Influence of peak temperature during simulation and real thermal cycles on microstructure and fracture properties of the reheated zones

The objective of this paper is to study the influence of the second peak temperature during real and simulated welding on properties of the subcritically (S), intercritically (IC) and supercritically (SC) reheated coarse grained heat affected (CGHAZ) zones. The X80 high strength pipeline microalloyed steel was subject to processing in a double-pass tandem submerged arc welding process with total heat input of 6.98 kJ/mm and thermal cycles to simulate microstructure of reheated CGHAZ zones. This involved heating to a first peak temperature (T_P1) of 1400 °C, then reheating to different second peak temperatures (T_P2) of 700, 800 and 900 °C with a constant cooling rate of 3.75 °C/s. Toughness of the simulated reheated CGHAZ regions were assessed using Charpy impact testing at 0 °C, −25 °C and −50 °C. The microstructure of the real and simulated reheated CGHAZ regions was investigated using an optical microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope. Morphology of the martensite/austenite (MA) constituent was obtained by the use of a field emission scanning electron microscope. The blocky and connected MA particles, along prior-austenite grain boundaries, act as a brittle phase for the initiation site of the brittle fracture. Charpy impact results indicated that IC CGHAZ had less absorbed energy with higher transition temperature and hardness. The SC CGHAZ region showed higher absorbed impact energy with lower hardness. Design of multipass weld joints with less IC CGHAZ regions can result in a higher toughness property.     

Influence of peak temperature during in-service welding of API X70 pipeline steels on microstructure and fracture energy of the reheated coarse grain heat-affected zones

In this investigation, thermal simulated specimens were used to investigate the effect of second peak temperature during in-service welding on characteristic fracture energy and microstructure feature of the subcritically (SC), intercritically (IC), supercritically (SCR), and unaltered (UA) reheated coarse grain heat-affected zones (CGHAZs). The API X70 high-strength pipeline micro-alloyed steel was subjected to processing during in-service welding by applying double thermal cycle shielded metal arc welding process with heat input of 9.3 kJ/cm and thermal cycles to simulate microstructure of reheated CGHAZs. This consisted of first thermal cycle with a peak temperature of 1350 °C, then reheating to different second peak temperatures of 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 °C with a constant cooling rate of 60 °C/s. Toughness of the simulated reheated CGHAZs were assessed using Charpy impact testing at −20 °C, and the corresponding fractographs, optical micrographs, and electron micrographs have been examined. It is found that accelerating cooling rate during in-service welding has an improving effect on the microstructure of CGHAZs. Owing to small heat-input and accelerating cooling, the grain size in reheated CGHAZs is relatively small and the brittle microphases are eliminated or minimized. The Charpy impact results show that the CGHAZ fracture energy is improved after the second thermal cycle. The SC CGHAZ showed higher absorbed impact energy and the IR CGHAZ had less absorbed energy, but the phenomenon of embrittlement in IR CGHAZ is not serious. Therefore, it can be concluded that the fracture energy of CGHAZ and IR CGHAZ can be improved by accelerating cooling with appropriate cooling rate.     

Effects of acicular ferrite on charpy impact properties in heat affected zones of oxide-containing API X80 linepipe steels

This study was concerned with effects of acicular ferrite on Charpy impact properties in heat affected zones (HAZs) of two API X80 linepipe steels containing oxides. In the one steel, Mg and O₂ were additionally added to form a larger amount of oxides than the other steel, which was a conventional X80 steel containing a considerable amount of Al and Ti. Various HAZ microstructures were obtained by conducting HAZ simulation tests under different heat inputs of 35 kJ cm⁻¹ and 60 kJ cm⁻¹. Oxides present in the API X80 linepipe steels were complex oxides whose average size was 1-2 μm, and the number of oxides increased with increasing amount of Mg and O₂. The volume fraction of acicular ferrite present in the steel HAZs increased with increasing number of oxides, and decreased with increasing heat input. When the volume fraction of acicular in the HAZ was higher than 20%, Charpy impact energy at −20 °C was higher than 100 J as the ductile fracture mode was dominant. Particularly in the steel HAZs having a larger amount of oxides, Charpy impact properties were excellent because oxides worked as nucleation sites of acicular ferrite during welding. Charpy impact properties of the HAZs could be well correlated with the volume fraction of acicular ferrite and number of oxides under different heat input conditions.     

