scholarly journals Effect of Pre-Weld Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Creep Strength of ICHAZ in Grade 91 Steel

Author(s):  
Yiyu Wang ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Zhili Feng

Abstract In this work, Grade 91 base metal was normalized with two different cooling conditions, water quenching and air cooling. The intercritical welding thermal cycle simulated by using the Gleeble system was applied to the heat-treated base metals to reproduce the intercritical heat-affected zone (ICHAZ). Microstructure, including precipitate and tempered martensite, of the base metal and ICHAZ was carefully characterized with advanced microscopy techniques. Creep strength of the simulated ICHAZs was evaluated at a high creep temperature of 650 °C with a stress of 100 MPa. A correlation between the microstructure and creep behavior of the ICHAZ is built to understand creep rupture mechanisms in the ICHAZ. The results show that more coarse carbides precipitated along the prior austenite grain boundaries after tempering in the water-quenched base metal. These carbides cannot be fully dissolved by the intercritical welding thermal cycle. The simulated ICHAZ generated from the water-quenched base metal underwent a higher grain recovery and growth during the typical post-weld heat treatment at 760 °C. Both simulated ICHAZs from two pre-weld heat treated base metals exhibit an extremely low creep resistance with a typical ductile fracture during creep testing. The faster grain growth and precipitate coarsening in the ICHAZ, simulated from the water-quenched base metal, made it even worse.

Author(s):  
Yukio Takahashi ◽  
Haruhisa Shigeyama ◽  
John Siefert ◽  
Jonathan Parker

Grade 91 and other creep strength enhanced ferritic steels are widely used in fossil power plants as the structural materials of high temperature piping and components. As the operating temperature of these plants is as high as 600°C, creep deformation and accompanying damage cannot be neglected in evaluating their integrity. In particular, creep damage tends to concentrate in the softened heat-affected zone in welded joints and often caused so-called type-IV cracking, in advance of failure in base metal or weld metal. In evaluating the likelihood of such a failure, it is important to understand the mechanical property of such region in comparison with base metal and weld metal. Previous studies have shown that considerable degradation of creep strength brought by thermal cycles simulating the temperature history experienced by such a zone. In order to strengthen the understanding, thermal cycle was given to six Grade 91 heats encompassing a wide range of creep properties and their creep behavior was evaluated in this study. As a result, it was found that resistance for creep deformation and rupture life of six heats showed different trend than what was observed in the original metal but the heat-dependency of the ductility seems to be inherited.


2016 ◽  
Vol 725 ◽  
pp. 647-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Yanagisawa ◽  
Yasuhiro Kishi ◽  
Katsuhiko Sasaki

The residual stress distributions of the forgings after both water-cooling and air-cooling were measured experimentally. The residual stress occurring during the heat-treatment was also simulated considering the phase transformation and the transformation plasticity. A comparison of the experiments with the simulations showed a good agreement. These results shows that the transformation plastic strain plays an important role in the heat treatment of large forged shafts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 890 ◽  
pp. 173-180
Author(s):  
Ilare Bordeaşu ◽  
Nicușor Alin Sîrbu ◽  
Iosif Lazăr ◽  
Ion Mitelea ◽  
Cristian Ghera ◽  
...  

The paper presents the results of the behavior and resistance to the erosion by vibrating cavitation of the CuZn39Pb3 brass, obtained by quenching the volume heat treatment from 800°C with water cooling, followed by the stress-relief to 250°C, with air cooling. Comparison with both the delivery status and the naval brass (used for ship propellers), based on the characteristic parameters values, recommended by the ASTM G32 standards and used in the Cavitation Laboratory of the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, shows that the hardness increase resulted from the heat treatment led to a significant increase of resistance to vibrating cavitation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 747-748 ◽  
pp. 111-114
Author(s):  
Lin Song ◽  
Xiang Jun Xu ◽  
Jun Pin Lin ◽  
Lai Qi Zhang

Effects of annealing treatment on microstructure and the compressive properties of hot-worked Ti-45Al-8Nb-(W, B, Y) alloy were investigated. Microstructure of the extrusion plus multi-step forging pancake before and after heat treatment was analyzed by SEM and TEM, respectively. The annealing was conducted by holding samples at 1100°C for 2hrs, and followed by air cooling and furnace cooling. The mechanical properties were measured by Instron test machine. The microstructure evolution during compressive deformation was analyzed by TEM. The results showed that after the annealing the microstructure change could not be observed under SEM but can be observed under TEM. Many dislocation clusters were removed by heat treatment. The heat treated samples had similar compression behaviors with the pancake. TEM investigation showed that the numerous twin intersections occured in γ matrix during compression. The twin spaces tended to decrease as the deformation and the intersection increasing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (88) ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
E.G. Betini ◽  
C.S. Mucsi ◽  
T.S. Luz ◽  
M.T.D. Orlando ◽  
M-N. Avettand-Fènoël ◽  
...  

