Prestrain and Aging Treatment to Improve the Mechanical Properties of AA6022 Aluminum Alloy Laser Weldment

This study aimed to improve the mechanical properties of aluminum alloy sheet laser weldments. Different tensile prestrains, which simulate sheet forming, were applied to a base metal and its Nd:YAG laser weldment, respectively; then, some samples were subjected to a paint-bake-cycling (PBC) process and some samples were subjected to an artificial aging treatment of 175 °C/1000 min. The tensile test and Vickers hardness test, followed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA), were applied to examine the microstructures and compositions. The results showed that tensile prestrain and heat-treatment conditions affect the mechanical properties in relation to the different strengthening mechanisms involved. Compared to traditional PBC processes of auto-body panel production, a weldment applied with an artificial aging treatment at 175 °C/1000 min could significantly improve the yield strength and hardness through its precipitation strengthening mechanism. This operation process also reduces the property mismatch between the base metal and weldment. Although the elongation ratio of the weldment is typically inferior to the base metal, the sheet forming process (as prestrain) can be operated on the weldment successfully, while leaving some elongation capability for auto-body panel. Therefore, the proposed aging treatment for the weldment provided in this article is a promising technique.     

Influence of Temperature and Strain Rate on Tensile Deformation and Fracture Behavior of P92 Ferritic Steel

Tensile tests were performed at strain rates ranging from 3.16 × 10^?5 to 1.26 × 10^?3 s^?1 over a temperature range of 300 K to 923 K (27 °C to 650 °C) to examine the effects of temperature and strain rate on tensile deformation and fracture behavior of P92 ferritic steel. The variations of flow stress/strength values, work hardening rate, and tensile ductility with respect to temperature exhibited distinct three temperature regimes. The fracture mode remained transgranular. The steel exhibited serrated flow, an important manifestation of dynamic strain aging, along with anomalous variations in tensile properties in terms of peaks in flow stress/strength and work hardening rate, negative strain rate sensitivity, and ductility minima at intermediate temperatures. At high temperatures, the rapid decrease in flow stress/strength values and work hardening rate, and increase in ductility with increase in temperature and decrease in strain rate, indicated the dominance of dynamic recovery.     

Influence of Strain Rate and Temperature on Tensile Deformation and Fracture Behavior of Type 316L(N) Austenitic Stainless Steel

Tensile tests were performed at strain rates ranging from 3.16 × 10^?5 to 3.16 × 10^?3 s^?1 over the temperatures ranging from 300 K to 1123 K (27 °C to 850 °C) to examine the effects of temperature and strain rate on tensile deformation and fracture behavior of nitrogen-alloyed low carbon grade type 316L(N) austenitic stainless steel. The variations of flow stress/strength values, work hardening rate, and tensile ductility with respect to temperature exhibited distinct three temperature regimes. The steel exhibited distinct low- and high-temperature serrated flow regimes and anomalous variations in terms of plateaus/peaks in flow stress/strength values and work hardening rate, negative strain rate sensitivity, and ductility minima at intermediate temperatures. The fracture mode remained transgranular. At high temperatures, the dominance of dynamic recovery is reflected in the rapid decrease in flow stress/strength values, work hardening rate, and increase in ductility with the increasing temperature and the decreasing strain rate.     

Warm deformation and fracture behaviour of DP1000 advanced high strength steel

The effect of temperature has been investigated on the mechanical properties and fracture behaviour of DP1000 advanced high-strength steel. The variation of the mechanical properties depending on temperature has been determined by performing uniaxial tensile tests at the temperatures of 25, 100, 200, 300°C at the rolling directions of 0° (rolling), 45° (diagonal), and 90° (transverse) at the strain rate of 0.0083?s^?1. The yield strength and tensile strength have showed a slight decrease tendency between 25 and 200°C, but the highest value has been reached by showing an increase at 300°C temperature. The amount of elongation has not been affected significantly with the increase of the temperature. While hardening coefficient has increased due to the rising temperature, no effect has been observed on strength coefficient between 25 and 100°C, but an increase has occurred at higher temperature values.     

