Weldability Evaluation of Alloy 718 Investment Castings with Different Si Contents and Thermal Stories and Hot Cracking Mechanism in Their Laser Beam Welds

In this work, weldability and hot cracking susceptibility of five alloy 718 investment castings in laser beam welding (LBW) were investigated. Influence of chemical composition, with varying Si contents from 0.05 to 0.17 wt %, solidification rate, and pre-weld heat treatment were studied by carrying out three different weldability tests, i.e., hot ductility, Varestraint, and bead-on-plate tests, after hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and solution annealing treatment. Onset of hot ductility drop was directly related to the presence of residual Laves phase, whereas the hot ductility recovery behaviour was connected to the Si content and γ grain size. LBW Varestraint tests gave rise to enhanced fusion zone (FZ) cracking with much more reduced heat-affected zone (HAZ) cracking that was mostly independent of Si content and residual Laves phase. Microstructural characterisation of bead-on-plate welding samples showed that HAZ cracking susceptibility was closely related to welding morphology. Multiple HAZ cracks were detected in nail or mushroom welding shapes, typical in keyhole mode LBW, irrespective of the chemical composition and thermal story of castings. In all LBW welds, Laves phase with a composition similar to the eutectic of the pseudo-binary equilibrium diagram of alloy 718 was formed in the FZ. The composition of this regenerated Laves phase matched with the continuous Laves phase film observed along HAZ cracks. This was strong evidence of backfilling mechanism, which is described as wetting and infiltration of terminal liquid along γ grain boundaries of parent material. The current results suggest that this cracking mechanism was activated in three-point intersections resulting from perpendicular crossing of columnar grain boundaries with fusion line and was enhanced by nail or mushroom weld shapes and narrow and columnar γ grain characteristics of castings. Neither Varestraint nor hot ductility weldability tests can reproduce this particular cracking mechanism.

The Effect of Wet Underwater Welding on Cold Cracking Susceptibility of Duplex Stainless Steel

The present work was conducted to assess the weldability of duplex stainless steel in underwater conditions. Metal manual arc welding (MMA) with the use of coated electrodes was used in the investigations. Tekken weldability tests were performed underwater at 0.5 m depth and in the air. Nondestructive tests, metallographic examinations of welds, ferrite content assessment in microstructure and hardness test were performed. The good weldability at underwater conditions of duplex stainless with the use of MMA method was confirmed, however difficulties in stable arc burning were revealed.

Analysis of Extrusion Welding Conditions for AlMg Alloys with High Mg Content

In the work, an original method and a special modified device is presented enabling to determine welding conditions of hard deformable aluminium alloys. The main advantage of the proposed method is that it simulates conditions occurring in the welding chamber of the porthole dies. The weldability tests were performed for 5754 (3,5% Mg) and 5019 (5,5% Mg) alloys, in a wide range of temperatures and pressures. The microstructure and joints strength were examined. The welding conditions of AlMg alloys that allowed obtaining high-quality joints were determined. The obtained welding stress values will be the basis for extrusion porthole die design.

Assessing The Stregth And Weldability Of Historic Structural Steel

In practice, in the design stage of revitalization, renovation or reinforcement, there is often a need to determine the strength of steel as well as its weldability. The strength of steel can be determined in two ways: directly through destructive testing or indirectly - by the Brinell hardness test. In the case of weldability, this turns out to be much more difficult, because there are three groups of factors which determine this property, i.e.: local weldability, operative weldability, and overall weldability. This paper presents the results of the verification of the relationship between the hardness and strength of three grades of steel from the early twentieth century. The evaluation of the overall weldability of structural steels is discussed in an analytical approach preceding costly weldability tests. An assessment based on selected indicators of weldability can only lead to confusion.