Study of welding peak temperatures on microstructures and hardness of heat affected zone in 2024-T3 aluminium alloy

Abstract

The influence of welding thermal cycle peak temperatures and post-weld heat treatments on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the heat affected zone (HAZ) for 2024-T3 aluminium alloy have been investigated by Gleeble HAZ simulation. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in conjunction with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to characterise the HAZ microstructures. The welded HAZ in the region of peak temperature 414°C has the lowest hardness after natural aged temper, which is primarily due to the precipitation and coarsening of stable S phases. When the peak temperature of welded HAZ is larger than 414°C, the hardness of HAZ increasing with an increasing peak temperature can be seen, which is due to higher peak temperature thermal cycles treatment inducing the dissolution of precipitations in the matrix, and, after the natural aging treatment, Guinier-Preston (GPB) and GPB2 zones precipitating out in the matrix again can be seen. Post-weld T81 artificial aging (PWAA-T81) heat treatment has no effect on improving the HAZ hardness; the HAZ hardness of the 2024-T3 alloy obtained by PWAA-T81 is less than that obtained by natural aging, and its lowest hardness is shifted to the region of peak temperature, which is 452°C, because overaging induces coarse and sparse amounts of stable S phase.     

Evidence on the corrosion-induced hydrogen embrittlement of the 2024 aluminium alloy

The present work aims to provide evidence of corrosion‐induced hydrogen embrittlement of the aircraft aluminium alloy 2024. An extensive experimental investigation involving metallographic and fractographic analyses as well as mechanical testing was performed. The corrosion exposure led to a moderate reduction in yield and ultimate tensile stress and a dramatic reduction in tensile ductility. Metallographic investigation of the specimens revealed a hydrogen‐rich embrittled zone just below the corrosion layer. Furthermore, fractographic analyses showed an intergranular fracture at the specimen surface followed by a zone of quasi‐cleavage fracture and further below an entirely ductile fracture. Mechanical removal of the corroded layers restored the yield and ultimate stress almost to their initial values but not the tensile ductility. The tensile ductility was restored to the level of the uncorroded material only after heat treatment at 495°C. Measurement of hydrogen evolution with temperature showed that by heating the corroded alloy at 495°C, the trapped hydrogen is released.     

Influence of HIP processing on microstructure and mechanical properties of superalloy Udimet 720LI

Abstract

Inert gas (high purity argon) atomised powder of composition conforming to that of the superalloy Udimet 720 of low interstitial grade was hipped at 1200°C/120 MPa/3 h. The hipped alloy has shown near theoretical density and consisted of equiaxed grains with an average diameter of ～45 μm. While primary γ′-Ni₃ (Ti, Al) precipitates with an acicular morphology were found at the grain boundaries, finer secondary γ′ precipitates with near cuboidal morphology were present in the austenite γ matrix. The yield strength (YS) of the as hipped alloy was found to be the same as that of the wrought alloy heat treated for creep applications (termed as creep resistant alloy) at room temperature (RT) as well as at 650°C. However, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and ductility were found to be higher than those of the wrought creep resistant alloy. On the other hand, the YS and UTS of the as hipped material were lower than those of the wrought alloy heat treated for high strength applications (termed as high strength alloy), although the ductility of the former was comparable to that of the latter. In order to improve the strength, the hipped alloy was subjected to a heat treatment consisting of solution treatment followed by two-step aging. Extensive precipitation of fine and coarse γ′ precipitates with cuboidal morphology during duplex aging treatment has led to a considerable improvement in YS and UTS of the alloy, although the corresponding ductility dropped moderately at RT and at 650°C. Fractography of the tensile tested specimens has shown ductile transgranular mode of fracture in the as hipped alloy at RT and at 650°C, while the hipped+heat treated alloy exhibited a mixed mode of fracture at those temperature. The stress rupture properties of the as hipped alloy compare well with those of the wrought alloy and have been found to improve significantly after heat treatment. The present investigation reveals that the hipped superalloy Udimet 720LI has substantial potential for use in the development of near net shaped components for aerospace applications.     

