Th. Kannengiesser

Time- and temperature-resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction: observation of phase transformation and strain evolution in novel low temperature transformation weld filler materials

Solid-state phase transformations and the evolution of thermal and elastic strains in novel low temperature transformation (LTT) weld filler materials in the near surface region are monitored in real time by means of an innovative experimental set-up at the PDIFF (powder diffraction) beamline at the synchrotron light source ANKA (Angströmquelle Karlsruhe) at the KIT (Karlsruhe Institute for Technology). The key components of the diffraction set-up are two fast microstrip line detectors, which enables the strain evolution to be followed as a function of time and temperature for a 0.5 s counting time. During controlled heating and cooling cycles, as well as during near welding cycles, the martensite–austenite–martensite phase transitions are analysed. The transformation kinetics are monitored during resistance heating of small chips of the pure LTT alloys and during gas tungsten arc welding of simplified LTT welds using a specially designed welding rig for in-situ studies on the diffraction instruments. Under the mechanically unconstrained condition allowing free thermal expansion and shrinkage, the LTT alloys are found to exhibit decreasing transformation temperatures Ac and MS and increasing phase fraction of retained austenite for increasing Ni content. The strain evolution during welding reveals increased compressive stresses upon welding, which is attributed to the martensite formation upon cooling, which counteracts the thermal contraction strains. Comparison of the transformation temperatures reveals higher values than in the pure LTT alloys, but no variation between the different alloys. On the one hand, this is attributed to preferred grain orientation affecting the diffraction measurements and the determination of the transformation temperatures. On the other hand, it is possible that with the different chemical compositions of the LTT alloys and the mechanical constraints during welding, the evolution of the residual strain and stress may vary and result in counteracting affects with respect to lowered martensite start temperatures.

Effects of Heat Control on the Stress Build- up during High- Strength Steel Welding under defined restraint conditions

Realization and safe operation of modern welded structures are progressively requiring for base and filler materials to cope with continually increasing loads, Analyses with a view to crack prevention therefore need to accommodate particularly the structural design (restraint intensity) and the thermomechanical effects in terms of stresses introduced during welding, Against this background, multi-run welding experiments were carried out in an IRC - (Instrumented Restraint Cracking) Test under defined restraint intensity in order to examine the influence of heat control (preheating and interpass temperatures) on the weldinq-specific forces and stresses, The experiments revealed significant rises in the reaction force and stress after welding with increasing preheating and interpass temperature, Furthermore, various concepts for calculating the preheating temperature are discussed, It is demonstrated that the hitherto existing concepts for high-strength finegrained structural steels can lead to divergent results.

Effects of Preheating and Interpass Temperature on Stresses in S 1100 QL Multi-Pass Butt-Welds

Most of the research on Hydrogen Assisted Cold Cracking (HACC) in high strength steel welds conducted over the last several decades has focused on single-pass welds, especially considering materials with yield strengths about 700 MPa. The guidelines for avoiding cracking that have been developed from such work are therefore useful only where a root pass is the critical event. The well-known guideline is using preheating temperature. Such guideline is very limited when applied to multi-pass welds. In order to support this need, this paper presents the influence of inhomogeneous Hydrogen Removal Heat Treatment (HRHT) procedures, i.e. sole preheating, controlled interpass temperature and combined preheating and controlled interpass temperature, on the residual stresses in multi-pass welds of S 1100 QL. Thereafter, these results are used to identify HACC problems in S 1100 QL and are not reported here. The results were achieved by decent thermal and structural finite element simulations of a five-layer welded 12 mm thick plate at a realistic restraint provided by respective Instrumented Restraint Cracking (IRC) test. The simulations show that the inhomogeneous heat treatment procedures significantly increase the residual stresses as compared to welding without any heat treatment. In contrast to more general anticipations, an increasing controlled interpass temperature does not necessarily lead to a stress reduction, but can even increase the stresses dependent on the location in the multi-pass welds. Maximum residual stresses generally appear in the upper third part of the weld and are not located beneath the top surface where is a typical location used to detect residual stresses in real welded components. If the restraint intensity given to the welded component is not proper, such heat treatment procedures with various temperatures seem to be useful to reduce residual stresses in multi-pass welds.

