Strong & Tough Steel Welds M. Murugananth, H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia E. Keehan, H. O. Andr₫n L. Karlsson
10 m Transition Cleavage Flow stress Temperature Stress
General perception: nickel improves cleavage resistance of ferrite Fe-0.05C-2Mn-3Ni wt% Yield strength 850 MPa Charpy toughness 60 J at -60 o C Weld A: Fe -0.03C-2Mn-7Ni Weld B: Fe -0.03C-2Mn-9Ni
A B A = 790 MPa B = 840 MPa
Weld A: Fe -0.03C-2Mn-7Ni Weld B: Fe -0.03C-2Mn-9Ni Conclusion: Nickel has not improved toughness Different approach needed !
Neural network created 3300 experimental data 22 variables chemical composition, heat treatment, welding conditions test temperature Charpy UTS
Weld A: Fe -0.03C-2Mn-7Ni Weld B: Fe -0.03C-2Mn-9Ni Weld C: Fe -0.03C-0.6Mn-7Ni
How to find the reason ? -Study temperature dependence of strength. -Retained austenite measurements. -Hardness testing. -Measure transformation temperatures.
Temperature Dependence Study Trends remain same. Also not able to compare toughness at same strength Idea was to compare toughness at same strength But...
Retained Austenite Not a significant change in volume % to explain large difference in toughness.
Vickers Hardness Measurement Observation Large scatter in hardness values along depth of the weld C but not in weld A. Why large scatter ? A offset offset distance 5 mm from weld centerline
Reason for scatter in hardness.. Dilatometric measurements revealed the difference in Ac 1, as expected. Though, difference in Ac 1 is less, it is enough to cause a change in temper effects of reheated zones in a multi-pass weld. Low Mn = High Ac 1 High Mn = Low Ac 1
Mechanism of Toughness Improvement Lower Ac 1 means reaustenitising and transforming back to fresh hard martensite. Higher Ac 1 means tempering of already formed martensite. Tempering of substrate layers gives a combination of soft and hard final microstructure than a uniformly hard final microstructure.
Assessment of Microstructure H m =V ' H ' + V o H o
Future Work and Anticipation Ø Tempering kinetics of welds A and C may differ. Would be investigated. Ø Charpy sample spans many layers of the weld. Hence, homogenisation weld C should change the toughness.
Conclusion Nickel does not necessarily improve toughness under all circumstances A well trained neural network model can predict any complex relationship. Transformation temperature, Ac 1, has a marked effect on toughness of multipass welds.
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