High Strength,Weldable Precipitation Aged Steels

The family of plate steels represented by ASTM Specification A710¹ is finding increasing applications. These low carbon, Cu-Ni-Cr-Mo-Cb, copper precipitation hardened steels have been identified by a number of designations over the years. During early development in the late 1960’s and first commercial production in 1970, the steels were known as IN-787 (trademark of International Nickel Company).² ASTM specifications were subsequently developed for structural (A710) and pressure vessel (A736) applications over ten years ago. More recent interest and application of this family of steels by the U.S. Navy has lead to development of a military specification MIL-S-24645 (SH),³ also initially known as “HSLA-80.” Significant tonnage is being produced for the U.S. Navy as a replacement for HY80 (MIL-S-16216) in cruiser deck, bulkhead and hull applications.⁴ In these applications, the enhanced weldability and requirement of no preheat at this high strength and toughness level has been the main motivation for its use. Over the past 15 years, A710 type steels have also been used in a variety of applications, including off-shore platforms, pressure vessels, arctic linepipe valves and off-highway mining truck frames.