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Stresses in repair welding of high-strength steels—part 2: heat control and stress optimization
(2024)
In welding of high-strength steels, e.g. for foundations and erection structures of wind energy plants, unacceptable defects can occasionally be found in the weld area, which should be removed by thermal gouging and subsequent re-welding. High shrinkage restraint of repair welds may lead to crack formation and component failure, predominantly in interaction with degraded microstructures and mechanical properties due to repair cycles. This study aims for elaboration of recommendations for repair concepts appropriate to the stresses and materials involved to avoid cold cracking, damage and expensive reworking. In part 1 [1] of this study, systematic investigations of influences of shrinkage restraint on residual stresses and cold cracking risk during repair welding of two high-strength steels S500MLO for offshore application and S960QL for mobile crane structures were focussed. In this part 2, the microstructure, particularly hardness, and residual stresses due to gouging and influences of heat control parameters in repair welding are analysed. A clear reduction in residual stress after gouging can be observed, especially for the specimens with restrained transverse shrinkage. Gouging to a depth of approx. 2/3 of the seam height does not lead to a complete relaxation of the observed reaction forces. Particularly for the higher strength steel S960QL, there are pronounced areas influenced by the gouging process in which a degradation of the microstructure and properties should be assumed. Overall, the repair welds show a significant increase in the width of the weld and HAZ compared to the original weld, especially in the case of S960QL/G89. The repair welds show higher welding-induced stresses than the original welds, especially in the areas of the HAZ and the base metal close to the weld seam. This behaviour can be attributed overall to increased restraint conditions due to the remaining root weld or shorter gouge grooves. In good agreement with earlier investigations, the residual stresses transverse to the weld can be significantly reduced by upwardly limited working or interpass temperatures, and the reaction stresses resulting from high restraint conditions can be effectively counteracted. The influence of the heat input on the stress formation is low compared to the interpass temperature for both test materials.
AbstractThe sustainable and resource-efficient production of wind energy plants requires the use of modern high-strength fine-grain structural steels. This applies to both foundation and erection structures, like mobile or ship cranes. During the assembly of steel structures, unacceptable defects can occasionally be found in the weld area. In most cases, the economical solution would be local thermal gouging of the affected areas and re-welding. Due to the high shrinkage restraint of the joint groove in the overall structure, the superposition of global and local welding-induced stresses may lead to crack formation and component failure, particularly in interaction with the degradation of the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-strength steels during the repair process. However, manufacturers hardly have any information about these issues and there is a lack of recommendations and guidelines to take these safety-relevant aspects into account in adequate repair concepts. The aim of this research is to derive recommendations for repair concepts appropriate to the stresses and materials involved providing a basis for standards and guidelines to avoid cold cracking, damage and expensive reworking especially for high-strength steels. Part 1 of this study involves systematic investigations of influences of shrinkage restraint during repair welding of two high-strength steels S500MLO for offshore application and S960QL for mobile crane structures. The quantification of the shrinkage restraint of repair weld joints was achieved by means of experimental and numerical restraint intensity analysis. In welding experiments with self-restrained slot specimens, restraint intensity and introduction of hydrogen via the welding arc using anti spatter spray were varied systematically to analyse the effect on welding result, residual stresses and cold cracking. It could be shown that increasing restraint intensities result in significantly higher transverse residual stress levels. In the case of hydrogen introduction S500MLO showed no cold cracking independent of the restraint conditions. However, S960QL was found to be considerably cold cracking sensitive if hydrogen is introduced. With increasing restraint intensity length and number of cold cracks increases significantly. Part 2 [1] of this study is focussed on microstructure and residual stresses due to gouging and stress optimization via adequate heat control parameters in repair welding.
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes enable the efficient production of advanced constructions. New developments in topology optimization are leading to weight-optimized designs of increasing complexity. Direct energy deposition processes (DED) such as wire and arc-based additive manufacturing are an important method of additive manufacturing. The wire filler metals enable a wide range of materials, while the arc process provides a high deposition rate compared to laser and powder-based processes. Combined with the use of high-strength steels, the thickness of walls or components can be significantly reduced in the context of lightweight construction, which results in significant savings in energy, costs, time and resources. Suitable high-strength steel filler metals are commercially available for DED-arc AM processes. However, guidelines and quantitative knowledge about welding stresses and cold cracking issues during component production and service are lacking. This limits the industrial application considerably. In a joint project of BAM and Chemnitz University of Technology, the main influences and complex interactions of material, production process, design and processing steps on the residual stress level are investigated. The aim is to develop processing recommendations and a cold cracking test for economical processing and stress-related design of high-strength steels with DED-arc. This study focuses on residual stress analysis by neutron diffraction (ND) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) on defined test specimens. The ND analysis were performed at the Paul Scherrer Institute- Villigen, Switzerland (PSI) and the XRD analysis at BAM. The study shows a quantitative and qualitative comparison of the residual stress magnitudes and distribution between the component bulk (ND) and surface (XRD) analyses. The ND analysis reveals that in DED-arc AM walls the residual stresses dominate in the direction of welding and are negligibly small in each case transverse to the direction of welding. The topology of the analyzed residual stresses shows almost identical residual stress maps compared to XRD. In addition, the residual stresses are significantly influenced by the solid phase transformation of the material due to low cooling times and less post heat treatment cycles of following AM layers in the area of the top layer.
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes enable the efficient production of advanced constructions. New developments in topology optimization are leading to weight-optimized designs of increasing complexity. Direct energy deposition processes (DED) such as wire and arc-based additive manufacturing are an important method of additive manufacturing. The wire filler metals enable a wide range of materials, while the arc process provides a high deposition rate compared to laser and powder-based processes. Combined with the use of high-strength steels, the thickness of walls or components can be significantly reduced in the context of lightweight construction, which results in significant savings in energy, costs, time and resources. Suitable high-strength steel filler metals are commercially available for DED-arc AM processes. However, guidelines and quantitative knowledge about welding stresses and cold cracking issues during component production and service are lacking. This limits the industrial application considerably. In a joint project of BAM and Chemnitz University of Technology, the main influences and complex interactions of material, production process, design and processing steps on the residual stress level are investigated. The aim is to develop processing recommendations and a cold cracking test for economical processing and stress-related design of high-strength steels with DED-arc. This study focuses on residual stress analysis by neutron diffraction (ND) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) on defined test specimens. The ND analysis were performed at the Paul Scherrer Institute- Villigen, Switzerland (PSI) and the XRD analysis at BAM. The study shows a quantitative and qualitative comparison of the residual stress magnitudes and distribution between the component bulk (ND) and surface (XRD) analyses. The ND analysis reveals that in DED-arc AM walls the residual stresses dominate in the direction of welding and are negligibly small in each case transverse to the direction of welding. The topology of the analyzed residual stresses shows almost identical residual stress maps compared to XRD. In addition, the residual stresses are significantly influenced by the solid phase transformation of the material due to low cooling times and less post heat treatment cycles of following AM layers in the area of the top layer.
Wear behavior of innovative niobium carbide cutting tools in ultrasonic-assisted finishing milling
(2023)
The resources of niobium exceed the ones of tungsten by an order of magnitude. With 92%, Brazil is today the main global producer of niobium. Hence, niobium carbides (NbC) are a sustainable and economic alternative to conventionally used cutting materials, especially tungsten carbides (WC). Moreover, NbC can be used in Ni alloy matrix and thus offer significant advantages by substituting WC in Co matrix as cutting materials in terms of health risks and raw material price and supply risk. Based on recent studies which found an increased performance of NbC compared to WC cutting tools in machining higher strength steels, the composition NbC12Ni4Mo4VC was chosen for finish machining of a high-strength steel S960QL in this study. The experiments were carried out on an ultrasonic-assisted 5-axis milling machine using NbC tools specially made to benchmark them with commercially available coated WC cutting inserts. In addition, the influence of a coating system for the NbC inserts is tested and evaluated for its performance in the cutting process. Tool wear and cutting force analyses are implied to identify optimal parameter combinations as well as tool properties for the novel NbC tool. Together with the oscillation of ultrasonic-assisted milling, the loads on the component surface and the tool can be reduced and the wear behavior of the novel NbC tool can be refined. These milling tests are accompanied by standardized wear tests, i.e., pin-on-disc, between the aforementioned material combinations, and the results are correlated with each other. Finally, the behavior when using hard-to-cut materials such as Ni alloys, or innovative materials such as iron aluminide is also being tested, as these are constantly in the focus of machining optimization. With this strategy, comprehensive knowledge is achievable for future efficient application of NbC for milling tools, which have already been researched for decades using WC.
The new multi-element alloying concept of systems with defined entropy (HEA — high-entropy alloy or MEA — medium-entropy alloy) is increasing in material research interest. Improved properties or combinations of properties are shown by several systems. Thus, the resulting microstructures and production of HEA/MEA as well as properties have been primarily investigated so far. Furthermore, processing is a key issue to transfer HEA/MEA systems to real components. Since welding is the most important joining process for metals, it is crucial to investigate the influence of welding to guarantee component integrity. Since most HEA are made of expensive alloying elements such as Co or Ni, they will not be used entirely as structural materials. Thus, it can be advantageous to weld conventional alloys such as austenitic stainless steels with the HEA and MEA to produce components that are both application-oriented and economically viable. Therefore, in this paper, first results of dissimilar metal welding, by tungsten inert gas (TIG) and friction stir welding (FSW), of a CoCrFeMnNi HEA as well as a CoCrNi MEA with a conventional AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel are presented. The focus is on the microstructure formation due to the two welding processes. The results of TIG welding show a dendritic microstructure, whereas in FSW both materials are stirred but still coexist.
The sustainable and resource-efficient production of wind energy plants requires the use of modern high-strength fine-grain structural steels. This applies to both foundation and erection structures, like mobile or ship cranes. During the assembly of steel structures, unacceptable defects can occasionally be found in the weld area. In most cases, the economical solution would be local thermal gouging of the affected areas and re-welding. Due to the high shrinkage restraint of the joint groove in the overall structure, the superposition of global and local welding-induced stresses may lead to crack formation and component failure, particularly in interaction with the degradation of the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-strength steels during the repair process. However, manufacturers hardly have any information about these issues and there is a lack of recommendations and guidelines to take these safety-relevant aspects into account in adequate repair concepts. The aim of this research is to derive recommendations for repair concepts appropriate to the stresses and materials involved providing a basis for standards and guidelines to avoid cold cracking, damage and expensive reworking especially for high-strength steels. Part 1 of this study involves systematic investigations of influences of shrinkage restraint during repair welding of two high-strength steels S500MLO for offshore application and S960QL for mobile crane structures. The quantification of the shrinkage restraint of repair weld joints was achieved by means of experimental and numerical restraint intensity analysis. In welding experiments with self-restrained slot specimens, restraint intensity and introduction of hydrogen via the welding arc using anti spatter spray were varied systematically to analyse the effect on welding result, residual stresses, and cold cracking. It could be shown that increasing restraint intensities result in significantly higher transverse residual stress levels. In the case of hydrogen introduction S500MLO showed no cold cracking independent of the restraint conditions. However, S960QL was found to be considerably cold cracking sensitive if hydrogen is introduced. With increasing restraint intensity length and number of cold cracks increases significantly. Part 2 [1] of this study is focussed on microstructure and residual stresses due to gouging and stress optimization via adequate heat control parameters in repair welding.
Wear behavior of innovative niobium carbide cutting tools in ultrasonic-assisted finishing milling
(2023)
The resources of niobium exceed the ones of tungsten by an order of magnitude. With 92%, Brazil is today the main global producer of niobium. Hence, niobium carbides (NbC) are a sustainable and economic alternative to conventionally used cutting materials, especially tungsten carbides (WC). Moreover, NbC can be used in Ni alloy matrix and thus offer significant advantages by substituting WC in Co matrix as cutting materials in terms of health risks and raw material price and supply risk. Based on recent studies which found an increased performance of NbC compared to WC cutting tools in machining higher strength steels, the composition NbC12Ni4Mo4VC was chosen for finish machining of a high-strength steel S960QL in this study. The experiments were carried out on an ultrasonic-assisted 5-axis milling machine using NbC tools specially made to benchmark them with commercially available coated WC cutting inserts. In addition, the influence of a coating system for the NbC inserts is tested and evaluated for its performance in the cutting process. Tool wear and cutting force analyses are implied to identify optimal parameter combinations as well as tool properties for the novel NbC tool. Together with the oscillation of ultrasonic-assisted milling, the loads on the component surface and the tool can be reduced and the wear behavior of the novel NbC tool can be refined. These milling tests are accompanied by standardized wear tests, i.e., pin-on-disc, between the aforementioned material combinations, and the results are correlated with each other. Finally, the behavior when using hard-to-cut materials such as Ni alloys, or innovative materials such as iron aluminide is also being tested, as these are constantly in the focus of machining optimization. With this strategy, comprehensive knowledge is achievable for future efficient application of NbC for milling tools, which have already been researched for decades using WC.
Nickel alloys are cost intensive materials and generally classified as difficult-to-cut material. However, machining of these materials is needed especially in case of alloy 36 (1.3912), which is commonly used in mould construction for the production of fibre-reinforced composites. With regard to repair, modification and manufacturing of such components, additive manufacturing offers significant economic advantages. Nevertheless, subsequent machining steps are needed to achieve the final component contour and defined surface conditions. Dependent on the material and machining process conditions, detrimental tensile residual stresses may be the result on the machined surface, having negative impact on the component performance and safety. In this investigation, machining experiments were carried out on wire arc additive manufactured components made of alloy 36, varying the cutting speed and the feed rate. In addition, the conventional milling process (CM) was compared with a modern, hybrid machining process, the ultrasonic-assisted milling (US). The cutting forces and the surface-near residual stresses were analysed using X-ray diffraction. A significant improvement of the machinability as well as the surface integrity by using the ultrasonic assistance was observed, especially at low cutting speeds. The CM induced mainly tensile residual stresses, the US mainly compressive residual stresses.
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) enables the efficient production of weight-optimized modern engineering structures. Further increases in efficiency can be achieved by using high-strength structural steels. Commercial welding consumables for WAAM are already available on the market. Lack of knowledge and guidelines regarding welding residual stress and component safety during production and operation leads to severely limited use for industry applications. The sensitive microstructure of high-strength steels carries a high risk of cold cracking; therefore, residual stresses play a crucial role. For this reason, the influences of the material, the WAAM process, and the design on the formation of residual stresses and the risk of cold cracking are being investigated. The material used has a yield strength of over 800 MPa. This strength is adjusted via solid solution strengthening and a martensitic phase transformation. The volume expansion associated with martensite formation has a significant influence on the residual stresses. The focus of the present investigation is on the additive welding parameters and component design on their influence on hardness and residual stresses, which are analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). Reference specimens (hollow cuboids) are welded fully automated with a systematic variation of heat control and design. Welding parameters and AM geometry are correlated with the resulting microstructure, hardness, and residual stress state. Increased heat input leads to lower tensile residual stresses which causes unfavorable microstructure and mechanical properties. The component design affects heat dissipation conditions and the intensity of restraint during welding and has a significant influence on the residual stress.
Alloy 36 (1.3912), also known as “Invar,” is an alloy with 36% nickel. The alloy has a remarkably low thermal expansion coefficient in certain temperature ranges. This peculiarity is called the invar effect, which was discovered in 1896 by the Swiss physicist Charles Édouard Guillaume. Therefore, it is used in applications in which dimensional stability is critical, such as molding tools for composite materials in aerospace, automotive applications, or liquified natural gas (LNG) cargo tanks. Moreover, increasingly complex structures and the optimization of resource efficiency also require additive manufacturing steps for the production or repair of components. Additively manufactured components have a heterogeneous microstructure and anisotropic mechanical properties. In addition, the manufactured components require subsequent machining surface finishing, like finish milling, to achieve their final contour. Nickel iron alloys are difficult to machine. Additionally, inhomogeneous microstructure may lead to unstable cutting forces and conditions. In part I of this investigation, the initial alloy 36 is modified with the elements Ti, Zr, and Hf up to a maximum of 0.33 wt.-%. The influence of the modification elements on the microstructure as well as on the hardness of the AM components is examined. Furthermore, one modification is applied to metal arc welding process and investigated. Part II focuses on the effect of the alloy modifications on machinability as well as on the surface integrity of plasma-transferred-arc-welded (PTA) and finish milled invar components.
Commercial high-strength fller metals for wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) are already available. However, widespread industrial use is currently limited due to a lack of quantitative knowledge and guidelines regarding welding stresses and component safety during manufacture and operation for WAAM structures. In a joint research project, the process- and material-related as well as design infuences associated with residual stress formation and the risk of cold cracking are being investigated. For this purpose, reference specimens are welded fully automated with defned dimensions and systematic variation of heat control using a special, high-strength WAAM fller metal (yield strength>790 MPa). Heat control is varied by means of heat input (200–650 kJ/m) and interlayer temperature (100–300 °C). The ∆t8/5 cooling times correspond with the recommendations of fller metal producers (approx. 5–20 s). For this purpose, additional thermo-physical forming simulations using a dilatometer allowed the complex heat cycles to be reproduced and the resulting ultimate tensile strength of the weld metal to be determined. Welding parameters and AM geometry are correlated with the resulting microstructure, hardness, and residual stress state. High heat input leads to a lower tensile stress in the component and may cause unfavorable microstructure and mechanical properties. However, a sufciently low interlayer temperature is likely to be suitable for obtaining adequate properties at a reduced tensile stress level when welding with high heat input. The component design afects heat dissipation conditions and the intensity of restraint during welding and has a signifcant infuence on the residual stress. These complex interactions are analyzed within this investigation. The aim is to provide easily applicable processing recommendations and standard specifcations for an economical, appropriate, and crack-safe WAAM of high-strength steels.
High-strength fine-grained structural steels have great potential for modern weight optimized steel construc-tions. Efficient manufacturing and further weight savings are achievable due to Wire Arc Additive Manu-facturing (WAAM). First commercial high-strength welding consumables for WAAM are already available. However, the application is still severely limited due to a lack of knowledge and guidelines for the industry regarding welding residual stresses and component safety in manufacturing and operation. Residual stresses may be critical regarding the special microstructure of high-strength steels in context with the risk of cold cracking and component performance in service. Therefore, process- and material-related influences, as well as the design effects on residual stress formation and cold cracking, are being investi-gated in a research project (IGF 21162 BG) focusing a high-strength WAAM welding consumable with yield strength of over 800 MPa. Objectives are the establish-ment of special WAAM cold cracking tests and pro-cessing recommendations allowing economical, suita-ble, and crack-safe WAAM of high-strength steels. First studies on process-related influences showed transfor-mation residual stresses arising during cooling, which significantly influence stress evolution of the compo-nent during layer-wise build-up. This has not yet been investigated for WAAM of high-strength steels. Focus of this study is on the systematic investigation of interactions of the WAAM welding process and design with cooling time, hardness, and residual stresses.
Defined open hollow cuboids were welded and investi-gated under systematic variation (design of experi-ments, DoE) of the scale/dimensions (cf. Fig. 1a) and heat control (interlayer temperature Ti: 100–300 °C), heat input E: 200–650 kJ/m. The welding parameters were kept constant as possible to avoid any influence by the arc and the material transfer mode. The heat input adjusted primarily via the welding speed. The resulting different weald bead widths were considered by different build-up strategies (weld beads per layer) to ensure defined wall thicknesses. The hardness was determined on cross-sections taken from the manufac-tured hollow cuboids (Fig. 1c) and the analysis of the residual stress state was carried out by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) at defined positions on the lateral wall (Fig. 1b).
The hardness is higher at the top compared to the lower weld beads, as shown in Fig. 1c exemplarily for central test parameters of the DoE = 425 kJ/mm, Ti = 200 °C). This may be attributed to the specific heat control of the top weld beads, i.e., quenching effects, which are not tempered by weld beads above as is the case for lower weld beads implying a higher hardness. It was observed that the hardness level decreases with increasing energy per unit length, while the in-terpass temperature has a rather low influence on the hardness
Residual stress analysis was performed on the lat-eral wall in the welding direction, cf. Fig. 1b, to deter-mine the influence of heat control and design. In the top area of the wall, maximum longitudinal residual stress-es of up to over 500 MPa exhibit, which corresponds to approx. 65% of the nominal yield strength of the mate-rial. The statistic evaluation of stress levels in welding direction of all test specimens show that adaption of heat input may reduce welding stresses up to 50%. In-terpass temperature has less pronounced effect on cool-ing times, microstructure, and on the residual level within parameter matrix. Overall, the results show a significant influence of heat input and component di-mensions on the residual stresses and minor effect of the interpass temperature. Hence, the properties of the specimens may be effectively adjusted via heat input. The working temperatures should be considered for global shrinkage behavior or restraints. Such investiga-tions of residual stress are necessary to further deter-mine local and global welding stresses regarding the consequences on the component safety during manu-facturing and service.
The new alloying concept of multi-element systems with defined entropy (HEA—high-entropy alloy; MEA—medium-entropy alloy) is gaining increasing importance in materials research. Significantly improved properties or combinations of properties are shown by some HEA/MEA systems. Thus, primarily the production and resulting microstructures of HEA, as well as its properties, have been investigated so far. Furthermore, processing is a main issue in transferring HEA systems from the laboratory to real components. Since welding is the most important joining process for metals, it is crucial to investigate the influence of welding to guarantee component integrity. Welding leads to residual stresses, which significantly affect the component integrity. Hence, the focus of this study is the residual stress formation and distribution in a CoCrFeMnNi HEA and ternary CoCrNi MEA using two different welding processes: tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding and solid-state friction stir welding (FSW). As a pathway for the application of HEA in this investigation, for the first time, residual stress analyses in realistic near-component specimens were performed. The residual stresses were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) on the surfaces of top and root weld side. The results were correlated with the local welding microstructures. The results show that both FSW and TIG generate significant tensile residual stresses on the weld surfaces in, and transverse to, the welding direction. In the case of FSW of the CoCrFeMnNi HEA, the longitudinal residual stresses are in the range of the yield strength of approx. 260 MPa in the weld zone.