Tensile Mechanical Behaviors of In Situ Metallic Glass Matrix Composites at Ambient Temperature and in Supercooled Liquid Region

In this study, new Ti-based metallic glass matrix composites (MGMCs) are fabricated, which contains ~41 vol pct of large dendrites with a size of ~0.8 to 1.2 μm, The newly developed Ti-based MGMCs exhibit excellent tensile strength of ~1650 MPa and a tensile strain of ~2.5 pct at room temperature. During tensile deformation, the work hardening is scarcely found in this alloy. Thus, the deformation of the in situ MGMC is simply described with two stages: (1) elastic and (2) softening deformation stages. Two simple models are adapted to simulate each stage. In the supercooled liquid region [at 613 K (340 °C)], superplastic homogeneous deformation, which is the feature of monolithic bulk metallic glasses, is not observed. The mechanical properties at 613 K (340 °C) are sensitive to the strain rates, the yield strength drops from 1390 to 960 MPa, when the strain rate decreases from 1 × 10^?2 to 1 × 10^?3/s, while the displacement is almost increased by twofold.     

The effects of strain rate and welding current mode on the dynamic impact behavior of plasma-arc-welded 304L stainless steel weldments

This article uses a split-Hopkinson pressure bar to investigate the effects of strain rate in the range of 10³ s⁻¹ to 8 × 10³ s⁻¹ and welding current mode upon the dynamic impact behavior of plasma-arc-welded (PAW) 304L stainless steel (SS) weldments. Stress-strain curves are plotted for different strain rates and welding parameters, and optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques are used to analyze the microstructure and fracture characteristics of the weldments. The results confirm that the strain rate and the welding current mode have a significant influence upon the dynamic impact behavior and microstructure evolution of 304L SS weldments. It is shown that for a constant strain, the flow stress increases with strain rate for both welding current modes, and that the pulsed current (PC) mode results in a higher weldment strength than the continuous current (CC) mode. Weldments fabricated using the PC mode exhibit an improved resistance to thermal softening, a greater strain-rate sensitivity, and a lower activation volume. The OM and SEM observations reveals that an adiabatic shear band dominates the fracture characteristics of both weldment types under impact loading. Microstructural analysis reveals that for both welding current modes, the dislocation density and volume fraction of α′ martensite increase with an increasing strain rate, while the twin formations reduce under the same conditions. Comparing the evolution of the microstructure in the base metal and the fusion zone, it is found that for both welding current modes, a higher dislocation density exists in the fusion zone, and that a larger volume fraction of α′ martensite and a greater twin density are present in the base metal. Furthermore, the dislocation density and volume fraction of α′ martensite is greater in PC weldments than in their CC counterparts. Finally, the present results indicate that the PC welding mode produces a weldment with superior dynamic impact response and improved weldment fracture characteristics.     

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.     

Effect of Postweld Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Cyclic Deformation Behavior of Laser-Welded NiTi-Shape Memory Wires

NiTi wires of 0.5 mm diameter were laser welded using a CW 100-W fiber laser in an argon shielding environment with or without postweld heat-treatment (PWHT). The microstructure and the phases present were studied by scanning-electron microscopy (SEM), transmission-electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The phase transformation behavior and the cyclic stress–strain behavior of the NiTi weldments were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and cyclic tensile testing. TEM and XRD analyses reveal the presence of Ni₄Ti₃ particles after PWHT at or above 623 K (350 °C). In the cyclic tensile test, PWHT at 623 K (350 °C) improves the cyclic deformation behavior of the weldment by reducing the accumulated residual strain, whereas PWHT at 723 K (450 °C) provides no benefit to the cyclic deformation behavior. Welding also reduces the tensile strength and fracture elongation of NiTi wires, but the deterioration could be alleviated by PWHT.     

Investigations on metallurgical and mechanical properties of CO2 laser beam welded Alloy 825

In the research work, an attempt is made to join nickel-based alloy 825 by employing CO₂ laser beam welding. Successful full penetration weld joint of a 5?mm thick plate is achieved with a very low heat input of 120?J-mm^?1. Narrow weld bead width of 0.6?mm at the root and 1.6?mm at the cap is observed fusion zone; the interface and base metal microstructures have been examined using both optical and scanning electron microscopic techniques to understand the microstructural changes which have occurred due to laser welding. A range of tests of Vickers micro hardness, tensile and impact tests had been performed on the weldment to ascertain the mechanical properties of the joint. Tensile failure at the base metal and a 180° root bend test conducted on the weldment ascertain the soundness of the weld joint produced. An attempt is made to correlate the microstructure and mechanical properties of the weldment. Intermetallics TiN and Al₄C₃ observed in the SEM\EDS analysis at the fusion zone are found to have improved the weld metal strength and hardness.     

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     

Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of CSEF/M P92 Steel Weldments Welded Using Different Filler Compositions

In the present investigation, P92 steel weld joints were prepared using a shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process for two different fillers, E911 and P92. A comparative study was performed on the microstructural evolution, tensile strength, microhardness, and Charpy toughness across the P92 steel weldments in the as-welded and post-weld heat-treated (PWHT) conditions. The PWHT was performed at 760 °C for 2 hours. To study the effect of the different filler metals and PWHT on the mechanical properties, longitudinal and transverse tensile tests were carried out at room temperature for a constant cross-head speed of 1 mm/min. In the longitudinal direction, the tensile strength of the P92 steel welds was measured as 958 ± 35 and 1359 ± 38 MPa for the E911 and P92 filler, respectively. In the as-welded condition, the transverse tensile specimens were fractured from the fine-grained heat-affected zone or inter-critical heat-affected zone (FGHAZ/ICHAZ) and, after PWHT, the fracture location was shifted to over-tempered base metal from the FGHAZ/ICHAZ. After the PWHT, the tempering reaction resulted in lowering of the hardness throughout the weldment. After PWHT, the Charpy toughness of the weld fusion zone and heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the E911 filler weldments was measured as 66 ± 5 and 142 ± 8 J, respectively. The minimum required Charpy toughness of 47 J (EN1557: 1997) was achieved after the PWHT for both E911 and P92 filler.

     

Deformation behavior of a 16-8-2 GTA weld as influenced by its solidification substructure

Weldment sections from 'formed and welded’ type 316 stainless steel pipe are characterized with respect to some time-independent (tensile) and time-dependent (creep) mechanical properties at temperatures between 25 °C and 649 °C. The GTA weldment, welded with 16-8-2 filler metal, is sectioned from pipe in the ‘formed + welded + solution annealed + straightened’ condition, as well as in the same condition with an additional ‘re-solution’ treatment. Detailed room temperature microhardness measurements on these sections before and after reannealing enable a determination of the different recovery characteristics of weld and base metal. The observed stable weld metal solidification dislocation substructure in comparison with the base metal ‘random’ dislocation structure, in fact, adequately explains weld/base metal elevated temperature mechanical behavior differences from this recovery characteristic standpoint. The weld metal substructure is the only parameter common to the variety of austenitic stainless steel welds exhibiting the consistent parent/weld metal deformation behavior differences described here. As such, it must be considered the key to understanding weldment mechanical behavior.     

Transition of Crack from Type IV to Type II Resulting from Improved Utilization of Boron in the Modified 9Cr-1Mo Steel Weldment

The roles of boron and heat-treatment temperature in improving the type IV cracking resistance of modified 9Cr-1Mo steel weldment were studied. Two different heats of P91 steel, one without boron, designated as P91 and the other with controlled addition of boron with very low nitrogen, designated as P91B, were melted for the current study. The addition of Boron to modified 9Cr-1Mo steel has increased the resistance against softening in fine-grained heat-affected zones (FGHAZ) and intercritical heat-affected zones (ICHAZ) of the weldment. Creep rupture life of boron containing modified 9Cr-1Mo steel weldment, prepared from 1423?K (1150?°C) normalized base metal, was found to be much higher than that prepared from 1323?K (1050?°C) normalized base metal because of the stabilization of lath martensite by fine M₂₃C₆ precipitates. This finding is in contrast to the reduction in creep rupture life of P91 weldment prepared from 1423?K (1150?°C) normalized base metal compared with that of the weldment prepared from 1323?K (1050?°C) normalized base metal. The trace of failure path from the weld metal to ICHAZ in P91B weldment was indicative of type II failure in contrast to type IV failure outside the HAZ and base metal junction in P91 weldment, which suggested that boron strengthened the microstructure of the HAZ, whereby the utilization of boron at a higher normalizing temperature seemed to be significantly greater than that at the lower normalizing temperature.     