Microstructure and toughness of coarse grain heat-affected zone of domestic X70 pipeline steel during in-service welding

The microstructures and mechanical properties of coarse grain heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of domestic X70 pipeline were investigated. The weld CGHAZ thermal cycles having different cooling time Δt _8/5 were simulated with the Gleeble-1500 thermal/mechanical simulator. The Charpy impact absorbed energy for toughness was measured, and the corresponding fractographs, optical micrographs, and electron micrographs were systematically investigated to study the effect of cooling time on microstructure, impact toughness, and fracture morphology in the CGHAZ of domestic X70 pipeline steel during in-service welding. The results of simulated experiment show that the microstructure of CGHAZ of domestic X70 pipeline steel during in-service welding mainly consists of granular bainite and lath bainite. Martensite–austenite (M–A) constituents are observed at the lath boundaries. With increase in cooling time, the M–A constituents change from elongated shape to massive shape. The reduction of toughness may be affected by not only the M–A constituents but also the coarse bainite sheaves. Accelerating cooling with cooling time Δt _8/5 of 8 s can be chosen in the field in-service welding X70 pipeline to control microstructures and improve toughness.     

Fatigue crack growth behavior of the simulated HAZ of 800 MPa grade high-performance steel

The present study focuses on the fatigue properties in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ) of 800 MPa grade high-performance steel, which is commonly used in bridges and buildings. Single- and multi-pass HAZs were simulated by the Gleeble system. Fatigue properties were estimated using a crack propagation test under a 0.3 stress ratio and 0.1 load frequencies. The microstructures and fracture surfaces were analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results of the crack propagation test showed that the fatigue crack growth rate of coarse-grained HAZ (CGHAZ) was faster than fine-grained HAZ (FGHAZ), although both regions have identical fully martensite microstructures, because FGHAZ has smaller prior austenite grain and martensite packet sizes, which can act as effective barriers to crack propagation. The fatigue crack growth rate of intercritically reheated CGHAZ (ICCGHAZ) was the fastest among local zones in the HAZ, due to rapid crack initiation and propagation via the massive martensite-austenite (M-A) constituent.     

Effect of simulated welding thermal cycle on microstructure and mechanical properties of X90 pipeline steel

The effect of welding thermal cycle simulation on the microstructure and mechanical properties of X90 pipeline steel was investigated by means of microstructure analysis, tensile- and Charpy impact-tests. At the heat input of 15 kJ/cm, the microstructure of coarse-grained heat affected zone is mainly composed of lath bainite and granular bainite, resulting in excellent strength and toughness. At 25 kJ/cm with two thermal cycles, however, strength and impact toughness decrease due to the formation of more polygonal ferrite with coarser grains.     

Effects of microstructural change on fracture characteristics in coarse-grained heat-affected zones of QLT-processed 9% Ni steel

This study investigates the correlation between the microstructural change and fracture characteristics in the coarse-grained heat-affected zones (CGHAZs) of the newly developed quenching, lamellarizing and tempering (QLT)-processed 9% Ni steel. The microscopic fracture behaviors of the various sub-zones within the HAZs including local brittle zone (LBZ) were estimated using simulated HAZ specimens. Both results of Charpy impact tests and in situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations on simulated CGHAZ specimens show that the inter-critically reheated coarse-grained HAZ (IC CGHAZ) is a primary LBZ of this steel at cryogenic temperature, but not at room temperature. Microstructural analysis suggests that, unlike in other studies, the cryogenic LBZ phenomenon of the IC CGHAZs cannot be explained simply by the amount of martensite–austenite (M–A) constituents, but is mainly associated with the carbon contents in them. From all results obtained, a mechanism for microscopic toughness change among the CGHAZs is proposed and discussed.     

Strengthening behavior analysis of weld metal of laser hybrid welding for microalloyed steel

The weld metal with high strength and good toughness was obtained for medium thickness microalloyed steel by using high power laser hybrid welding technology. Mechanical properties of weld metal were evaluated by using room temperature tensile test and low temperature three-side Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact test. The results show that the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of weld metal are up to 713 MPa and 918 MPa, respectively. Both of them are almost 1.5 times higher than those of base metal. Under the strict three sides CVN condition, the −40 °C low temperature impact absorbed energy is up to 32 J and also higher than that of base metal. Weld metal predominately consists of granular bainite and carbon-free bainite. Both of them mainly contain lath morphology bainitic ferrite. The lath morphology bainitic ferrite with fine grain size plays an important role in higher strength. Dispersive carbide and high density dislocation are found in strengthening weld metal.     

