and fatigue properties of the weld joint. The microstructure, weld geometry, and mechanical properties of a pulsed-current weld joint are largely governed by the pulse parameters, and correlate well to the factor φ, defined as a summarized influence of pulse parameters such as peak current, base current, pulse-off time, and pulse frequency. The increase of φ has been found favorable to refine the microstructure and enhance the tensile strength, C _v toughness, and fatigue life of a weld joint. The fatigue life of a short-circuiting arc weld joint has been found to be markedly reduced due to the presence of an undercut at the weld toe and incomplete side-wall fusion of the base material.     

酸洗Miebach焊机焊接参数的研究

根据新研制的Ｍｉｅｂａｃｈ酸洗焊机的数据监测装置的测试资料，对影响焊缝质量的焊机控制参数和焊接工艺参数进行了分析研究，对提高酸洗段焊缝的质量提出了相应的对策。     

镀锌线Minilap Welder型电阻缝焊机故障分析及对策

介绍电阻缝焊机的焊接原理，焊缝形成的过程以及影响焊缝质量的主要因素，例如焊接电流、焊接时间、接触电阻等；介绍了VAICLECIM公司生产的MINILAP电阻窄搭接缝焊机的性能结构，并针对镀锌线应用中出现的问题进行分析，查找原因，制定措施，更好地指导焊机的操作和维护。     

Influence of Activating Flux and Helium Shielding Gas on an Austenitic Stainless Steel Weldment

Activating flux-assisted gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is a well-established method for enhancing weld penetration. In GTAW, steel is usually welded with a shielding gas that contains mostly argon. However, pure argon does not provide enough weld penetration. Argon-helium mixtures are inert and a greater concentration of helium would increase the arc voltage and the weld depth-to-width (D/W) ratio. There is a significant level of interest in the interaction between activating flux and shielding gas composition. Weld morphology, arc profile, retained δ ferrite content, angular distortion, and microstructure are extremely important in applying the activating flux combination argon-helium in GTAW; therefore, in this work, all these were studied.     

Field girth weldability evaluation of X70 UOE pipeline

Based on API STD 1104-2005 and CSA Z662-2007,field girth welding tests and girth weldability evaluations were executed for three types of wall thickness X70 UOE pipeline,in which the most popular main line girth welding method,single-wire automatic gas metal arc welding(GMAW),was used. The welding procedure specification was optimized to achieve a good quality and cold-crack-free girth weld joint without preheating or post-weld heat treatment. In addition,porosities,inclusions,and incomplete fusion defects were avoided. The tensile strength,bending,Vickers hardness,Charpy V-notch impact toughness,and crack tip opening displacement fracture toughness of the girth weld joint were evaluated,and the joint exhibited good mechanical performance. Thus,the field girth weldability of Baosteel's X70 UOE pipeline is excellent for automatic GMAW.     

Dilution in single pass arc welds

A study was conducted on dilution of single pass arc welds of type 308 stainless steel filler metal deposited onto A36 carbon steel by the plasma arc welding (PAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), and submerged are welding (SAW) processes. Knowledge of the arc and melting efficiency was used in a simple energy balance to develop an expression for dilution as a function of welding variables and thermophysical properties of the filler metal and substrate. Comparison of calculated and experimentally determined dilution values shows the approach provides reasonable predictions of dilution when the melting efficiency can be accurately predicted. The conditions under which such accuracy is obtained are discussed. A diagram is developed from the dilution equation which readily reveals the effect of processing parameters on dilution to aid in parameter optimization.     

Effect of Process Parameters on Clad Quality of Duplex Stainless Steel Using GMAW Process

In recent years, weld cladding are being applied in numerous industries as cost effective engineering solution to use a surface protection layer to protect carbon steel against corrosion attack. The desirable characteristics of cladding alloy are reasonable strength, weldability, resistance to general and localized corrosion attack. The duplex stainless steel having all the desirable characteristic is the candidate material for cladding. However, duplex weld metals have not been studied in detail as duplex stainless steels. Consequently, the properties of duplex weld metals are less well known and only partially understood. In the present study, the properties of duplex weld deposits of the 22 % Cr, 10 % Ni, 3 % Mo, and 0.12 % N type using GMAW process have been investigated. In particular, the influence of welding heat input and shielding gas composition in GMAW process on weld deposit microstructure, impact toughness and resistance to pitting corrosion have been studied. It is observed that concentration of nitrogen of weld deposits influenced by both heat input and shielding gas composition exerted significant effect on microstructure, low temperature toughness and resistance to pitting corrosion.