High-energy synchrotron diffraction study of a transformation induced plasticity steel during tensile deformation:

Energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction offers the possibility for measurement and evaluation of diffraction spectra containing information of various diffraction lines of all contributing crystalline phases of a material. Combined strain imaging and diffraction analysis was conducted during the tensile test of a low alloyed transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel in order to investigate the transformation induced plasticity, strain hardening, and load partitioning effects. Optical strain imaging allowed for determination of localized true strains from three-dimensional deformations measured in situ. High-energy synchrotron radiation has permitted diffraction analysis in transmission mode to gather information from the material interior. Phase-specific stress evolution during loading could be observed applying the sin2ψ technique during certain load steps. The strains of the individual lattice planes were determined in different locations under varying angles between loading and perpendicular direction. Using energy-dispersive methods it was also possible to determine the transformation behaviour during elastic and plastic regime taking into account a large number of diffraction lines. The results show that the approach practised here enables one to pull together macroscopic and phase-specific microscopic material behaviour in order to improve existing models for prediction of complex load situations.

Vertical-up and -down Laser Plasma Powder Hybrid Welding of a High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel

Although laser hybrid welding is increasingly introduced into the manufacturing process of several industrial branches, such technologies have up to the present only been qualified for simple horizontal positions. But, particularly in the shipbuilding and offshore as well as in the automotive and transportation industry there is a high demand to incorporate such innovative procedures also to out-of-position welding of assembly sections. Laser plasma powder arc welding (LPPAW) has already been proven to be a stable hybrid process and less susceptible to production related incidents than other hybrid processes. For instance, misalignment and root gap displacements can most smoothly be compensated, due to separation of the filler material feeding from the arc energy input. As a further step towards the application of LPPAW to real production welding, first results of vertical-up and vertical-down welding of 4mm thick high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel (1.4565) plates are presented in the present contribution. Several welding parameters have been varied and their effects on the weld cross sectional shape have been studied with the most important result, that the laser plasma powder process can principally be applied to out-of-position conditions. Similar to previous investigations of LPPAW in the horizontal position, the results of vertical-up and vertical-down welding are significantly dependent on the geometric configuration of the plasma torch towards the laser beam. Aside from these geometric parameters, the influences of the welding speed and of the plasma powder arc welding current have been studied.

Residual stresses in repair welds of high-strength low-alloy steels

Residual stresses are often the cause for cracks in weld constructions. That is why the residual stress level, induced by manufacturing process, plays a crucial role. The present study aims on the effect of multiple repair weld procedures on a high-strength structural steel S690QL. The widespread technology of carbon arc-air gouging was applied. The weld zone and the heat-affected zone (HAZ) were subjected to multiple thermal cycles by gouging and subsequent repair welding. The investigations were focused on the change of the residuals stresses, the impact on the microstructure and the changes for the mechanical properties of the repair welded joint. The residual stresses were determined by X-ray diffraction. The results have shown a significant dependence for the residual stress levels from the repair cycle. In addition, distinctive changes in microstructures and hence mechanical properties occurred. The fusion line of the repair weld and the adjacent HAZ are the most critical areas. This is where the loss of ductility is most pronounced.

In situ synchrotron X-ray radiation analysis of hydrogen behavior in stainless steel subjected to continuous heating

Hydrogen generally causes lattice distortions and phase transformations when introduced into a metallic crystal lattice. For the investigations reported in this contribution, hydrogen thermal desorption analysis has been carried out to observe the influence of hydrogen desorption on the lattice of super martensitic stainless steel during continuous heating. The lattice expansion parameter and the phase transformations have been monitored during the thermal desorption process, and the influence of hydrogen on such characteristics has been evaluated. It was found that hydrogen has a significant influence on both the lattice parameter and on the thermal expansion. However, hydrogen has no influence on phase transformation during thermal desorption. The hydrogen’s desorption behavior in this process was also observed and it turned out that hydrogen desorbs in two stages, i.e., firstly diffusible hydrogen and trapped hydrogen afterward.

Martensite Fraction Determination Using Cooling Curve Analysis

This work presents a method of calculating the martensite fraction of an Fe-alloy, usingcooling curve analysis (CCA). It is based on a differential heat balance equation which takes intoaccount only convective exchange with the surroundings. By measuring a T(t) curve of an Fe-alloyand solving numerically the differential heat balance equation the martensite fraction can be calcu-lated. It is found that calculated martensite fraction using this methodology is comparable with resultsobtained using electron backscattering diffraction (EBDS).