The ductile to brittle transition for C-Mn steel with an ultrafine grain ferrite/cementite microstructure

The Charpy impact energy was measured as a function of temperature for plain C-Mn steel with an ultrafine grain ferrite/cementite (UGF/C) microstructure and with a coarse-grain ferrite/pearlite (CGF/P) microstructure. Instrumented Charpy impact tests were carried out at 273 K and 77 K for the UGF/C microstructure. The steel with the UGF/C microstructure exhibited an upper shelf energy lower than the steel with the CGF/P microstructure, a higher lower shelf energy and the transition in impact energy occurred more gradually at a lower temperature. The ductile to brittle transition in the steel with the UGF/C microstructure was caused by a decrease in energy absorbed by ductile fracture rather than a change of fracture mode from ductile fracture to cleavage as occurred for the CGF/P microstructure. The fracture surface of the UGF/C steel in the upper shelf region contained large dimples and numerous small dimples whereas the fracture surface in the lower shelf region contained small dimples and cleavage facets. A lower amount of energy was absorbed in the transition region and the lower shelf region due to the decrease of dimple diameter and depth. Nevertheless, some energy was absorbed in the lower shelf because there were some small dimples even at the liquid helium temperature. In contrast, essentially no energy was absorbed in the lower shelf for the CGF/P steel because of typical cleavage fracture. The UGF/C microstructure has a high cleavage fracture stress.     

Effects of post-weld heat treatment cycles on microstructure and mechanical properties of electric resistance welded pipe welds

Two post-weld heat treatment cycles of one-step normalizing and two-step quenching and tempering have been performed by Gleeble, a thermo-mechanical simulator, to improve the toughness of fine-grained electric resistance welded pipe welds. Comparison was made to API X65 grade steel, which is widely used for pipeline parts. Microstructural evolution was investigated by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Vickers hardness and Charpy V-notch impact toughness tests were used to evaluate the mechanical properties. While the mechanical properties of one-step normalizing heat treatment satisfied the API specification, the two-step quenching and tempering heat treatments were conditional upon tempering temperature for X65 grade and fine-grained steels. As a result, a one-step normalizing heat treatment was more effective for both steel pipes.     

Polyoxymethylene composites with natural and cellulose fibres: Toughness and heat deflection temperature

Cellulose and abaca fibre reinforced polyoxymethylene (POM) composites were fabricated using an extrusion coating (double screw) compounding followed by injection moulding. The long cellulose or abaca fibres were dried online with an infrared dryer and impregnated fibre in matrix material by using a special extrusion die. The fibre loading in composites was 30 wt.%. The tensile properties, flexural properties, Charpy impact strength, falling weight impact strength, heat deflection temperature and dynamic mechanical properties were investigated for those composites. The fibre pull-outs, fibre matrix adhesion and cracks in composites were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that the tensile strength of composites was found to reduce by 18% for abaca fibre and increase by 90% for cellulose fibre in comparison to control POM. The flexural strength of composites was found to increase by 39% for abaca fibre and by 144% for cellulose fibre. Due to addition of abaca or cellulose fibre both modulus properties were found to increase 2-fold. The notched Charpy impact strength of cellulose fibre composites was 6-fold higher than that of control POM. The maximum impact resistance force was shorted out for cellulose fibre composites. The heat deflection temperature of abaca and cellulose fibre composites was observed to be 50 °C and 63 °C higher than for control POM respectively.     

Effect of welding heat input on microstructure and mechanical properties of simulated HAZ in Cu containing microalloyed steel

The influence of weld thermal simulation on ICGC HAZ microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu containing Nb-Ti-microalloyed steel has been investigated. Low heat input of 0.7 kJ/mm (simulated fast cooling of Δt _8/5 = 5 s) and high heat input of 4.5 kJ/mm (simulated slow cooling of Δt _8/5 = 61 s) were used to generate double-pass thermal cycles with peak temperatures of 1350 and 800 °C, respectively. The microstructure after high heat input mainly consisted of polygonal and quasi-polygonal ferrite (QF) grains with certain amount of acicular ferrite, whereas, after the low heat input, microstructure mainly consisted of lath or elongated bainite–ferrite, QF and M–A constituents. The size of ferrite grains decreased and volume of M/A constituents increased with fast cooling rate. The precipitation characteristics were found to be similar in both cooling rates. However, the precipitation of Cu-related phases was promoted by slow cooling rate. By fast cooling rate, the investigated steel exhibited an increase in hardness from 187_HV to 197_HV. Consequently higher yield strength with considerable loss in the (−10 °C) CTOD fracture toughness (δ_{fast cooling} = 0.86 mm and δ_{slow cooling} = 1.12 mm) were demonstrated.     

