Effects of Al, Si and N Content on the Formation of M-A Constituent and HAZ Toughness of Ti-Containing Low-Carbon Steel

The present work investigated the effects of Al, Si, and N content on the impact toughness of the coarse-grained heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) of Ti-containing low-carbon steel. Simulated CGHAZ of differing Al, Si, and N contents were prepared, and Charpy impact toughness was determined. The results were interpreted in terms of microstructure, especially martensite-austenite (M-A) constituent. All elements accelerated ferrite transformation in CGHAZ but at the same time increased the amount of M-A constituent, thereby deteriorating CGHAZ toughness. It is believed that Al, Si, and free N that is uncombined with Ti retard the decomposition of austenite into pearlite and increase the carbon content in the last transforming austenite, thus increasing the amount of M-A constituent. Regardless of the amount of ferrite in CGHAZ, its toughness decreased linearly with an increase of M-A constituent in this experiment, indicating that HAZ toughness is predominantly affected by the presence of M-A constituent. When a comparison of the effectiveness is made between Al and Si, it showed that a decrease in Si content is more effective in reducing M-A constituents.

Influence of Steel Chemistry and Field Girth Welding Procedure on Performance of API X70 Line Pipe Steels

Owing to recent concerns regarding pipeline field girth weld performance, particularly heat affected zone (HAZ) softening and toughness, EVRAZ North America has initiated a research program to evaluate the response of API grade line pipe to the current field girth welding practices. In particular, this study aims to elucidate the role of steel alloy design as well as the welding procedure on field girth weld and HAZ properties. This understanding is critical to balance the detrimental effects of HAZ softening on the overall joint strength against factors affecting HAZ toughness. A selection of several different steels with different levels of alloying elements, Ceq and Pcm have been subjected to welding trials to assess the effects of chemistry on joint performance. Furthermore, an analysis on the effect of welding process parameters on the joint properties has been made. The welds, fabricated via a manual shielded metal arc welding (M-SMAW) process, were evaluated in terms of toughness, local vs global strain distribution during tensile testing using digital image correlation (DIC) technique, and hardness contour mapping of the weld and HAZ regions. The results explicitly show that the extent of HAZ softening decreased as the amount of Mo, Mn, Ti/N and Ceq increased. However, this alloying addition resulted in a detrimental effect on the HAZ toughness, particularly towards the cap and fill passes. The HAZ softening increased as the inter-pass temperature and the welding heat input increased. In addition, the strain analysis confirmed the weld passes towards the root/hot passes are more prone to HAZ softening compared with the upper cap and fill passes.

Improving the Toughness of the Weld-Heat-Affected Zone of Cu-Containing Low-Alloy Steel for Offshore Applications by Optimizing Chemical Composition

Copper-containing low-alloy steel based on the ASTM A707 5L grade is widely used for structural parts of offshore wells. However, it is difficult to stably obtain good weld joint toughness. With this background, this paper focuses on the metallurgical factors controlling the heat-affected zone (HAZ) toughness of A707 modified steel. Potential factors considered are the grain size, the martensite–austenite constituent (M-A), and precipitates. Thus, the purpose was to clarify the effect of M-A and precipitates on HAZ toughness. Furthermore, Cu, Si, and Mn contents, which affect M-A and precipitates generations, were focused on and tried to improve HAZ toughness by optimizing their contents in ASTM A707 steel. The weld test results showed that the toughness of an intercritically coarsened grain HAZ (ICRCGHAZ) was remarkably lower than that of the other heat cycle pattern due to the formation of M-A. It is, therefore, essentially important to suppress the formation of M-A in order to improve toughness in the HAZ of the steel. Therefore, the chemical composition was optimized in an effort to improve HAZ toughness. Copper had no negative influence on the HAZ toughness. It was found that when the Mn and Si contents of the steel decreased, the area fraction of M-A decreased. Consequently, the ICRCG HAZ toughness is improved because the toughness increases with the decrease in the area fraction of M-A. The recommended amounts of Cu, Mn, and Si to ensure HAZ toughness are more than 1.0 wt%, less than 0.6 wt%, and less than 0.1 wt%, respectively.

Mechanism of Improving Heat-Affected Zone Toughness of Steel Plate with Mg Deoxidation after High-Heat-Input Welding

In the present study, the mechanism of improving HAZ toughness of steel plate with Mg deoxidation after the simulated welding with the heat input of 400 kJ/cm was investigated through in situ observation, characterization with SEM-EDS and TEM-EDS, and thermodynamic calculation. It was found that intragranular acicular ferrite (IAF) and polygonal ferrite (PF) contributed to the improvements of HAZ toughness in steels with Mg deoxidation. With the increase of Mg content in steel, the oxide in micron size inclusion was firstly changed to MgO-Ti2O3, then to MgO with the further increase of Mg content in steel. The formation of nanoscale TiN particles was promoted more obviously with the higher Mg content in the steel. The growth rates of austenite grains at the high-temperature stage (1400~1250 °C) during the HAZ thermal cycle of steels with conventional Al deoxidation and Mg deoxidation containing 0.0027 and 0.0099 wt% Mg were 10.55, 0.89, 0.01 μm/s, respectively. It was indicated that nanoscale TiN particles formed in steel with Mg deoxidation were effective to inhibit the growth of austenite grain. The excellent HAZ toughness of steel plates after welding with a heat input of 400 kJ/cm could be obtained by control of the Mg content in steel to selectively promote the formation of IAF or retard the growth of austenite grain.