Alloy 36 (1.3912) is an alloy with 36% nickel and 64% iron and is generally classified as a difficult-to-cut material. Increasingly complex structures and the optimization of resource efficiency are making additive manufacturing (AM) more and more attractive for the manufacture or repair of components. Subsequent machining of AM components is unavoidable for its final contour. By using modern, hybrid machining processes, e.g., ultrasonic-assisted milling (US), it is possible to improve the cutting situation regarding the resulting surface integrity as well as the cutting force. Part I deals with the influence of the alloying elements Ti, Zr, and Hf on the microstructure and the hardness of the initial alloy 36. Part II focusses on the effect of the alloy modifications and the ultrasonic assistance on machinability as well as on the surface integrity after finish-milling. The results show a highly significant influence of the ultrasonic assistance. The cutting force during the US is reduced by over 50% and the roughness of approx. 50% compared to conventional milling (CM) for all materials investigated. Moreover, the US causes a defect-free surface and induces near-surface compressive residual stresses. CM leads to a near-surface stress state of approx. 0 MPa.
The importance of high-temperature materials made of iron aluminides (FeAl) has been increasing in light weight applications, e.g., airplane turbines, due to the high material’s specific strength. However, the highly economic production by means of permanent mold casting involves special microstructures for Fe26Al4Mo0.5Ti1B alloy components leading to difficult machinability for subsequent finishing milling and low surface qualities. Major effects of tool and machining parameter variation incorporating ultrasonic assistance on the milling process and surface integrity are shown. Loads for tool and component surface are significantly adjustable to enable an economic process chain regarding the surface integrity of safety-relevant components.
Determination of residual stress evolution during repair welding of high-strength steel components
(2022)
During the assembly of steel structures, unacceptable weld defects may be found. An economical solution is local thermal gouging of the affected areas and re-welding. Due to high shrinkage restraints of repair weld and sur- rounding structure, high global and local welding stresses superimpose, and may lead to cracking and component failure, especially in connection with the degraded microstructure and mechanical properties of high-strength steels during the repair process. Component-related investigations of high-strength steels (FOSTA P1311/ IGF20162N) focus on welding residual stress evolution during local thermal gouging and rewelding. In this study, repair welding of S500MLO (EN 10225) is carried out using in-situ digital image correlation (DIC) and ex- situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) to analyse strains and stresses. Self-restrained slit specimen geometries were identified representing defined rigidity conditions of repair welds of real components, which were quantified using the restraint intensity concept. The specimens were rewelded with constant welding heat control and parameters. Weld specimens exhibited significantly increased transverse residual stresses with higher transverse restraint intensities, in the weld metal, and in the heat affected zone. Transverse stresses along the weld seam decrease at the weld seam ends leading to different stress state during gouging and welding. XRD analysis of the longitudinal and transverse local residual stresses after cooling to RT showed a good comparability with global DIC analyses.
Medium and High Entropy Alloys (MEA/HEA) are recently developed material classes, providing manifold applications, e.g., due to extraordinary structural properties. In that connection, the machinability as important issue for the processing of these materials was not in the scientific focus. This study focusses on experimental analysis of milling process conditions including ultrasonic assisted milling (USAM) and their effects on the resulting surface integrity of equiatomic CoCrFeNi-MEA specimens. For that reason, milling parameters (cutting speed, feed per cutting edge) were systematically varied for both conventional milling and USAM. The surface integrity was analyzed in terms of topography, defects, and residual stresses. Especially USAM leads to a decrease of occurring cutting forces and, hence, to an improvement of the surface integrity. Beneficial effects were observed in terms of lower tensile residual stresses at high cutting speed and feed per cutting edge.
Ni alloys are generally classified as difficult-to-cut materials and cost intensive. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers economic advantages. However, machining of these AM components is mandatory to create the final contour or surface. The inhomogeneous and anisotropic microstructure and properties of AM components causes an unstable cutting process. Moreover, undesirable tensile residual stresses are generated due to subsequent machining. In this investigation, the initial alloy 36 is modified with Ti and Nb up to 1.6 wt.-% and build-up welded via gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and plasma-transferred-arc (PTA). Then, finish-milling tests are carried out to investigate the influence of the modification as well as the cutting parameters on the resulting cutting force and the surface integrity. In addition, the conventional milling process (CM) is compared with the ultrasonic-assisted milling process (US), which has a significant influence on the machinability as well as on the surface integrity.
Cobalt chromium alloys are often used in turbine and plant construction. This is based on their high thermal and mechanical stress resistance as well as their high wear resistance to corrosive and abrasive loads. However, cobalt is a cost-intensive material that is difficult to machine. Moreover, increasingly complex structures and the optimisation of resource efficiency also require additive manufacturing steps for the production or repair of components in many sectors. Concerning inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the microstructure and properties as well as manufacturing-related stresses, a lot of knowledge is still necessary for the economic use of additive welding processes in SMEs. As a result of the high stresses on the components
and requirements for a high surface quality, a complementary use of additive and machining manufacturing processes is necessary. Thereby, Co–Cr alloys are extremely challenging for machining with geometrically defined cutting edges because of their low thermal conductivity combined with high strength and toughness. An approach to solve this problem is to refine and homogenise the microstructure. This is achieved by modifying the alloy with elements zirconium and hafnium, which are added up to a maximum of 1 wt.-%. A reduction of the process forces and stresses on the tool and work piece surface is also achievable via hybrid milling processes. There are already studies on the combined use of additive and machining manufacturing processes based on laser technology. However, knowledge based on powder and wire-based arc processes is important, as these processes are more widespread. Furthermore, the effects on the surface zone of additively manufactured components by hybrid finish milling have not yet been a subject of research. The results show that the structural morphology could be significantly influenced with the addition of zirconium and hafnium.
Influence of Surface Preparation on Cracking Phenomena in TIG-Welded High and Medium Entropy Alloys
(2022)
Multi-element systems with defined entropy (HEA—high entropy alloy or MEA—medium entropy alloy) are rather new material concepts that are becoming increasingly important in materials research and development. Some HEA systems show significantly improved properties or combinations of properties, e.g., the overcoming of the trade-off between high strength and ductility. Thus, the synthesis, the resulting microstructures, and properties of HEA have been primarily investigated so far. In addition, processing is crucial to achieve a transfer of potential HEA/MEA materials to real applications, e.g., highly stressed components. Since fusion welding is the most important joining process for metals, it is of vital importance to investigate the weldability of these materials. However, this has rarely been the subject of research to date. For that reason, in this work, the weldability depending on the surface preparation of a CoCrFeMnNi HEA and a CoCrNi MEA for TIG welding is investigated. The fusion welding of longer plates is described here for the first time for the CoCrNi alloy. The welds of both materials showed distinct formation of cracks in the heat affected Zone (HAZ). Optical and scanning electron microscopy analysis clearly confirmed an intergranular fracture topography. However, based on the results, the crack mechanism cannot be conclusively identified as either a liquid metal embrittlement (LME) or hot cracking-like liquid film separation.
High entropy alloys (HEA) are a new class of materials. In contrast to conventional alloys, HEA are single-phase alloys with at least five alloying elements. HEAs have enormous application potential due to (postulated) excellent structural property combinations from low to high temperatures. For HEA-application as structural materials in real components, a key issue is the suitability for joining processing. Requirements for the reliable and safe joining of these materials are crucial regarding economical component manufacture for future applications. In this context, friction stir welding (FSW) is a promising joining process due to the welding process temperature below the material melting point avoiding major issues, e. g. formation of (hard and brittle) intermetallic phases, which may have detrimental influences on the weld joint properties.