Effect of Strain Rate on Hot Ductility Behavior of a High Nitrogen Cr-Mn Austenitic Steel

18Mn18Cr0.6N steel specimens were tensile tested between 1173 K and 1473 K (900 °C and 1200 °C) at 9 strain rates ranging from 0.001 to 10 s^?1. The tensile strained microstructures were analyzed through electron backscatter diffraction analysis. The strain rate was found to affect hot ductility by influencing the strain distribution, the extent of dynamic recrystallization and the resulting grain size, and dynamic recovery. The crack nucleation sites were primarily located at grain boundaries and were not influenced by the strain rate. At 1473 K (1200 °C), a higher strain rate was beneficial for grain refinement and preventing hot cracking; however, dynamic recovery appreciably occurred at 0.001 s^?1 and induced transgranular crack propagation. At 1373 K (1100 °C), a high extent of dynamic recrystallization and fine new grains at medium strain rates led to good hot ductility. The strain gradient from the interior of the grain to the grain boundary increased with decreasing strain rate at 1173 K and 1273 K (900 °C and 1000 °C), which promoted hot cracking. Grain boundary sliding accompanied grain rotation and did not contribute to hot cracking.     

Short-range order effects on the tensile behavior of a nickel-base alloy

A nickel base weld filler metal alloy with nominal composition of 67 pct Ni, 20 pct Cr, 3 pct Mn, 3 pct Fe, and 2.5 pct Nb (Cb) is used to make austenitic-ferritic dissimilar metal joints. Tensile properties were determined for this alloy over the range 25 to 732°C at strain-rates of 3×10⁻⁶ and 3×10⁻⁴/s. Above about 450°C, both the yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength in the low strain-rate tests showed significant increases over the strengths at the higher strain-rate. The enhanced values for the yield strength persisted to the highest test temperature (732°C), whereas the ultimate tensile strength for the low strain-rate fell below the curve for the higher strain-rate at about 600°C. Above 600°C, the ultimate tensile strength dropped off rapidly and at 677°C approached the yield strength (i.e., the uniform elongation dropped to less than 1 pct). The strain-rate effects have been attributed to “K-state” formation, an effect that investigators have attributed to short range order in other Ni−Cr base alloys.     

Effect of Purity Levels on the High-Temperature Deformation Characteristics of Severely Deformed Titanium

In the present investigation, high-temperature compression tests were conducted at strain rates of 0.001 to 0.1 s^?1 and at temperatures of 873 K to 1173 K (600 °C to 900 °C) in order to study the hot deformation characteristics and dynamic softening mechanisms of two different grades of commercial purity titanium after severe plastic deformation. It was observed that the effects of deformation rate and temperature are significant on obtained flow stress curves of both grades. Higher compressive strength exhibited by grade 2 titanium at relatively lower deformation temperatures was attributed to the grain boundary characteristics in relation with its lower processing temperature. However, severely deformed grade 4 titanium demonstrated higher compressive strength at relatively higher deformation temperatures (above 800 °C) due to suppressed grain growth via oxygen segregation limiting grain boundary motion. Constitutive equations were established to model the flow behavior, and the validity of the predictions was demonstrated with decent agreement accompanied by average error levels less than 5 pct for all the deformation conditions.     