Temperature dependent microstructure of MTES modified hydrophobic silica aerogels

Hydrophobic silica aerogels were prepared using a single step sol-gel process followed by ethanol supercritical drying. Using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as a precursor and ammonium hydroxide as a catalyst the aerogel surface was chemically modified with methyltriethoxysilane (MTES). A MTES/TEOS molar ratio of 0.5 (M5) was used. The microstructure of the surface modified aerogels was evaluated as a function of heat treatment temperature over a range of 200-500 °C. The thermal stability was analyzed by simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) and the microstructure was evaluated by physisorption analysis (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical composition and hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the aerogels were investigated by Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The M5 aerogels, which were initially hydrophobic, exhibited partial hydrophilicity at treatments above 244.5 °C and complete hydrophilicity above 429.9 °C. The surface area of the aerogels ranged from 776.65-850.20 m²/g. Pore size increased after heat treatment, ranging from 16.25 to 18.52 nm vs. an initial pore size of 14.71 nm. The maximum pore size of 18.52 nm was found at the lowest heat treatment temperature (~ 200 °C). Heat treatment had a mixed effect on the pore volume, as pore volumes decreased at lower treatments (~ 200-400 °C) and increased at higher heat treatments (~ 450-500 °C) relative to the untreated aerogels. With initial heat treatment the Si-CH₃ group began to oxidize to Si-OH. Aerogels heated above 429.9 °C exhibited hydroxyl polymerization leading to aerogels with large particles and a dense microstructure.     

Tensile and impact-toughness behaviour of cryorolled Al 7075 alloy

The effects of cryorolling and optimum heat treatment (short annealing + ageing) on tensile and impact-toughness behaviour of Al 7075 alloy have been investigated in the present work. The Al 7075 alloy was rolled for different thickness reductions (40% and 70%) at cryogenic (liquid nitrogen) temperature and its mechanical properties were studied by using tensile testing, hardness, and Charpy impact testing. The microstructural characterization of the alloy was carried out by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The cryorolled Al alloy after 70% thickness reduction exhibits ultrafine grain structure as observed from its FE-SEM micrographs. It is observed that the yield strength and impact toughness of the cryorolled material up to 70% thickness reduction have increased by 108% and 60% respectively compared to the starting material. The improved tensile strength and impact toughness of the cryorolled Al alloy is due to grain refinement, grain fragments with high angle boundaries, and ultrafine grain formation by multiple cryorolling passes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the fracture surfaces of impact testing carried out on the samples in the temperature range of −200 to 100 °C exhibits ductile to brittle transition. cryorolled samples were subjected to short annealing for 5 min at, 170 °C, and 150 °C followed by ageing at 140 °C and 120 °C for both 40% and 70% reduced samples. The combined effect of short annealing and ageing, improved the strength and ductility of cryorolled samples, which is due to precipitation hardening and subgrain coarsening mechanism respectively. On the otherhand, impact strength of the cryorolled Al alloy has decreased due to high strain rate involved during impact loading.     

Strength and toughness tradeoffs for an ultrafine-grain size ferrite/cementite steel produced by warm-rolling and annealing

For an ultrafine grain ferrite/cementite (UGF/C) steel, the Charpy impact energy was measured at temperatures from 373 K to 4.2 K, and tensile tests were carried out at temperatures between 323 K and 77 K. For the steel with annealed microstructure, the ductile-to-brittle transition appearance temperature (DBTT) was lower than the Charpy transition temperature (CTT). With increasing annealing time at 873 K, the DBTT and the CTT increased, and the DBTT approached the CTT. The DBTT decreased with decreasing effective grain size. The effective grain size correlated to the grain size of the larger grain size peak in the distribution of grains with {1 0 0} planes. The annealed microstructures had higher yield strength for equivalent toughness (including upper shelf energy, DBTT and CTT) compared to the conventional ferrite/pearlite steel.     

Fracture toughness of a welded duplex stainless steel

The present work includes fracture toughness testing on 30 and 50 mm thick duplex stainless steel 2205 (22% Cr, 5.5% Ni, 3% Mo, 0.15% N). Base metal and submerged arc weldments (SAW) at subzero temperatures have been tested using full size three point bending. The evaluation of the results has been carried out using J-integral calculations and correlations to Charpy impact values. It is shown that the temperature dependence of the fracture toughness can be described by a transition temperature curve, the master curve. The reference temperature was evaluated to −143 and −101 °C for base and weld material respectively.     

Design of a new nanostructured,high-Si bainitic steel with lower cost production

To reduce cost production, a bainitic steel with a new chemical composition was designed using MUCG83 thermodynamic model. The steel was cast as cylinder bar using a high frequency induction furnace under argon gas atmosphere. The cast cylinder was electro-slag remelted (ESR) for obtaining clean steel. Hot rolling was carried out after ESR to reduce the thickness and to change the cast structure to a wrought structure. To obtain a bainitic structure the austenitized samples were transformed isothermally at the temperature range of 200–300 °C for different times and finally were quenched into water. The microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes. The tensile and Charpy impact tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties. The results show a good combination of high tensile strength and impact toughness which is ideal for high performance applications. The prominent mechanical properties are due to the unique microstructural characteristics which are evolved during isothermal transformation.     

Microstructural evolution of copper clad steel bimetallic wire

We investigated the microstructure of two different bimetallic wires of Copper Clad Low Carbon Steel Wire (LCSW), which had a 1006 steel core, and Copper Clad High Carbon Steel Wire (HCSW), which had a 1055 steel core. The HCSW generally showed higher hardness than LCSW because of the pearlitic grain structure. A low temperature annealing at 720 °C to the drawn HCSW caused a significant reduction of hardness, which was as low as that of an annealed LCSW. In general, both LCSW and HCSW showed strong global textured features after drawing, with the steel having a strong 〈1 1 0〉 fiber texture and the copper having a 〈1 1 1 〉-〈1 1 2〉 deformation direction. At the interface, a grain size discrepancy at the steel-copper interface was observed. Post-drawing, the LCSW copper grains exhibited refined grain sizes near the interface and has been explained in terms of shear strain gradient. The HCSW did not exhibit this copper grain size distribution but did exhibit a coarsening of the steel grains near the interface after a subsequent 720 °C heat treatment. This is attributed to the large localized stress concentration at the perimeter of the steel region during the drawing process. The strain induced regions at the steel-copper interface have been simulated by finite element modeling. These grain size discrepancies caused the smooth variation in nanohardness across the interface.     

Effect of direct quenching on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the lean-chemistry HSLA-100 steel plates

The influence of direct quenching on structure-property behavior of lean chemistry HSLA-100 steels was studied. Two laboratory heats, one containing Cu and Nb (C:0.052, Mn:0.99, Cu:1.08, Nb:0.043, Cr:0.57, Ni:1.76, Mo:0.55 pct) and the other containing Cu, Nb and B (C:0.04, Mn:1.02, Cu:1.06, Nb:0.036, Cr:0.87, Ni:1.32, Mo:0.41, B:0.002 percent) were hot-rolled into 25 and 12.5 mm thick plates by varying finish-rolling temperatures. The plates were heat-treated by conventional reheat quenching and tempering (RQT), as well as by direct quenching and tempering (DQT) techniques. In general, direct-quench and tempered plates of Nb-Cu heat exhibited good strength (yield strength ∼ 900 MPa) and low-temperature impact toughness (average: 74 J at −85 °C); the Charpy V-notch impact energies were marginally lower than conventional HSLA-100 steel. In Nb-Cu-B heat, impact toughness at low-temperature was inferior owing to boron segregation at grain boundaries. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning auger microprobe (SAM) analysis confirmed existence of borocarbides at grain boundaries in this steel. In general, for both the steels, the mechanical properties of the direct-quench and tempered plates were found to be superior to reheat quench and tempered plates. A detailed transmission electron microscopy study revealed presence of fine Cu and Nb (C, N) precipitates in these steels. It was also observed that smaller martensite inter-lath spacing, finer grains and precipitates in direct-quench and tempered plates compared to the reheat quench and tempered plates resulted in their superior strength and good impact toughness.     

Effect of post-weld aging treatment on mechanical properties of Tungsten Inert Gas welded low thickness 7075 aluminium alloy joints

This paper reports the influence of post-weld aging treatment on the microstructure, tensile strength, hardness and Charpy impact energy of weld joints low thickness 7075 T6 aluminium alloy welded by Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG). Hot cracking occurs in aluminium welds when high levels of thermal stress and solidification shrinkage are present while the weld is undergoing various degrees of solidification. Weld fusion zones typically exhibit microstructure modifications because of the thermal conditions during weld metal solidification. This often results in low weld mechanical properties and low resistance to hot cracking. It has been observed that the mechanical properties are very sensitive to microstructure of weld metal. Simple post-weld aging treatment at 140 °C applied to the joints is found to be beneficial to enhance the mechanical properties of the welded joints. Correlations between microstructures and mechanical properties were discussed.