Influence of solutionising and aging temperatures on microstructure and mechanical properties of cast Al–Si–Cu alloy

Abstract

This paper presents the influence of solution and aging temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 319 secondary cast aluminium alloy. Experimental alloy was subjected to different heat treatment cycles. Heat treatments were designed with two solutionising temperatures (504 and 545°C) at two solutionising times (4 and 8 h), followed by quenching in water at 60°C and artificial aging. The artificial aging was carried out at two temperatures (200 and 154°C) for 6 h. The improvement in mechanical properties was obtained with low solution temperature (504°C) for 8 h followed by quenching in water to 60°C and aging at low temperature (154°C). The increase in the solutionising temperature from 504 to 545°C was recommendable only for short solutionising time (4 h). Increase in the aging temperature from 154 to 200°C has led to the increase in hardness with the corresponding decrease in ductility. Aging under unfavourable conditions (prolonged aging at high temperature) caused coarsening of spheroidised eutectic silicon crystals and precipitated particles resulted in deleterious effect on the tensile strength.     

Tensile and cyclic deformation response of friction-stir-welded dissimilar aluminum alloy joints: Strain localization effect

Cyclic deformation behavior of friction-stir-welded dissimilar AA2024-T351 to AA7075-T65 aluminum alloy joints was evaluated via stepwise tests at different strain rates,along with transmission electron microscopy examinations to characterize the precipitates required to assess internal stresses.Electron backscatter diffraction was employed to observe the inhomogeneous microstructures of the FSWedjoints.Strain localization appeared in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of AA2024 side.After cyclic deformation of 500 cycles at a total strain amplitude of 0.5 ％,the strength of the dissimilar joints resumed basically to that of AA2024 base material.And the AA2024 HAZ was obviously hardened,which should be attributed to the introduced dislocations during cyclic deformation process.Cyclic hardening capacity of the joints increased with decreasing strain rate.     

Improvement of strength and ductility for a 6056 aluminum alloy achieved by a combination of equal-channel angular pressing and aging treatment

Incited by the aim of improving the strength and preserving a moderate ductility, the promising approach of a combined equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) and aging treatment was applied to the 6056 Al–Mg–Si–(Cu) alloy. This method has been proven to be most effective for a small number of ECAP passes in the solid-solution condition and a following aging treatment, which is timed to enable precipitation hardening up to the peak strength on the one hand and microstructural recovery just before the onset of softening on the other hand. In this work, the evolution of hardness during post-ECAP aging and the effect of aging temperature and time on strength and ductility will be discussed. By means of low-voltage scanning transmission electron microscopy, the underlying microstructural features in terms of dislocation structure and precipitation characteristics will be presented. It has been found that peak aging especially at low-aging temperatures is suitable for achieving the desired high-strength combination, whereas—on the expense of some percent in the strengthening—the ductility is best in slightly underaged conditions. Compared to the initial peak-aged condition, an increase in strength of 27%, combined with a moderate ductility of 6.5% uniform elongation was achieved for peak aging at 150 °C after two passes of ECAP.     

Post-weld heat treatment cracking in autogenous GTA welded cast Inconel 738LC superalloy

Abstract

The post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) cracking in autogenous gas tungsten arc (GTA) welded Inconel 738LC superalloy, which was given two different preweld heat treatments, was studied. One of the preweld heat treatments, designated as SHT, consisted of solution heat treatment at 1120°C for 2 h in vacuum followed by argon quenching. The second preweld heat treatment, designated as UMT, consisted of solution treatment at 1120°C for 2 h followed by air cooling and then aging at 1025°C for 16 h followed by water quenching. The welded specimens were given the same conventional PWHT, which consisted of SHT at 1120°C for 2 h in vacuum followed by argon quenching and subsequent aging at 845°C for 24 h in vacuum. Microstructural examination of the welded SHT and UMT treated material showed that intergranular microfissuring occurred during welding only in the heat affected zone (HAZ) with some cracks extending into the adjoining base metal (BM), whereas after the PWHT microfissures were observed in the fusion zone (FZ), HAZ and the BM far removed from the HAZ. The crack width ranged from 5 to 10 μm in the PWHT specimens as compared with 1–2 μm in the as welded sections. Although similar type of cracks was observed in samples given the two preweld heat treatments, the UMT preweld heat treatment was found to result in a significant reduction in average total crack length and average crack length, both during welding and during the subsequent PWHT. After PWHT, SHT samples had ～43% more cracking than the UMT samples. It is suggested that a larger particle size of γ′ precipitates in the HAZ and a smaller size of HAZ in the as welded samples, combined with a softer BM of the UMT material (hardness 280 ± 12 HV10, as compared with 380 ± 10 HV10 of the SHT material) resulted in an improved capability of the material to absorb the strain–aging stresses, and hence a reduced incidence of cracking during PWHT.     