This study presents elementary research about the FSW process influences on a CoCrFeMnNi-HEA with focus on the microstructure and mechanical properties. For that purpose, the FSW joint of the HEA is compared to that of an austenitic stainless steel AISI 304. The microstructures of the welds were investigated and characterized by means of light microscopy, SEM, EBSD and XRD. Hardness and tensile testing were applied to determine influences on the mechanical properties. Generally, a comparable weldability of HEA and AISI 304 in terms of metallurgical characteristics and resulting mechanical properties exhibited. For the weld joints of both materials typical characteristics regarding FSW were observed within the weld metal and thermo-mechanically influenced zone: fine-grained stirred zone with increased hardness and reduced fracture elongation compared with the respective base material.
WAAM process influences on local microstructure and residual stresses in high-strength steels
(2021)
High-strength fine-grain structural steels have great potential for weight optimization of many modern engineering structures. Efficient manufacturing can be achieved here above all by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). First commercial high-strength welding consumables for WAAM are already available. Due to a lack of knowledge and guidelines for the industry regarding welding residual stresses and component safety in manufacturing and operation, their application is still severely limited. Residual stresses play a crucial role here, as the special microstructure of high-strength steels is sensitive to cold cracking.
For this reason, process- and material-related influences, as well as the design effects on residual stress formation, are being investigated in a project funded by the AiF (FOSTA P1380/IGF 21162 BG). This study focuses on determining the interactions between heat control during WAAM process, resulting hardness, microstructure, and residual stresses, analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Welding experiments using geometrically similar AM specimens show that, with regard to the heat input, the energy per unit length in particular leads to significantly affected cooling times and microstructures and causes pronounced localized effects in terms of residual stresses in the upper weld beads.
High-strength fine-grained structural steels have great potential for weight-optimized, efficient structures in many modern steel applications. Further advances in efficiency can be achieved through additive manufacturing and bionic design. Commercial high-strength filler materials for wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) are already provided by the consumable producers. Today, application would be strictly limited due to absence of quantitative findings or any guidelines for the industry regarding welding-related stresses and component safety during manufacturing and service. Hence, process- and material-related influences and design-related restraint conditions associated with formation of residual stresses and cold cracking risk are investigated. The aim is the accessibility of special WAAM self-restraining cold cracking tests and easy applicable processing recommendations, enabling an economical, fit-for-purpose and crack-safe WAAM of high-strength steels. This first study focuses on determination of interactions between WAAM process parameters, resulting layer geometry, microstructure and residual stresses, analyzed via X-ray diffraction. Defined reference specimens are automated welded using a special WAAM solid wire (yield strength >820 MPa). Geometric properties can be specifically adjusted by wire feed and welding speed, but cannot be varied arbitrarily, since a high heat input causes local overheating, inadmissible changes of microstructure and mechanical properties, defects and comparable high tensile residual stresses.
High-strength fine-grained structural steels have great potential for weight-optimized, efficient structures in many modern steel applications. Further advances in efficiency can be achieved through additive manufacturing and bionic design. Commercial high-strength filler materials for wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) are already provided by the consumable producers. Today, application would be strictly limited due to absence of quantitative findings or any guidelines for the industry regarding welding-related stresses and component safety during manufacturing and service. Hence, process- and material-related influences and design-related restraint conditions associated with formation of residual stresses and cold cracking risk are investigated. The aim is the accessibility of special WAAM self-restraining cold cracking tests and easy applicable processing recommendations, enabling an economical, fit-for-purpose and crack-safe WAAM of high-strength steels. This first study focuses on determination of interactions between WAAM process parameters, resulting layer geometry, microstructure and residual stresses, analyzed via X-ray diffraction. Defined reference specimens are automated welded using a special WAAM solid wire (yield strength >820 MPa). Geometric properties can be specifically adjusted by wire feed and welding speed, but cannot be varied arbitrarily, since a high heat input causes local overheating, inadmissible changes of microstructure and mechanical properties, defects and comparable high tensile residual stresses.
Modern arc processes, such as the modified spray arc (Mod. SA), have been developed for gas metal arc welding of high-strength structural steels with which even narrow weld seams can be welded. High-strength joints are subjected to increasingly stringent requirements in terms of welding processing and the resulting component performance. In the present work, this challenge is to be met by clarifying the influences on hydrogen-assisted cracking (HAC) in a high-strength structural steel S960QL. Adapted samples analogous to the self-restraint TEKKEN test are used and analyzed with respect to crack formation, microstructure, diffusible hydrogen concentration and residual stresses. The variation of the seam opening angle of the test seams is between 30° and 60°. To prevent HAC, the effectiveness of a dehydrogenation heat treatment (DHT) from the welding heat is investigated.
As a result, the weld metals produced at reduced weld opening angle show slightly higher hydrogen concentrations on average. In addition, increased micro- as well as macro-crack formation can be observed on these weld metal samples. On all samples without DHT, cracks in the root notch occur due to HAC, which can be prevented by DHT immediately after welding.
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) and compositionally complex alloys (CCAs) represent new classes of materials containing five or more alloying elements (concentration of each element ranging from 5 to 35 at. %). In the present study, HEAs are defined as single-phase solid solutions; CCAs contain at least two phases. The alloy concept of HEAs/CCAs is fundamentally different from most conventional alloys and promises interesting properties for industrial applications (e.g., to overcome the strength-ductility trade-off). To date, little attention has been paid to the weldability of HEAs/CCAs encompassing effects on the welding metallurgy. It remains open whether welding of HEAs/CCAs may lead to the formation of brittle intermetallics and promote elemental segregation at crystalline defects. The effect on the weld joint properties (strength, corrosion resistance) must be investigated. The weld metal and heat-affected zone in conventional alloys are characterized by non-equilibrium microstructural evolutions that most probably occur in HEAs/CCAs. The corresponding weldability has not yet been studied in detail in the literature, and the existing information is not documented in a comprehensive way. Therefore, this study summarizes the most important results on the welding of HEAs/CCAs and their weld joint properties, classified by HEA/CCA type (focused on CoCrFeMnNi and AlxCoCrCuyFeNi system) and welding process.
The supply and processing of materials for highly stressed components are usually cost-intensive. Efforts to achieve cost and resource efficiency lead to more complex structures and contours. Additive manufacturing steps for component repair and production offer significant economic advantages. Machining needs to be coordinated with additive manufacturing steps in a complementary way to produce functional surfaces suitable for the demands. Regarding inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the microstructure and properties as well as production-related stresses, a great deal of knowledge is still required for efficient use by small- and medium-size enterprises, especially for the interactions of subsequent machining of these difficult-to-machine materials. Therefore, investigations on these influences and interactions were carried out using a highly innovative cost-intensive NiCrMo alloy (IN725). These alloys are applied for claddings as well as for additive component manufacturing and repair welding using gas metal arc welding processes. For the welded specimens, the adequate solidification morphology, microstructure and property profile were investigated. The machinability in terms of finishing milling of the welded surfaces and comparative analyses for ultrasonic-assisted milling processes was examined focussing on surface integrity. It was shown that appropriate cutting parameters and superimposed oscillating of the milling tool in the direction of the tool rotation significantly reduce the mechanical loads for tool and workpiece surface. This contributes to ensure a high surface integrity, especially when cutting has to be carried out without cooling lubricants.
For higher operational temperatures and pressures required in petrochemical plants, the modified 13CrMoV9-10 steel was developed providing high resistance against creep and compressed hydrogen. Extreme care during the welding procedure is necessary for this steel, attributed to low toughness, high strength in as-welded state, and increased susceptibility to stress relief cracking (SRC) during post-weld heat treatment (PWHT). Previous research of SRC in creep-resistant steels discussed mainly thermal and metallurgical factors. Few previous findings addressed the influences of welding procedure on crack formation during PWHT considering real-life manufacturing conditions. These investigations focus on effects of welding heat control on stresses during welding and subsequent PWHT operations close to realistic restraint and heat dissipation conditions using a special 3D testing facility, which was presented in parts I and II of this contribution. Part III addresses investigations on residual stress evolution affecting crack formation and discusses the transferability of results from large-scale testing to laboratory-scale. Experiments with test set-ups at different scales under diverse rigidity conditions and an assessment of the residual stresses of the weld-specimens using X-ray (surface near) and neutron diffraction analysis (bulk) were performed. This study aims to provide a way of investigating the SRC behaviour considering component-specific residual stresses via small-scale testing concepts instead of expensive weld mock-ups.
