Narrow Gap MAG Welding and Joint Performance Analysis of 25Cr2NiMo1V Thick Plate

The narrow gap MAG welding system was used to successfully weld the 50mm thick butt joint of 25Cr2NiMo1V rotor steel. After 15-layer bead welding, heat treatment is performed on the welded joint. Compare the changes in the microstructure, tensile strength and impact energy of the welded joints and the heat-treated joints at 580°C (20h). The results show that after the heat treatment of the structure, the side lath ferrite in the coarse-grained region grows up, and the eutectoid ferrite grows up in the fine-grained region first. The strength of the welded joint is about 605MPa, and the fracture is characterized by ductile fracture. After heat treatment at 580°C (20h), the strength is about 543MPa, the fracture is characterized by ductile fracture, and there are also a large number of discontinuous small surface platforms, and the characteristic of brittle fracture appears slightly. The impact energy of the weld center of the welded joint is about 141J, the fusion line area is about 113J, and the toughness of the fusion line is slightly lower than that of the weld center. After heat treatment, the impact energy at the center of the weld is about 183J, the fusion line area is about 95J, the toughness of the weld center increases, and the toughness of the fusion line decreases.

Fracture Toughness Characteristics of High-Manganese Austenitic Steel Plate for Application in a Liquefied Natural Gas Carrier

High-manganese austenitic steel was developed to improve the fracture toughness and safety of steel under cryogenic temperatures, and its austenite structure was formed by increasing the Mn content. The developed high-manganese austenitic steel was alloyed with austenite-stabilizing elements (e.g., C, Mn, and Ni) to increase cryogenic toughness. It was demonstrated that 30 mm thickness high-manganese austenitic steel, as well as joints welded with this steel, had a sufficiently higher fracture toughness than the required toughness values evaluated under the postulated stress conditions. High-manganese austenitic steel can be applied to large offshore and onshore LNG storage and fuel tanks located in areas experiencing cryogenic conditions. Generally, fracture toughness decreases at lower temperatures; therefore, cryogenic steel requires high fracture toughness to prevent unstable fractures. Brittle fracture initiation and arrest tests were performed using 30 mm thickness high-manganese austenitic steel and SAW joints. The ductile fracture resistance of the weld joints (weld metal, fusion line, fusion line + 2 mm) was investigated using the R-curve because a crack in the weld joint tends to deviate into the weld metal in the case of undermatched joints. The developed high-manganese austenitic steel showed little possibility of brittle fracture and a remarkably unstable ductile fracture toughness.

Effect of 580 °C (20 h) Heat Treatment on Mechanical Properties of 25Cr2NiMo1V Rotor-Welded Joints of Oscillating Arc (MAG) Narrow Gap Thick Steel

The thick plate narrow gap welding of 25Cr2NiMo1V rotor steel is achieved by metal active gas arc welding, in which the weld gap was 18.04–19.9 mm. After welding, the weldment was heat treated at 580 °C (20 h). The impact and tensile properties in the as-welded and heat-treated were studied. The results show that after heat treatment, the coarse carbides in the center of the weld were transformed into fine granular carbides distributed along the grain boundaries, and the quantity of carbide precipitates in the weld near the fusion line was reduced. The tensile fracture mode changed from a ductile fracture to a combination of brittle and ductile fractures, and the tensile strength of the weld metal changed from 605 MPa to 543 MPa. After heat-treated, the radiation zone of the weld center changed from a brittle fracture to a combination of brittle and ductile fractures, and the impact energy changed from 141 J to 183 J; the characteristics of the brittle fracture in the radial zone of the fusion line were more obvious, and the impact energy changed from 113 J to 95 J. Therefore, after heat treatment, the toughness of the welded metal was improved, without reducing the strength and hardness of the welded metal to a large extent.