Improvement on Toughness of Weld Heat Affected Zone of Cu-Containing Low Alloy Steel of Long Scale Forging for Offshore Applications by Optimizing Chemical Composition

Copper-containing low alloy steel based on ASTM A707 5L grade is widely used for structural parts of offshore wells. Applications of the steel for Ultra-deepwater development require excellent low temperature toughness from the viewpoint of marine accident prevention. However it is difficult to stably obtain good weld joint toughness because the welding condition is inevitably scattering. With those backgrounds, this paper focuses on metallurgical factors controlling the HAZ toughness of A707 modified steel. Potential factors considered are the grain size, M-A and precipitates. A challenge is demonstrated to improve the HAZ toughness by optimizing the Cu and Mn contents. In this study, we investigated mechanical properties including crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) and we observed microstructure using welding tests or various weld heat cycle specimens. The weld heat affected zone (HAZ) of a conventional material had good toughness for the low heat input condition. However it was remarkably decreased for the high heat input condition due to the precipitating martensite-austenite constituent (M-A) in local brittle zones (LBZ). The weld test results indicated the importance of suppressing the formation of M-A in order to improve toughness in the HAZ of the steel. Thereby, we challenged the optimization of chemical composition for HAZ toughness improvement. Cu had no bad influence on the HAZ toughness. It was demonstrated that the HAZ toughness is recovered by good use of Cu precipitates in SC cycle. Moreover the area fraction of M-A is decreased in keeping with Mn content, which leads to the improvement of the ICCG HAZ toughness. Based on our study, the recommended amounts of Cu and Mn are more than 1.0 mass% and less than 0.6 mass%, respectively, to ensure the HAZ toughness, especially ICCG HAZ toughness.

Development of YS 500MPa Class Thick Steel Plate With Weld Joint CTOD Property for Offshore Structures

Recently, the installation areas of offshore structures has expanded into deep sea areas, and as a result, strength and plate thickness of the steel plate required for the offshore structures have become higher. And the main property of offshore structure steel is the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) property of multi-pass weld joint. Thus, the developed steel was designed to improve HAZ toughness of multi-pass weld joint. Firstly, in order to achieve both high strength of the base metal and good HAZ toughness, the TMCP technology was applied, and Ceq. was minimized. And to obtain fine HAZ microstructure, fine TiN and Ca(O,S) particles having pinning effect and nucleation site effect were used. Finally, to decrease the formation of brittle martensite-austenite constituent (M-A) in HAZ of multi-pass weld joint, Si content was decreased. By using above technologies, the YS 500MPa class thick steel plate with good weld joint CTOD property have been developed.

Influence of Al Content on the Inclusion-Microstructure Relationship in the Heat-Affected Zone of a Steel Plate with Mg Deoxidation after High-Heat-Input Welding

The effects of Al content on inclusions, microstructures, and heat-affected zone (HAZ) toughness in a steel plate with Mg deoxidation have been investigated by using simulated high-heat-input welding and an automated feature system. The studies indicated that the main kind of oxysulfide complex inclusions in two steels without and with Al addition were both MgO-MnS. The number densities and mean sizes of inclusions were 96.65 mm−2 and 3.47 μm, 95.03 mm−2 and 2.03 μm, respectively. The morphologies of MgO-MnS complex inclusions in steel were changed obviously with the addition of Al. When containing 0.001 wt.% Al, they consisted of a central single MgO particle and outside, the MnS phase. When containing 0.020 wt.% Al, they comprised several small MgO particles entrapped by the MnS phase. Because the former could nucleate intragranular acicular ferrites (IAFs) and the latter was non-nucleant, the main intragranular microstructures in HAZs were ductile IAFs and brittle ferrite side plates (FSPs), respectively. Therefore, HAZ toughness of the steel plate without Al addition after high-heat-input welding of 400 kJ/cm was significantly better than that of the steel plate with Al addition.

Improvement of Heat-Affected Zone Toughness of Steel Plates for High Heat Input Welding by Inclusion Control with Ca Deoxidation

The characteristics of inclusions and microstructure in heat-affected zones (HAZs) of steel plates with Ca deoxidation after high heat input welding of 400 kJ·cm−1 were investigated through simulated welding experiments and inclusions automatic analyzer systems. Typical inclusions in HAZs of steels containing 11 ppm and 27 ppm Ca were recognized as complex inclusions with the size in the range of 1~3 μm. They consisted of central Al2O3 and peripheral CaS + MnS with TiN distributing at the edge (Al2O3 + CaS + MnS + TiN). With increasing Ca content in steel, the average size of inclusions decreased from 2.23 to 1.46 μm, and the number density increased steadily from 33.7 to 45.0 mm−2. Al2O3 + CaS + MnS + TiN complex inclusions were potent to induce the formation of intragranular acicular ferrite (IAF). Therefore, the HAZ toughness of steel plates after high heat input welding was improved significantly by utilizing oxide metallurgy technology with Ca deoxidation.