Efficiency and flexibility are currently a major concern in the design of modern power plants and chemical processing facilities. The high requirements for economic profitability and in particular climate change neutrality are driving this development. Consequently, plant equipment and chemical reactor components are designed for higher operating pressure and temperature. Creep-resistant CrMo steels had been used as constructional materials for decades but came to operational limitations, for example the resistance against so-called high-temperature hydrogen attack in petrochemical reactors. For that purpose, 20 years ago V-modified CrMo steels had been developed for use in the petrochemical industry due to their very good creep-strength and hydrogen pressure resistance at elevated temperatures enabling long service life of the respective components. For example, the 13CrMoV9-10 steel is applicable for process temperatures of up to 482 °C and hydrogen pressures of up to 34.5 MPa.
Due to the large dimensions and wall thickness of the reactors (wall thickness up to 475 mm) and the special alloy concept, reliable weld manufacturing of the components is extremely challenging. First, low toughness and high strength of the weld joint in the as-welded condition are critical regarding weld cracking. High welding residual stresses are the result of the highly restrained shrinkage of the component welds. For this purpose, the entire component must be subjected to Post-Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) after completion of the welding operation. The aim is to increase the toughness of the weld joints as well as to reduce the welding induced residual stresses. Before and during PWHT, extreme caution is required to prevent cracking. Unfortunately, V-modified CrMo steels possess an increased susceptibility to cracking during stress relaxation the so-called stress relief cracking (SRC).
Available literature studies have largely focused on thermal and metallurgical factors. However, little attention has been paid on the influence of the welding procedure on crack formation during PWHT considering actual manufacturing conditions. For that reason, we investigated in our previous studies (part I and II), the influence of heat control on the mechanical properties by simulating actual manufacturing conditions prevailing during the construction of petrochemical reactors using a special 3D- acting testing facility. The focus of part I was put on the influence of the welding heat control on mechanical stresses and the effect on cracking during PWHT. Part II was mainly dedicated to the metallurgical causes of SRC during PWHT and the interaction with the occurring mechanical stresses. It could be shown that not only high welding-induced stresses due to increased weld heat input cause higher susceptibility for SRC formation. It was further intensified by an altered precipitation behaviour in presence of mechanical stresses that are caused by the component related restraint. The present part III shows how residual stresses, which are present in such welded components and significantly influence the crack formation, can be transferred to the laboratory scale. As a result, the effect on the residual stresses on the SRC behaviour can be evaluated on simplified small-scale specimens instead of expensive mock-ups. For this purpose, experiments with test set-ups at different scales and under different rigidity conditions were designed and carried out.
High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) are a recent class of materials. In contrast to conventional alloys, HEAs consist of five alloying elements in equiatomic equilibrium. The high entropy effect is due, among other things, to the increased configuration entropy, which promotes solid solution formation. Many HEAs have enormous application potential due to excellent structural property combinations from very low to high temperatures. For the introduction of HEAs in real components, however, the question of the applicability of machining production technologies for component manufacture is of central importance. This has so far received Little attention in global materials research. Reliable and safe processing is essential for the demand of economical component production for potential areas of application, e.g. in power plant technology.
For metals, milling is the standard machining process. This article presents the results of machining analyses. It focuses on the surface integrity resulting from the milling process on a Co20Cr20Fe20Mn20Ni20-HEA. For this purpose, investigations were carried out using ball nose end milling tools for conventional milling process in comparison to an innovative hybrid process available at BAM Berlin, Ultrasonic-Assisted Milling (USAM). USAM promises a lower Degradation of the surface properties due to lower loads on the workpiece surface during machining.
For this purpose, basic milling parameters (cutting speed and tooth feed) were systematically varied and cutting forces were measured during the milling experiments. The subsequent Analysis of these forces allows an understanding of the mechanical loads acting on the tool and component surface. These loads cause topographical, mechanical and microstructural influences on the surface and consequently on the surface integrity. For their characterization, light and scanning electron microscopy were used, and the roughness and residual stresses via X-ray diffraction were measured. The results indicate significant advantages using USAM, especially due to reduced cutting forces compared to the conventional milling process. This causes lower mechanical loads on the tool and surface, combined with lower tensile residual stresses on and below the surface, and ultimately results in a significantly enhanced surface integrity.
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are characterized by a solid solution of minimum five and medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) of minimum three principal alloying elements in equiatomic proportions. They show exceptional application properties, such as high-strength and ductility or corrosion resistance. Future HEA/MEA-components could be exposed to hydrogen containing environments like vessels for cryogenic or high-pressure storage where the hydrogen absorption and diffusion in these materials is of interest. In our study, we investigated the HEA Co20Cr20Fe20Mn20Ni20 and the MEA Co33.3Cr33.3Ni33.3. For hydrogen ingress, cathodic charging was applied and diffusion kinetic was measured by high-resolution thermal desorption spectros-copy using different heating rates up to 0.250 K/s. Peak deconvolution resulted in high-temperature desorption peaks and hydrogen trapping above 280 °C. A total hydrogen concentration > 40 ppm was identified for the MEA and > 100 ppm for HEA. This indicates two important effects: (1) delayed hydrogen diffusion and (2) considerable amount of trapped hydrogen that must be anticipated for hydrogen assisted cracking phenomenon. Local electrochemical Volta potential maps had been measured for the hydrogen free condition by means of high-resolution Scanning Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (SKPFM).
Welding of 13CrMoV9-10 vanadium steel requires care due to an increased susceptibility to stress relief cracking during post weld heat treatment. Previous research into the crack formation in creep-resistant steels has focused on thermal and metallurgical factors; however, little knowledge has been gathered regarding the crack formation during post weld heat treatment considering real-life restraint conditions. This work is subdivided in two parts. Part I showed that an increasing heat input during submerged arc welding under restraint led to an increasing stress level in the joint prior to the post weld heat treatment. The magnitude of stress relief cracking observed in the heat-affected zone after the post weld heat treatment is affected by the heat input. In Part II of this work, the cracks and the associated microstructure which occurred under restraint were studied. The application of a Special acoustic emission analysis indicated that the cracks formed in a temperature range between 300 and 500 °C during the post weld heat treatment. The toughness in the heat-affected zone of the restrained welds was affected by the welding heat input.
Microstructural analyses of all specimens revealed accelerated aging due to precipitation of carbides during post weld heat treatment under restraint.
The avoidance of failures during the fabrication or operation of petrochemical reactors made of creep-resistant, low-alloy steels as 13CrMoV9-10 requires still research despite over 60 years of international investigations in the field of stress relief cracking. The quality of modern base materials and filler metals leads to the fact that previously known crack causes, such as impurities of S or P, recede into the background. Rather, the causes are increasingly to be found in the fabrication process. Investigations on the influence of heat control on the stresses in welded components and thus on the stress relief cracking sensitivity under realistic manufacturing conditions are not yet available. This work is subdivided in two parts. Part 1 of this study focused on the effect of heat control during submerged arc welding on the stresses. For this purpose, a testing facility was applied, which allows to observe the forces and moments accumulating during welding or heat treatment in a component-like specimen under shrinkage restraint. The stress acting in the specimen increases with higher preheat/interpass temperatures and higher heat input. During the heat treatment, the stresses are relieved. Nevertheless, cracks are formed already during heating. The total crack length correlates with the heat input.
