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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.
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.
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.
The phase transformation under various cooling rates and in different HAZ regions for high-strength armour steel was analysed by dilatometry. To develop a continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram, the samples were heated up to a peak temperature of 1250 °C to achieve a coarse-grained microstructure and then cooled down with a cooling time t 8/5 varying from 3 to 240 s. Analysis of dilatation curves revealed the austenite decomposition process, during which transformation temperatures were determined. The results showed martensitic transformations for all welding-relevant cooling times. Furthermore, to analyse different heat-affected subzones of the weld, the peak temperature was varied between 550 and 1250 °C at a constant cooling time t 8/5 of 6 s. The simulated coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) and fine-grained-heat affected zone (FGHAZ) showed only martensitic transformations with transformation temperatures below 400 °C. The steel exhibited an inhomogeneous hardness with hardening in the CGHAZ and FGHAZ and softening in the intercritical and subcritical HAZ. The physically simulated microstructure was validated by a real hybrid laser-arc weld microstructure.
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.
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.
Present trends to lightweight design lead to an expanding relevance of high-strength fine-grained structural steels especially in mobile crane constructions. With growing material strength, the challenge for welding fabrication increases, since high loading capacities and safety requirements have to be accomplished. The utilisation of the high strength potential often requires complex constructions associated with high restraint conditions while welding. Increased residual stresses may occur due to superimposing reaction and restraint stresses, which have to be quantified and evaluated to ensure the safety and integrity of high-strength steel constructions. Particularly, the scope of residual stresses has to be taken into account for different effects in the HAZ, notches, weld and base metal. Commonly, conservative assumptions of residual stresses lead to distinct underestimations of the load bearing capacity particularly for welded high-strength steel constructions. This study concludes results of recent works of the researchers regarding the complex interaction among heat control, material and restraint intensity on the residual stress state in welded components. These analyses are extended by further experiments. Based on the obtained major effects, an approach for a welding residual stress assessment regarding component design according to prevailing standards for crane construction, an important application for high-strength steels, is presented.
Optimization of welding loads with narrow groove and application of modified spray arc process
(2017)
Current efforts for lightweight design result in a growing application of high-strength fine-grained structural steel in modern constructions, e.g. mobile cranes, with yield strength from 960 MPa. The design of welded structures and welding processes becomes more challenging with increasing material strength and elastic ratios. High residual stresses are able to diminish lifetime, load capacity and component safety and should be avoided. Recent analyses have shown strong influences of heat control and restraint of the weld due to arising reaction stresses, superimposing with local residual welding stresses. Modern inverter technologies allowed the development of numerous modified spray arc processes driven by power source manufacturers, which provide virtually similar features and several benefits, enabling welding of narrower seams with reduced weld volumes and total heat inputs. This research focuses on welding loads due to modified weld seams. The global reaction forces and moments and their superposition with local residual stresses in welded components due to external shrinkage restraints were investigated using a special testing facility and XRD. The restraint intensity, weld seam geometry and welding process were varied for statistical evaluations of resulting welding loads. When welding under restraint, a reduction of the weld seam volume causes significantly lower reaction stress levels.