Effect of fast cooling on microstructure and toughness of heat affected zone in high strength offshore steel

E690 is a newly developed high strength high toughness steel for offshore structures. The effect of different cooling modes on the microstructure and toughness of the heat affected zone in E690 weldment were investigated in this work. The outcome of microstructural examinations and mechanical tests showed that fast cooling immediately after submerged welding can reduce the width of heat affected and coarse grained zones, as well as improving the low temperature impact toughness. It was also shown that reduction in the grain size of the parent austenite and having lower amounts of retained austenite within bainitic structure are the main causes of the observed improvement.