Interfacial Microstructural Evolution and Metallurgical Bonding Mechanisms for IN718 Superalloy Joint Produced by Hot Compressive Bonding

The novel metallurgical joining process for bonding IN718 superalloy was investigated by hot compressive bonding (HCB) process under the deformation temperature range of 1000 °C to 1150 °C and true strains ranging from 0 to 0.5 at a strain rate of 0.001 s^?1. The effect of HCB process parameters on the tensile strength was analyzed. Both the as-deformed and the interfacial microstructures were characterized using the optical microscope, electron backscattered diffraction and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. The results of tensile property revealed that the degree of metallurgical bonding is promoted by increasing deformation temperature and strain. The evolution of the interfacial microstructure showed that the migration of interfacial grain boundary (IGB), which is characterized by discontinuous dynamic recrystallization, is the dominant metallurgical bonding mechanism in the early stages of bonding. TEM analysis indicated that the dislocation density is distributed heterogeneously over both sides of IGB, which is the significant reason for the migration of IGB, during the initial stage of HCB process.     

Mechanism of Dynamic Strain Aging in a Niobium-Stabilized Austenitic Stainless Steel

Dynamic strain aging (DSA) behavior of a niobium (Nb)-stabilized austenitic stainless steel (TP347H) was studied from room temperature (RT) to 973 K via tensile testing, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and internal friction (IF) measurements. The DSA effect is nearly negligible from 573 K to 673 K, and it becomes significant at temperatures between 773 K and 873 K with strain rates of 3 × 10^?3 s^?1, 8 × 10^?4 s^?1, and 8 × 10^?5 s^?1, respectively. The results indicate that a dislocation planar slip is dominant in the strong DSA regime. The Snoek-like peak located at 625 K is highly sensitive to the diffusion of free carbon (C) atoms in solid solution. C-Nb octahedrons are formed by C chemical affinity to substitutional Nb solute atoms. Octahedron structure is very stable and captures most free C atoms and inhibits DSA at low tensile test temperatures of 573 K to 673 K. At high test temperatures in the range from 773 K to 873 K, C-Nb octahedrons break up and release free C and Nb atoms, resulting in the stronger Snoek-like peak. The interaction between C atoms and dislocations is responsible for DSA at low temperatures ranging from 573 K to 673 K. At higher temperature of 773 K to 873 K, the Cr and Nb atoms lock the dislocations, and this formation contributes to DSA.     

Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Direct Metal Laser-Sintered (DMLS) CoCrMo After Heat Treatment

Microstructures and tensile properties of Direct Metal Laser-Sintered (DMLS) CoCrMo were investigated in the as-printed condition and after heat treatment. A dense (>?99.5 pct) as-printed DMLS CoCrMo was obtained in the as-printed condition eliminating the need for any hot isostatic pressing. Solution heat treatment carried out at 1150 °C revealed complete recrystallization resulting in an equiaxed grain structure with an average grain size of 40 μm. The microstructure after solution heat treatment and aging at 980 °C revealed inter and intragranular precipitations, enriched in Mo and Si. Solution treatment resulted in the decrease of the room-temperature tensile strength from 1378 MPa (as-printed) to 1114 MPa, which was attributed to the increasing grain size from 0.6 to 1 μm (column width) to ~?40 μm (grain size). The decrease in yield strength was accompanied by the increasing ductility from 5.7 to 15 pct. An enhancement in ductility to nearly 25 pct was observed in tensile tests at 925 °C. This paper comprises a detailed microstructural evaluation of DMLS CoCrMo alloy to determine its suitability for high-temperature structural applications involving repair and refurbishment of components, including an evaluation of microstructural and tensile properties after welding the DMLS CoCrMo to cast FSX414.     

Effect of the strain rate and test temperature on the mechanical properties of a Ti-Ni-Fe shape memory alloy

The test temperature (from ?196 to +50°C) and the strain rate (from 10^?4 to 10³ s^?1) are found to affect the character of deformation of a shape memory alloy TN1K based on titanium nickelide and alloyed with iron. The shapes of the tensile and compressive curves are shown to depend on the position of the test temperature with respect to the characteristic phase-transition temperatures. The mechanical properties are extremal in the temperature ranges corresponding to the R phase region. As the strain rate increases in the quasi-static range, the strength characteristics of the material increase and the plastic characteristics decrease. As the strain rate increases in the quasi-static range, the yield strength changes analogously; in this case, a yield drop appears in the compressive and tensile stress-strain diagrams. The data obtained are used to optimize the technology of the thermomechanical joints of pipelines and construction elements.