The microscopic mechanical performance for nonuniform welded joint of nickel-based alloy with nanoindentation

To quantify the nonuniform micromechanical performance of welded joint, the load-displacement curves by nanoindentation test were introduced to examine different zones including base metal, coarse grained heat affected zone, partially melted zone, weld metal near the fusion boundary and weld metal center. The results showed that the strengthening effect of weld metal was more obvious than that of heat affected zone for nickel based welded joint and especially in coarse grained heat affected zone, the hardening resulted from overheating was not apparent. Nickel based weld metal with high content of alloying elements which were often segregated at interdendritic regions or precipitated in grain interior under nonequilibrium solidification contributed to the characteristics that differ from conventional low alloy steel welded joint.