Effect of dynamic strain aging on mechanical properties of vanadium microalloyed steel

Abstract

In the present work, the dynamic strain aging behaviour in microalloyed steels has been examined using a C-Mn-Al-V-N steel, which occasionally exhibits low toughness in the subcritical heat affected zone (HAZ). This may be attributed to dynamic strain aging, whereby materials show lower ductility and higher yield strength owing to the interaction between mobile dislocations and diffusing solute atoms. The research has shown that the high temperature tensile behaviour of C-Mn-Al-V-N steel depends on the presence of clusters believed to be of vanadium and carbon atoms. The interaction between dislocations and clusters of vanadium and carbon atoms at 200-450°C changes the work hardening rate and contributes to dynamic strain aging as confirmed in the present work. These interactions may also decrease toughness in the subcritical HAZ and lead to the subcritical embrittlement observed in the C-Mn-Al-V-N microalloyed steel.     

Effect of aging on the tensile properties and microstructures of a near-alpha titanium alloy

The effect of aging temperature between 650 °C and 750 °C for different aging times on the tensile properties and microstructures of Ti60 alloy were studied. The results show that the strength of the alloy increases first and then decreases with the aging temperature increases from 650 °C to 750 °C. The reduction of area of the alloy is more sensitive to the aging time than elongation. With increasing aging temperature and time, the volume fracture and grain size of silicides and α₂ phase increase gradually. The silicides have the strengthen effect on the Ti60 alloy, but the effect weakens when the silicides grow up. The loss of ductility is mainly attributed to the precipitation of α₂ phase after aging treatment.     

Thermal aging of 16Cr – 5Ni – 1Mo stainless steel Part 2 – Mechanical property characterisation

Abstract

Mechanical property characterisation has been carried out on specimens of 16Cr - 5Ni - 1Mo stainless steel, subjected to various aging cycles. The heat treatment cycles involved solution treatment at 1050 ° C for 1 h followed by heating in the temperature range 400 - 750 ° C for different holding times (1 - 16 h). After heat treatment, tensile, hardness, impact, and creep tests were conducted. Specimens aged at 475 ° C exhibited maximum values of tensile strength and hardness with minimum values of ductility and impact toughness, while specimens aged at 625 ° C had maximum values of impact toughness and ductility. The results were correlated with the microstructural data presented in Part 1 of this study. Softening of the martensitic matrix at 625 ° C occurs as a result of the elimination of internal stresses, the decrease in the dislocation density, and the high volume fraction of austenite which lead to the drop in values of tensile strength and hardness. The results of the study reveal that aging at 550 ° C for 4 h gives the optimum combination of strength, hardness, ductility and toughness for this steel.     

Cyclic overaging pre-weld heat treatment of Rene 80: effect of solution treatment and end aging temperatures

Abstract

The present work investigated the effect of a cyclic overaging pre-weld heat treatment proposed by Lim (US Patent no. 5 509 980, 1996) on the microstructure, tensile ductility, and weldability of Rene 80 nickel based superalloy (approximate composition 60Ni–14Cr–9.5Co–4Mo–5Ti–3Al– 0.17C–Zr–B, wt-%), with a focus on the role of solution treatment and end aging temperatures. The results showed that maximum ductility corresponds to a microstructure consisting of very coarse and widely spaced γ', with fine γ' not resolvable even at a magnification of × 10 000. This was achieved by cyclic cooling the material from the solution temperature to a temperature in the range 500–750 ° C followed by fast furnace cooling to suppress the precipitation of fine γ'. The solution treatment temperature was found to control the number density of coarse γ', which, in turn, slightly influenced the optimum end aging temperature. After the optimum cyclic overaging heat treatment with a solution temperature of 1080°C and an end aging temperature of 550°C, the material exhibited a tensile type fracture path with a high registered tensile ductility of ~ 30% in elongation. Fractographic studies revealed that the necked γ ligaments were thicker and taller, with an increased frequency of cleaved coarse γ' occurring at different levels in the material. Precision welding tests showed that the weldability of the optimally overaged alloy was significantly improved, owing to both the resultant soft and ductile base metal and the reduced heat affected zone size.     

Effects of post-weld heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints of 2219-O aluminium alloy

Abstract

Post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) of 2219-O aluminium alloy friction stir welding joints was carried out at solution temperatures of 480, 500 and 540°C for 32 min followed by aging at 130°C for 9 h. The effects of PWHT on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated. Experimental results show that PWHT causes coarsening of the grains in the weld, and the coarsening degree increases with increasing solution temperature. The tensile strength of the heat treated joints increases with increasing solution temperature. The maximum tensile strength can reach 260% that of the base material at the solution temperature of 540°C. PWHT has a significant effect on the fracture locations of the joints. When the solution temperature is lower than 500°C, the joints fracture in the base material; when the temperature is higher than 500°C, the joints fracture in the weld. The change of the fracture locations of joints is attributed to the presence of precipitate free zones beside the grain boundaries and coarsening equiaxed grain structures in the weld.     

Microstructure evolution in heat affected zone of T4003 ferritic stainless steel

In this work, microstructural characteristics and development within the heat affected zone (HAZ) of T4003 ferritic stainless steel (FSS) welded joint were investigated combining experimental measurement with finite element simulation of welding temperature field. The results indicate that the HAZ was characterized with heterogeneous microstructure due to the extensive peak temperature range which could be divided into three sub-zones named as HAZ1, HAZ2 and HAZ3. The HAZ1 (the region next to weld zone boundary) experienced peak temperatures of 1300–1500 °C during welding process. This region presented almost fully δ ferrite microstructure with irregular grain, which was attributed to the high element diffusion rate and the absence of elevated-temperature austenite. The HAZ2 (center region of HAZ) suffered the peak temperatures of 1150–1300 °C. It presented martensite + δ ferrite dual microstructure with limited grain growth due to the formation of γ phase at grain boundaries. The HAZ3 (the region closed to the base metal) was undergone the peak temperatures of 830–1150 °C and was characterized with both martensite and ferrite structure.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of creep resistant steel for application at elevated temperatures

The subject of this paper is the microstructural and mechanical characterisation of regions of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) in steels containing 9–12% Cr that are used for operation at elevated temperatures. Tests were performed on regions in the HAZ, which was created by physical simulation using a thermal welding simulator. Half of the simulated samples (SSs) were tested at room temperature (RT) and at an operating temperature (OT) of 600 °C immediately after simulation/welding, while the rest of the simulated samples were tested at RT and at the OT after heat treatment following the welding, i.e., post-weld heat treatment (PWHT). In addition to the results from mechanical testing, the results from microstructural analysis using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are also presented. The manner in which PWHT contributes to the creep resistance of the HAZ in P91 steel is demonstrated.     

稀土铝锂合金2090Ce焊接热影响区组织和性能研究

采用焊接热模拟试验方法系统地研究了稀土铝锂合金２０９０Ｃｅ焊接热影响区（ＨＡＺ）组织和性能；探讨了稀土元素Ｃｅ和焊接热循环峰值温度的影响及作用机制。结果表明，焊接热循环将使２０９０Ｃｅ合金ＨＡＺ发生软化，而适量的铈能够阻碍合金的再结晶、晶粒长大以及强化相Ｔ１相的溶解和聚集长大，使ＨＡＺ的软化程度降低，塑性得到改善。     

Effect of aging parameters on the mechanical properties of naturally aged Al–Mg–Si alloy