Purpose: The thermal diffusivity variation of UNS S32304 duplex stainless steel welds was studied after pulsed GTA welding autogenous process without filler addition. This property was measured in the transverse section of thin plates after welding process and post-heat treated at 750°C for 8 h followed by air-cooling. Design/methodology/approach: The present work reports measurements of thermal diffusivity using the laser-flash method. The thermal cycles of welding were acquired during welding by means of k-type thermocouples in regions near the weld joint. The used shielding gas was pure argon and 98% argon plus 2% of nitrogen. The temperature profiles were obtained using a digital data acquisition system. Findings: It was found an increase of thermal diffusivity after welding process and a decrease of these values after the heat treatment regarding the solidified weld pool zone, irrespective of the welding protection atmosphere. The microstructure was characterized and an increase of austenite phase in the solidified and heat-affected zones was observed for post-weld heat-treated samples. Research limitations/implications: It suggests more investigation and new measurements about the influence of the shielding gas variation on thermal diffusivity in the heat-affected zone. Practical implications: The nuclear industry, especially, requests alloys with high thermal stability in pipes for power generation systems and safe transportation equipment’s for radioactive material. Thus, the duplex stainless steel grades have improved this stability over standard grades and potentially increase the upper service temperature reliability of the equipment. Originality/value: After heat treatment, the welded plate with 98%Ar plus 2%N2 as shielding gas presented a thermal diffusivity closer to the as received sample. By means of 2%-nitrogen addition in shielding gas during GTAW welding of duplex stainless steel may facilitate austenite phase reformation, and then promotes stability on the thermal diffusivity of duplex stainless steels alloys.


Author(s):  
Masatsugu Yaguchi ◽  
Kaoru Nakamura ◽  
Sosuke Nakahashi

Creep rupture data of welded joints of ASME Grade 91 type steel have been collected from Japanese plants, milling companies and institutes, and the long-term creep rupture strength of the material has been evaluated. This evaluation of welded joints of Grade 91 steel is the third one in Japan as similar studies were conducted in 2004 and 2010. The re-evaluation of the creep rupture strength was conducted with emphasis on the long-term creep rupture data obtained since the previous study, with durations of the new data of up to about 60000h. The new long-term data exhibited lower creep strength than that obtained from the master creep life equation for welded joints of Grade 91 steel determined in 2010, then the master creep life equation was again reviewed on the basis of the new data using the same regression method as that used in 2010. Furthermore, the weld strength reduction factors obtained from 100000h creep strength of welded joints and the base metals are given as a function of temperature, where the master creep equations of the base metals are also redetermined in this study.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1115 ◽  
pp. 503-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sarwar ◽  
Mohd Amin bin Abd Majid

The creep strength-enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steels are undergoing an encouraged use around the world especially in power plant construction. On construction sites, it has always been the target to have no problems in welded joints but premature failures are being encountered. The primary reason of these premature failures is found to be the improper heat treatment that is mandatorily carried out to achieve the required weld hardness. Weld hardness has close relationship with creep strength and ductility of the welded structures. Hence it is important for any weld to achieve certain level of weld hardness. This study aims at ascertaining the importance of Post Welding Heat Treatment (PWHT) in achieving the required hardness in creep-strength enhanced ferritic (CSEF) materials.The study was carried out on the welding of alloy steel ASTM A335 Gr. P-91 with the same base material (ASTM A335 Gr. P-91) by Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process using ER90S-B9 filler wire with pre-heat of 200oC (min) and inter-pass temperature of 300oC (max). After welding, the joints were tested for soundness with Radiography testing. Induction heating was used for heat treatment of P91 pipes during welding and post weld heat treatment. The effect of Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) was investigated on the Weld metal and the Heat Affected Zones (HAZ) by hardness testing. It is perceived that the scattered and higher hardness values, more than 250HB in 2” P91 pipes in the weld metal and in the heat affected zones, can be brought into the lower required level, less than 250HB, with an effective post weld heat treatment at 760°C for 2hrs.It is concluded that PWHT is the most effective way of relieving the welding stresses that are produced due to high heat input in the welding process and to achieve the required level of hardness in the weld as well as in the heat affected zones (HAZ) in thermal power plant main steam piping.


2007 ◽  
Vol 26-28 ◽  
pp. 189-192
Author(s):  
Tae Kwon Ha ◽  
Jae Young Jung

Ti-45.5Al-2Cr-4Nb-0.4B alloy was cast by vacuum arc melting at high purity Ar atmosphere using high purity sponge Ti, granular Al (99.99%), flake Nb (99.9%), lump Cr (99.9%) and TiB2 (99.5%) and subsequently heat-treated to obtain a couple of microstructures, i.e. lamellar and near γ. The heat treatment consisted of annealing at a high temperature (1200 ~ 1330oC) of different phase fields for 24 hrs and stabilizing at 900oC for 4 hrs followed by air cooling. Fracture toughness was measured on the specimens with different microstructures at room temperature. The value of KQ of specimen with fully lamella structure was obtained as 18.68 MPa √m, much higher than that of specimen with near γ structure (11.84 MPa √m). It was also revealed that the KQ value was decreased as the annealing temperature decreased.


2007 ◽  
Vol 26-28 ◽  
pp. 511-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nam Yong Kim ◽  
Jeoung Han Kim ◽  
Yu Sik Kong ◽  
Jong Won Yoon ◽  
Jong Taek Yeom ◽  
...  

The effect of post weld heat treatment on mechanical properties of friction welded Alloy 718 and SNCRW was investigated. Friction welding tests were carried out at a constant rotation speed and pressure. Optimum friction condition was found to be the friction pressure of 25kg/cm2, friction time of 40sec, upset pressure of 80 kg/cm2, and dwell time of 5sec. After friction welding tests, post weld heat treatments were performed in the temperature range of 500-900°C for 8hrs in order to investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of weld joint. Specimens with the post weld heat treatment at 720°C for 8hrs show optimal mechanical properties. Residual stress of post weld heat treated specimens was measured to weld joint in the same temperature range. After friction welding tests on samples with a diameter of 80mm, tensile properties of post-weld-heat-treated and non-heat-treated samples were compared.


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