Over the past years economic and environmental considerations have led to a markedly increased demand for efficiency and flexibility in petrochemical plants. The operational temperatures and pressures required today can only be achieved by using new creep-resistant grades of steel. The modified 13CrMoV9-10 vanadium steel shows a good resistance against creep and compressed hydrogen and has been in use for the construction of petrochemical reactors since the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, processing of this type of steel requires extreme care during the welding procedure. This is due to its low toughness and high strength in the welded state when not post weld heat treated combined with increased susceptibility to cracking during stress relaxation. Previous research into crack formation in creep-resistant steels has largely focused on thermal and metallurgical factors; however, little knowledge has been gathered regarding the influence of the welding procedure on crack formation during post weld heat treatment considering real-life manufacturing conditions. The influence of heat control on the mechanical properties has been investigated by simulating the welding and subsequent post weld heat treatment operations during the construction of petrochemical reactors using a special 3-D testing facility on the laboratory scale.
This work is subdivided in two parts. In part I of this study the stresses resulting from preheating, welding, dehydrogenation heat treatment and the final post weld heat treatment were analyzed during experiments under varied heat control. In all experiments stress relief cracks formed during post weld heat treatment could be observed. The total crack lengths correlated with the welding induced stresses.
Part II of this work is dedicated to the characterization of the cracks and the microstructure. The application of a special acoustic emission analysis indicated that the cracks formed in a temperature range between 300 °C and 500 °C during the post weld heat treatment. In comparison to small scale specimens welded without additional shrinkage restraint, the toughness of the restrained welds was significantly decreased. SEM and TEM analyses of all samples revealed accelerated aging due to early precipitation of special carbides during post weld heat treatment under component relevant restraint.
High-strength steels are increasingly applied in modern steel constructions to meet today’s lightweight requirements. Welding of these steels demands a profound knowledge of the interactions between the welding process, cooling conditions, heat input, and the resulting metallurgical occurrences in the weld and its vicinity. Additionally, welding stresses may be detrimental for the safety and performance of high-strength steel component welds during fabrication and service, especially due to the high yield ratio. For a development of strategies to adjust welding heat control, all these effects should be considered, to reach a complete exploitation of the high-strength steel potential. In recent researches at BAM, multilayer GMAW experiments were performed with high-strength steels, in which cooling conditions and resulting microstructure were analyzed for varied heat control parameters. The application of a unique 3d-operating testing facility and X-ray diffraction measurements allowed the analysis of local stresses in the weld while welding and cooling under component relevant shrinkage restraints. As a result, correlations between material behavior, welding, and cooling condition and the arising multi-axial stresses and forces were found. Based on this study, statements for the development of adapted heat control concepts were derived, which are presented by means of specific analysis examples.
Today’s light weight design trends lead to a growing application of high-strength structural steels (yield strength ≥ 690 MPa). The mechanical properties of the weld and the component safety have to meet the increased requirements of these steel grades. However, high residual stresses in welded components are detrimental to their safety and integrity. Analyses concerning weld stresses in high-strength steels welded under component related restraint conditions revealed that heat control significantly affects global and local stresses. This occurs especially in highly restrained joints due to superimposing local and global stresses and may cause crack-critical stress-levels. In this study weld tests were performed with plates of high-strength steel in a special test facility. The experimental setup allowed transferring defined restraint conditions to the test welds similarly to real components. Temperature and reaction forces due to restraint were observed online while welding and cooling of multilayer-component MAG-welds. Mobile X-ray diffraction was used for local stress determination in the weld seam areas of the restrained specimens. It was found that interpass temperature has a major influence on the local and global welding forces and stresses. Thus, among the analysed results especially transverse residual stresses of the heat affected zone were strongly affected.
Residual stresses are crucial when assessing the performance of welded components. The present work deals with the possibilities of transferring the real-life boundary conditions of welding, which influence the residual stress, into the laboratory. The possibilities of a test system specifically developed for this purpose with a maximum capacity of 2 MN are shown. Due to the structural design, global process, geometry and material-dependent stresses are induced, which can be simulated and quantified within the system. Additionally, X-ray diffraction can be applied to determine the resulting local residual stress distribution precisely with high spatial resolution. Two examples are presented how the conditions to be found during production are simulated in the laboratory. It is shown how welding residual stresses in high-strength steels are affected by the heat control. It was possible to clarify why elevated working temperatures significantly increase the bending stresses in the welded joint and therefore the tensile residual stresses in the heat affected zone (HAZ). The effect of a heat treatment applied under mechanical stress resulting from welding is demonstrated by the example of a creep resistant steel. Reheat cracking is significantly increased in this case compared to small scale laboratory based tests.
The performance and safety of welded high-strength low-alloyed steel (HSLA) components are substantially affected by the stresses occurring during and after welding fabrication, especially if welding shrinkage and distortion are severely restrained. The surrounding structure of the whole component affects loads in the far-field superimposing with welding stresses in the near-field of the weld. In this study a unique testing facility was used to restrain shrinkage and bending while analyse multiaxial far-field loads (max. 2 MN) during assembly of thick-walled component. A novel approach for the assessment of the in-situ-measured far-field data in combination with the actual weld geometry was elaborated. For the first time, analyses of the global bending moments of restrained welds based on the neutral axis of the actual weld load bearing section were achieved. Hence, far-field measurements offered the possibility to determine critical near-field stresses of the weld crosssections for the entire joining process. This work presents the approach for far-to-near field in-situ determination of stresses in detail for the 2-MN-testing system based on an extensive experimental work on HSLA steel welds, which demonstrates sources and consequences of these high local welding stresses. Thus, it was clarified, why the first weld beads are crucial regarding welding stresses and cold cracking, which is well known, but has never been measured so far. Accompanying analyses using X-ray diffraction (XRD) after welding show effects on local residual stress distributions. These analyses indicated viable prospects for stress reduction during assembly of thick-walled HSLA steel components.
The performance and safety of welded high-strength low-alloyed steel (HSLA) components are substantially affected by the stresses occurring during and after welding fabrication, especially if welding shrinkage and distortion are severely restrained. The surrounding structure of the whole component affects loads in the far-field superimposing with welding stresses in the near-field of the weld. In this study a unique testing facility was used to restrain shrinkage and bending while analyse multiaxial far-field loads (max. 2 MN) during assembly of thick-walled component. A novel approach for the assessment of the in-situ-measured far-field data in combination with the actual weld geometry was elaborated. For the first time, analyses of the global bending moments of restrained welds based on the neutral axis of the actual weld load bearing section were achieved. Hence, far-field measurements offered the possibility to determine critical near-field stresses of the weld crosssections for the entire joining process. This work presents the approach for far-to-near field in-situ determination of stresses in detail for the 2-MN-testing system based on an extensive experimental work on HSLA steel welds, which demonstrates sources and consequences of these high local welding stresses. Thus, it was clarified, why the first weld beads are crucial regarding welding stresses and cold cracking, which is well known, but has never been measured so far. Accompanying analyses using X-ray diffraction (XRD) after welding show effects on local residual stress distributions. These analyses indicated viable prospects for stress reduction during assembly of thick-walled HSLA steel components.
Today, an expanding application of high-strength steels in modern welded constructions can be observed. The economical use of these steel grades largely depends on the strength and reliability of the weldments. Therefore, the special microstructure and mechanical properties of these grades have to be taken into account by keener working ranges regarding the welding parameters.