Microstructure of Rhenium Doped Ni-Cr Deposits Produced by Laser Cladding

The addition of Rhenium up to 6% to Ni-Cr alloys can dramatically improve the corrosion and oxide resistance of deposited coatings at high operating temperatures. Ni-Cr+Re layers can be successfully produced using conventional powder metallurgy, high rate solidification (HRS), or magnetron sputtering methods. However, in industrial applications, high-performance deposition methods are needed, e.g., laser cladding. Laser cladding has several advantages, e.g., metallurgical bonding, narrow heat-affected zone (HAZ), low dilution, and slight thermal damage to the substrate. In this paper, a powder Ni-Cr composite with 1% (wt.) of Rhenium was produced, then deposited onto a steel substrate (16Mo3) by laser cladding to assess the micro and macrostructural properties of the obtained layers. Besides the macro and microscopic observations, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) microanalysis of the deposit and HAZ as well as microhardness measurements have been conducted. The microstructure observations revealed four subareas of HAZ gradually changing from the fusion line towards the base material. Maximum hardness occurred in the HAZ, mainly in areas closer to the clad/substrate interface, reaching up to 350–400 HV. No sudden changes in the composition of the deposit and the area of fusion line were observed.

Effect of Titanium Addition on Cracks of Fe-Cr-C Coating by Reactive Plasma Cladding

Fe-Cr-C and Fe-Cr-C-Ti coatings were prepared by reactive plasma cladding in this paper. The crack morphology and fracture surface of the Fe-Cr-C coating were observed by SEM. The effect of titanium addition on the crack of Fe-Cr-C coating was analyzed. The results show that the coating cracks mainly consist of crack perpendicular to the fusion line, defect-induced crack and intergranular crack. The crack rate of Fe-Cr-C-Ti coating was obviously decreased after Titanium was added. When the titanium content is below 8 wt.%, with the increase of titanium content, the crack rate of Fe-Cr-C-Ti coating decreases obviously. When titanium content is between 8wt.% and 13wt.%, there are no cracks in the Fe-Cr-C-Ti coating. When the titanium content exceeds 13 wt.%, with the increase of titanium content, a small number of cracks begin to appear. The addition of titanium increases the toughness of the Fe-Cr-C-Ti coating and reduces the stress concentration.

Study on bonding properties between arc surfacing layers and 1045 steel substrate using pull-lift test method

Three kinds of surfacing layers of the austenitic steel, niobium alloyed steel and hypereutectic high chromium alloyed cast iron were prepared on 1045 steel substrate by arc surfacing process with self-shielding flux-cored wires. The bonding strength between surfacing layers and the substrate was tested by pull-lift test method. The experimental results show that the bonding strength between austenitic steel surfacing layer and the substrate is the highest up to 549.1 MPa, and the fracture location is near the fusion line with quasi-cleavage fracture characteristic. The bonding strength between the surfacing layer of niobium alloyed steel and the substrate is 314.4 MPa and the fracture mainly occurred at the bottom of the surfacing layer, which also presents quasi-cleavage characteristic. While the bonding strength between hypereutectic high chromium alloyed cast iron surfacing layer and the substrate is as low as 170.7 MPa and the specimen ruptures along the fusion line with brittle fracture characteristic. The bonding properties between surfacing layers and the substrate are directly related to the compositions and microstructures near the fusion line.

Effect of Cold Working on the Driving Force of the Crack Growth and Crack Growth Rate of Welded Joints under One Overload

To understand the effect of cold working of welding heat-affected zone on the driving force of the crack growth and crack growth rate of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) near the welding fusion line, the finite element simulation method was used to analyze the effect of cold working on the tensile stress of the crack tip at different locations near the fusion line. On this basis, the strain rate of the crack tip in the Ford-Andresen model is replaced by the creep rate of the crack tip, and the creep rate of the crack tip is used as driving force for the crack growth of SCC. The effect of the cold working level at the heat-affected zone on the driving force of the crack growth and crack growth rate of SCC are analyzed, and driving force of the crack growth and crack growth rate of SCC after one overload was compared.

Microstructure and alloy element distribution near the fusion line of aluminum alloy 6061 in laser wire-filling welding

Aluminum alloy 6061(AA6061) sheets of 4 mm in thickness are joined by laser wire-filling welding (LWFW) using the ER4047 welding wire. Microstructure and alloy element distributions near the fusion line are characterized and are investigated by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer. The results showed that the well-formed welded joints are obtained with a few thermal cracks near the fusion line. The coarse grain and a reduction in the weight ratio of magnesium to silicon can be observed, when the welding speed decreases under constant laser power. The thermal crack is caused by the decrease of the weight fraction of magnesium and the proportion of silicon content has an effect on the microhardness of welded joints. By properly controlling the welding speed, the various properties of AA6061 LWFW joints can be balanced.