Among the extruded products within the Al–Mg–Si system, AA6082 alloy is regarded as high strength alloy which is used for automotive structural applications. Room temperature storage in between the solution heat treatment and the paint bake cycle is unavoidable problem and undergoes natural aging. Hence, natural aging time in the conventional T4 condition must be modified after the solution heat treatment in order to avoid any hardening during storage before forming processes. The present work was investigated to improve paint bake response of extruded 6082 profiles by employing pre‐aging in between the solution heat treatment and the paint bake in order to obtain sufficient strength for the required in‐service dent resistance. Pre‐aging treatment was performed for 5 min at 180 °C, 200 °C and 225 °C to improve bake hardening response of extruded 6082 profiles. Tensile tests and micro hardness measurements are performed to determine the natural aging effect on mechanical properties. In order to understand the precipitation hardening of this aluminum profile with a different natural aging time, differential scanning calorimetry measurements are performed.     

Damage of 6061/SiCw composite by thermal cycling

The unreinforced 6061 alloy and a 6061/SiC composite, at the beginning of the T6 temper, were submitted to thermal cycling (up to 2000 cycles) in the temperature ranges 25–180 °C and 25–220°C. The microstructure of these materials was studied by scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Mechanical and thermomechanical properties were also investigated. Tensile strength, hardness, Charpy impact resistance, fracture toughness, density, specimen dimensions and thermal expansion were compared before and after thermal cycling. The unreinforced alloy showed an increase of ductility with cycling. This behaviour was chiefly due to overageing and partial annealing. The composite material, following the thermal treatment, did not only undergo overageing and annealing of its metal matrix; void coalescence, crack formation and reinforcement debonding were also observed. The development of these defects basically resulted in a marked decrease of tensile strength, yield strength, Charpy impact energy and fracture toughness. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of boron and phosphorus on HAZ microfissuring of Allvac 718 Plus superalloy

Abstract

Heat affected zone (HAZ) microfissuring was investigated in electron beam welds of two Allvac 718 PLUS (718 Plus) alloys with different boron and phosphorus contents. Two preweld solution heat treatments were used and microfissuring susceptibility was evaluated by measuring the HAZ crack lengths in both alloys after bead on plate welding. The segregation behaviour of boron and phosphorus was studied before and after welding by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Hot ductility behaviour of the alloys in the standard solution preweld heat treatment was also examined. The results of crack measurements, segregation studies and hot ductility tests correlated well with each other. It was observed that besides constitutional liquation of Nb rich MC type carbides, segregation of B and P largely influenced the microfissuring susceptibility of the alloy. Heat affected zone microfissuring increased with an increase in B + P concentrations and with an increase in the preweld solution heat treatment temperature. Segregation behaviour of B and P and its contribution to microfissuring in Allvac 718 Plus alloy were discussed.     

Influence of dynamic strain aging on plastic instability behaviour of near alpha titanium alloy Timetal 834

Abstract

The deformation behaviour of near alpha titanium alloy Timetal 834 was investigated by analysing Considére criterion in temperature range between 300 and 500°C at an interval of 25°C. In the dynamic strain aging (DSA) regime (400–475°C) studied in this material, Considére criterion was satisfied partially at peak DSA temperature (450°C). This was attributed to maximum DSA effect at 450°C which eventually resulted in specimen fracture at low ductility levels. Strain hardening exponent (n) values was determined using Ludwik plot, Considére criterion and obtained experimentally from uniform strain. The n values obtained from Ludwik plot and Considére criterion were greater than the uniform strain in DSA regime studied.     

Hot cracking in tungsten inert gas welding of magnesium alloy AZ91D

Abstract

Plates of 3–5 mm in thickness were extracted from an AZ91D ingot and then butt joints of the plates were produced using tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding method. The TIG arc was also used to deposit welding beads on some of the thin plates. No cracking was found in the butt joints. However, hot cracking was always observed to propagate from the heat affected zone (HAZ) under the welding bead into the weld metal right after a welding bead was deposited on the thin plate. Metallographic and fractographic evidence was obtained to show that the hot cracking is 'liquation cracking' in the partially melted HAZ under the high thermal stresses. In the butt joints, the weld metal has the finest grains, highest strength and best ductility, and the HAZ was found to be the 'weakest link'.