However, performance and safety of welded components are strongly affected by the stresses occurring during and after welding fabrication locally in the weld seam and globally in the whole component, especially if the shrinkage and distortion due to welding are restrained. Some extensive studies describe the optimization of the welding stresses and the metallurgical effects regarding an adapted welding heat control. Lower working temperatures revealed to be particularly effective to reduce the local and global welding-induced residual stresses of the complete weld significantly. However, decreased interpass temperatures cause concurrently higher stresses during welding fabrication. This work shows strategies to reduce these in-process stresses.
With help of multi-axial welding stress analyses in component-related weld tests, using a special 2-MN-testing facility, differences in stress build-up are described in detail for root welds, filler layers and subsequent cooling to ambient temperature.
Residual stresses are crucial when assessing the performance of welded components. The present work deals with the possibilities of transferring the real-life boundary conditions of welding, which influence the residual stress, into the laboratory. The possibilities of a test system specifically developed for this purpose with a maximum load capacity of 2 MN are shown. Due to the structural design, global process, geometry and material-dependent stresses are induced, which can be simulated and quantified within the system. Additionally, X-ray diffraction can be applied to determine the resulting local residual stress distribution precisely with high spatial resolution. Examples are presented how the conditions to be found during production are simulated in the laboratory. It is shown how welding residual stresses in high-strength steels are affected by the heat control. It was possible to clarify why elevated working temperatures significantly increase the tensile residual stresses in the heat affected zone (HAZ). The effect of a heat treatment applied under mechanical stress resulting from welding is demonstrated by the example of a creep resistant steel. Reheat cracking is significantly increased in this case compared to small scale laboratory based tests.
High-strength steels are increasingly applied in modern steel constructions to meet today’s lightweight requirements. Welding of these steels demands a profound knowledge of the interactions between the welding process, cooling conditions, heat input and the resulting metallurgical occurrences in the weld and its vicinity. Additionally, welding stresses may be detrimental for the safety and performance of high-strength steel component welds during fabrication and service, especially due to the high yield ratio. For a development of strategies to adjust welding heat control, all these effects should be considered, to reach a complete exploitation of the high-strength steel potential. In recent researches at BAM, multilayer GMAW experiments were performed with high-strength steels, in which cooling conditions and resulting microstructure were analysed for varied heat control parameters. The application of a unique 3d-operating testing facility and X-ray diffraction measurements allowed the analysis of local stresses in the weld while welding and cooling under component relevant shrinkage restraints. As a result, correlations between material behaviour, welding and cooling condition and the arising multi-axial stresses and forces were found. Based on this study, statements for the development of adapted heat control concepts were derived, which are presented by means of specific analysis examples.
In an increasing number of modern steel applications, high-strength structural steel grades are demanded to meet specifications regarding a high load-bearing capacity and a low operating weight. Lightweight design rules enhance the safety requirements, especially for welded joints. Besides a higher cracking risk for high-strength steel welds, the formation of tensile residual stresses might lead to fracture due to overloading or premature failure if not adequately considered. In this study, a stress-strain analysis was conducted at component-related structures from S960QL using digital image correlation while preheating, welding and cooling adjacent to the weld seam. X-ray diffraction analysis of the local residual stresses in the weld seam showed a good comparability with global analyses using either a DIC system or a special testing facility, which allowed in situ measurements of welding loads. By analysing two different seam geometries, it could be shown that lower multi-axial stresses arise if a narrower weld groove is used. Comparative analyses revealed a direct correlation of the local residual stresses in the weld with transverse shrinkage restraint, whereas the residual stress level in the HAZ is significantly affected by the bending restraint of the weld construction and the occurring bending stresses, respectively.
Presentation of the work of division 9.4 with focus on the Key aspects of component welding applying higher-strength fine-grained structural steels. The increased application of higher-strength steels and filler materials necessitates a more profound understanding of the interactions between the welding process, the heat input, the cooling conditions and the resulting metallurgical processes in the weld and its surroundings. Strategies, which help to improve the strength properties and life-time of welded structures to such an extent that the utilisation of higher-strength materials can be justified and their lightweight construction potential can thus be exploited to the full, can only be derived from the interaction between all the influencing factors. Examples of a few investigations on welded joints between higher-strength fine-grained structural steels with regard to the interactions between the main variables influencing the cold cracking are presented.
The increased application of higher-strength steels and filler materials necessitates a more profound understanding of the interactions between the welding process, the heat input, the cooling conditions and the resulting metallurgical processes in the weid and its surroundings. Strategies, which help to improve the strength properties and life-time of welded stmctures to such an extent that the utilisation of higher-strength materials can be justified and their lightweight construction potential can thus be exploited to the füll, can only be derived from the interaction between all the influencing factors. Examples of a few investigations on welded joints between higher-strength fine-grained structural steels with regard to the interactions between the main variables influencing the cold cracking are presented in this article.
Residual stresses of welds become more and more important influencing cold cracking as well as the fatigue life of welded components. Low transformation temperature (LTT) filler materials offer the opportunity to alter the residual stresses already during the welding process by means of ad- justed martensite phase transformation temperature (MS). In the current paper, welding residual stresses are studied putting the focus on MS while joining heavy steel sections with a thickness of 20 and 25 mm, respectively. The residual stress state was determined at the top surface using X-ray diffraction as well as in the bulk by neutron diffraction. The results com- pare the residual stresses present in a conventional weld and LTT welds when multi-pass welding of large-scale compo- nents was applied. Repeated phase transformation in the case of the LTT weld is more vital for the residual stresses present in the real-life-like joints. This accounts for the top surface in longitudinal direction but is most pronounced for the bulk of the welds. Detrimental tensile residual stresses are mainly re- duced in the bulk in comparison to a conventional filler wire even in multi-pass welds of thick steel sections.
Today an expanding application of high-strength steels in modern welded constructions can be observed. The economical use of these steel grades largely depends on the strength and reliability of the weldments. Therefore the special microstructure and mechanical properties of these grades have to be taken into account by keener working ranges regarding the welding parameters. However, performance and safety of welded components are strongly affected by the stresses occurring during and after welding fabrication locally in the weld seam and globally in the whole component, especially if the shrinkage and distortion due to welding are restrained. Some extensive studies describe the optimization of the welding stresses and the metallurgical effects regarding an adapted welding heat control. In particular lower working temperatures revealed to be effective to significantly reduce the local and global welding induced residual stresses of the completed weld. However, decreased interpass temperatures cause concurrently higher stresses during welding fabrication. This work shows some strategies to reduce these in-process stresses. With help of multi-axial welding stress analyses in component-related weld tests using a special 2-MN-testing facility differences in stress build-up are described in detail for root welds, filler layers and subsequent cooling to ambient temperature.
In an increasing number of modern steel applications high-strength steel grades are demanded to meet specifications regarding a high load bearing capacity and a low operating weight. Lightweight design rules enhance the safety requirements, especially for welded joints. Besides a higher cracking risk for HSLA steel welds, the formation of tensile residual stresses might lead to fracture due to overloading or premature failure if not adequately considered. In codes and standards, therefore, residual stress on the amount of the yield strength are expected, disregarding the circumstance that generally the residual stresses are much lower in HSLA steel welds. Oftentimes this leads to an underestimation of the proof strength in high-strength welded components and economical disadvantages using HSLA steels. In this study, a stress-strain analysis was conducted at component related structures from S960QL using digital image correlation while preheating welding and cooling adjacent to the weld seam. X-ray diffraction analysis of the local residual stresses in the weld seam showed a good comparability with the global analyses. The comparison of two different seam geometries revealed significantly lower multi-axial stresses if a narrower weld groove is used.