Have you heard of post weld heat treatment (PWHT)? Of course you have.

If you are
involved in welding you have definitely heard this term. But what is PHWT? When is PWHT
required? What temperature should PWHT be done at? Heat treating of materials can be a
very complicated subject, but when it comes to heat treatment after welding it boils down to
a simple concept: PWHT is done in order to maintain or improve material strength and
mechanical properties and to relieve residual stresses. In steel fabrication, the most common
PWHT procedures applied are post heating and stress relieving.
When we weld, we introduce enough heat to melt the base material. This elevated
temperature causes microstructural changes to the base material which can change very
important material properties such as tensile strength, hardness, ductility and toughness. The
degree to which these properties are affected depends on the chemical composition of the
base material and the cooling rate after welding. PWHT treatment requirements are typically
dictated by codes and standards and by any special requirements due to the service conditions
of the welded structure.

For steel fabrication the use PWHT is driven by the need to resist brittle fracture via post
heating and to reduce residual stresses via stress relieving.

Post heating is primarily done to avoid hydrogen induced cracking (HIC), also know as cold
cracking and hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC). In order for HIC to occur three things must
be present:
1. A susceptible base material microstructure (usually due to high levels of carbon)
2. Threshold level of hydrogen
3. Elevated stress levels (internal or external)
For more detail on this topic you can read Factors Influencing Hydrogen Induced Cracking.
If you eliminate one of the three things above, hydrogen induced cracking will not take
place. Post heating allows hydrogen to diffuse out of the weld and heat affected zone (HAZ),
thus reducing diffusible hydrogen below the threshold level. For more information on
preventing HIC read Preventing Hydrogen Induced Cracking.
The weld should not be allowed to cool to room temperature before post heating. HIC will
occur once the material temperature drops below 200F. Before this happens the part must
be heated to a specific temperature and held for a specific amount of time which depends on
the material type and thickness. This allows hydrogen to diffuse out of the weld and prevent
cold cracking upon reaching room temperature.

Codes and standards will specify temperatures and holding times. In general, you must heat
the part high enough to allow hydrogen to diffuse out of the weld and HAZ but not high
enough to create any type of microstructural change. Typically, this bake out procedure is
done between 300˚F – 600˚F [149˚C – 316˚C]. This temperature is held for at least 1 hour per
inch [25mm] of material thickness. Always consult the code you are working with or the
engineer in charge before developing your own post heating procedure.
Charts showing post heating and PWHT temperatures and holding times should be included
with all WPSs. An example of this type of chart is shown below.

Sample PWHT chart for P91 steel. Actual temperature and holding times are determined by material
composition and thickness.
Stress relieving is the other common purpose of applying PWHT. Stress relieving is done at
a much higher temperature and usually for a longer period of time than post
heating. Stresses can develop in weldments due to high levels of restraint and shrinkage
forces. These stresses may not cause the part to crack right away, but significantly reduce the
fatigue life of the welded structure or component.
Stress relieving will reduce these residual stresses that are present after welding by carefully
controlling the heating of the part to a specific temperature, holding it for a specific amount
of time and then controlling the cooling rate. Unlike postheating, the temperatures for stress
relieving are much higher. For most carbon steels stress relieving is done at 1000˚F – 1400˚F
[538˚C – 760˚C].

Other than relieving stresses, PWHT provides other benefits: tempering, hydrogen removal,
improved ductility, toughness and corrosion resistance. However, be aware that PWHT can
also have damaging effects if done improperly or done on materials that should not be post
weld heat treated.

Exceeding the stress relieving temperatures can reduce tensile strength, reduce creep strength
and reduce notch toughness. Additionally, some steels should not be post weld heat treated
or at least it is not recommended. AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code (Steel) states that
stress relieving the following common structural steels is not recommended:

 ASTM A514 (commonly referred to as T-1 steels – Arcelor Mittal trade name)
 ASTM A517
 ASTM A709 Grade HPS 100W
  ASTM A710
It is worth restating that any PWHT must be done according the specific code or standard
that governs the fabrication of the structure or component. Even though PWHT is done
after welding it forms part of the welding procedure specification (WPS) and clear
instructions must be shown in this document on how to perform the PWHT.