TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Numerical simulation of weld heat input effect on microstructure and hydrogen diffusion in thick-walled S690 submerged arc welded joints N2 - High-strength, low-alloy (HLSA) steels such as S690 are an attractive option for heavy industries such as offshore wind turbines and peripheral equipment due to their combination of excellent mechanical properties and weldability. The construction of these thick-walled structures requires highly efficient welding processes such as submerged arc welding (SAW). However, SAW presents challenges related to delayed hydrogen assisted cold cracking (HACC). Despite its importance, the effect of different diffusion coefficients on the cold cracking susceptibility of different microstructures within SAW-welded S690 steels is not fully understood. For this reason, the present study focuses on comparing the cold cracking susceptibility of thermomechanically rolled (TM) or quenched and tempered (QL) variants of S690 steel. SAW was performed on specimens of both steel grades to produce weldments consisting of weld metal, heat-affected zone (HAZ), and base metal. Electrochemical hydrogen permeation tests (ISO 17081) were performed to determine the microstructure specific coefficients. Using the obtained coefficients, a numerical model was developed to identify the time- and microstructure-dependent local hydrogen diffusion and its influence on the distribution within the welds. The results showed that the TM grade exhibited slightly accelerated hydrogen diffusion compared to the QL grade, which is beneficial for hydrogen reduction and increases the HACC resistance. However, the further simulations with different ply sequences showed that the welding heat input (i.e. welding ply sequence) had a significantly higher effect on hydrogen accumulation. Specifically, increased welding heat input and increased thicknesses decrease hydrogen diffusivity. For this reason, microstructure-specific hydrogen diffusion played a minor role in thick-layer SAW joints compared to the need to control the welding parameters (layer sequence, individual layer thickness, welding heat input). T2 - FEMS Euromat 2025 - 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes CY - Granada, Spain DA - 15.09.2025 KW - Hydrogen assisted cracking KW - Welding KW - High strength steels KW - Numerical simulation KW - Electrochemical permeation PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64158 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Thermal desoprtion analysis of hydrogen trapping in micro-alloyed high strength steels N2 - Hydrogen can cause unexpected material failure under consideration of stresses (external/internal) during manufacturing, processing or service of the materials. This failure is mostly based on a certain degradation of the mechanical properties. Thus, the correlation of hydrogen trapping vs. a respective microstructure is necessary for high strength steels. Thus, the scope of this work is the improvement of existing hydrogen trap models by verification of activation energies for hydrogen traps as well as the influence of the determination method. In this scope, the thermal desorption method is appropriate to distinguish between different hydrogen traps. Nevertheless, the specimen temperature has to be accounted very carefully in case of calculating the necessary trap energy. T2 - IIW Intermediate Meeting, Meeting of commission II-A CY - Madrid, Spain DA - 29.02.2016 KW - Thermal desorption analysis (TDA) KW - Hydrogen trapping KW - High strength steels KW - Degradation KW - Heat treatment condition PY - 2016 AN - OPUS4-35544 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Hydrogen diffusion in thick-walled S690 SAW joints: Part 1 - Experimental determination of microstructure dependent diffusion coefficients N2 - S690 steels are widely used in heavy-duty applications, such as structural components, mobile cranes, and industrial plant construction, owing to their high strength and weldability. However, thick-plate submerged arc welding (SAW) can introduce elevated hydrogen levels and residual stresses that promote time-delayed hydro-gen-assisted cold cracking (HACC). Accurate, microstructure-specific diffusion data are scarce, limiting pre-dictive HACC assessments. This study presents an experimental determination of hydrogen diffusion coeffi-cients (DH) in two S690 variants: thermomechanically rolled (S690MC) and quenched and tempered (S690Q). Multi-layer SAW welds were produced from 30 mm-thick plate material at three heat input levels, and diffusion membranes were extracted from weld metal (WM), heat-affected zone (HAZ), and base material (BM). Hydro-gen permeation tests, conducted in accordance with DIN EN ISO 17081, yielded time-normalized flux curves from which DH was derived using the inflection-point method. At room temperature, DH values ranged from 6 × 10⁻⁵ to 9 × 10⁻⁵ mm²/s across all regions and heat inputs, with no significant difference between S690MC and S690Q. Weld metal exhibited marginally lower DH, attributed to enhanced hydrogen trapping, while base mate-rial measurements showed greater variability. These microstructure-resolved diffusion coefficients fill a critical data gap and provide essential input for the numerical simulations presented in Part 2. The results also support practical guidelines for mitigating HACC risk through the optimization of welding parameters. T2 - 78th IIW Annual Assembly, Meeting of Commission II-C CY - Genoa, Italy DA - 22.06.2025 KW - Hydrogen assisted cracking KW - Submerged arc welding KW - High strength steels KW - Hydrogen Diffusion KW - Electrochemical permeation PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63540 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rhode, Michael T1 - Influence of various microalloying strategies on the mechanical properties of weld seams in S690QL steel N2 - Microalloying elements such as niobium (Nb) and titanium (Ti) play a crucial role in achieving the desired mechanical properties of quenched and tempered high-strength fine-grained structural steels with a nominal yield strength of ≥ 690 MPa. Current specifications for the chemical composition only define upper limits for these elements, providing manufacturers with some flexibility. However, even minor deviations in alloying concepts can significantly influence the resulting mechanical properties. Consequently, accurately predicting weldability and the integrity of welded joints becomes challenging or even unfeasible due to variations in composition and the associated microstructural changes. Potential adverse effects include the softening of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) or, conversely, localized hardening phenomena. To address these challenges, various microalloying strategies with different Ti and Nb contents are being systematically investigated for the first time using specially designed laboratory-cast alloys. Each alloying approach is based on the commonly used S690QL steel grade while maintaining consistent chemical composition and heat treatment parameters. To evaluate the weldability, three-layer welds were produced using gas metal arc welding (GMAW), and critical microstructural regions, particularly those within the heat-affected zone (HAZ) exhibiting significant softening or hardening, were identified. The influence of the softened HAZ region on failure behavior was assessed through transverse tensile testing. Digital image correlation (DIC) was employed for in situ analysis of local strain distributions across different HAZ regions. In addition, Charpy tests were carried out on BM, WM and HAZ to determine the Charpy impact toughness. This was supported by metallographic analyses and thermodynamic simulation using ThermoCalc. T2 - IIW Intermediate Meeting, Com. II-A CY - Trollhättan, Sweden DA - 10.03.2025 KW - Welding KW - Microalloy elements KW - High strength steels KW - Mechanical properties PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-62691 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -