Indian Institute of Welding ANB

Refresher Course Module 02

Structure, properties, heat

treatment and testing of
welded joints
 The Laws of Thermodynamics:
Zeroth Law
The temperature is introduced via the concept of thermal
equilibrium. U
Q W
First Law
Energy conservation in a closed system is used to define both the
heat Q transferred and the change of internal energy of the system
U. U = Q W ,
where U is the increase of internal energy of the system, Q is the heat entering
the system, and W is the work done by the system.

Second Law
The entropy of an isolated system never decreases; i.e.
S 0,
or, at equilibrium, S Smax.
Third Law
The entropy S 0 as T 0. 2
The energy associated with a chemical
reaction that can be used to do work.
G=H-TS
H=E+PV

Driving force for phase transformation

G=LT/Tm
G*=K(1/T)2
r*=K1(1/T)
 L
S
Heat

L Heat

S
Classification of steels
Carbon steel
low carbon
Medium carbon
High carbon
Alloy steel
Low alloy
medium alloy
High alloy
Formation of regions having different
microstructures during welding

Weld is a composite having different

properties in different zones
Evolution of structure in weld pool

Part of the base metal gets partially melted during welding

Macrograph of a weld joint & HAZ
Metallurgical Zones in a typical weld

10
 Illustration:
Weld deposited
on grey iron
with Nickel
Filler Metal

Composite Zone
Austenite

Unmixed Zone
White Iron

HAZ
martensite
&un-dissolved
graphite

11
 Segregation

Equiaxed
dendrite

During solidification impurities are pushed towards GB

Evolution of microstructure during solidification

equiaxed
dendritic Columnar
dendritic
cellular
% Solute
dendritic

cellular

planar

Solidification parameter, G/R

G = thermal gradient, R = Growth rate

Effect of weld speed on the structure of fusion zone of Al

HS

Low speed

LS

Curved columnar grains point

towards weld direction at low speed.
15
16
Various regions in HAZ formed during welding
 The Weld and Heat Affected Zones

Weld zone : Columnar solidification

structure
Fusion Zone: Boundary of weld and HAZ
HAZ 1: Zone heated below 600 C, base
metal unaffected
HAZ 2 Sub-critical zone 650-727 C,
tempering and some spherodisation
HAZ 3 Inter-critical zone A1 to A3, partial
transformation to Austenite recrystalised
fine grain size.
HAZ 4 Super-critical zone above A3 full
transformation to austenite. On cooling F +
P or hard B or M may form depending on
rate and composition
HAZ 5 Super critical zone above 1050,
grain growth of recrystalised austenite, Macrograph
reduced strength & impact of
Weld & HAZ
Microstructure & hardness of HAZ in
steel

Preheating helps reduce hardness of

HAZ by extending time it spends
between 800-500deg C
 Weld cracking

CG FG
coarse

fine

To maintain strain compatibility both must

creep at same rate. Thus coarse grain portion
has to support higher stress. This is why HAZ
is more susceptible to cracking.
 Post Weld Heat Treatment

Carried out to achieve any one or

more of the following objectives

Stress relief
Dimensional stability
Resistance to stress corrosion
Improved toughness and mechanical
properties

21
Common Heat Treatment Processes

Group I recrystallisation annealing or

more commonly known as stress
relieving
Group II full annealing & normalizing
Group III solution annealing
Group IV hardening & tempering
23
a. Temp. below A1:
a. Mixture of ferrite & pearlite grains; hence
microstructure not affected.
b. Temperature below A3:
a. Pearlite transformed to Austenite, A3 temp is not
exceeded, hence not all ferrite transforms to
Austenite. On cooling, only the transformed
grains will be normalized.

24
c. Temperature just exceeds A3, thereby causing
full Austenite transformation.
a. On cooling all grains will be normalized.
d. Temperature significantly exceeds A3 line
permitting grains to grow.
1. On cooling, ferrite will form at the grain boundaries,
and a coarse pearlite will form inside the grains.
2. A coarse grain structure is more readily hardened
than a finer one, therefore if the cooling rate
between 800C to 500C is rapid, a hard
microstructure will be formed (brittle fracture may
occur in this region)
25
 Welding versus heat treatment

Interpretation of HAZ structure needs a different set of

CCT diagram
A typical CCT diagram of a plain carbon
steel used for heat treatment

Microstructure depends on the time spent between 800-

500deg C during cooling
 Stress Relieving

Effective for reducing residual welding

stresses in
Heavily-restrained welds
Welds that are susceptible to cracking

Dominant mechanisms in stress-relieving

are:
Relaxation of stress by eliminating distortions
in lattice and by forming new grains in distorted
grains
Promoting plastic flow by reducing yield stress

28
 Stress Relieving

Purpose:to relieve internal stresses, reduce hardness and

increase the ductility of strain hardened metal to a certain
extent
Heating temperature of stress relieving is not associated
with phase transformations
It is carried out by heating to a suitable temperature below
the transformation temperature, holding at this temperature
for a predetermined period of time and followed by uniform
cooling
Typical S.R. Temperature for LA steels 595 to 675oc
Typical S.R. Temperature for chrome-moly steels is higher
680 to 720oc
 Relief of Stress vs Time & Temperature

Stress relieving temperature C

Relief of residual stress av. %

4 hours
1 hour

6 hours
 Full Annealing

The second group consists of second order or full

annealing, which involves phase recrystallisation and
consists of heating the steels above the phase
transformation temperatures
This treatment is followed by slow cooling. Full annealing
substantially changes the physical and mechanical
properties and may refine a coarse grained structure
The purpose of annealing is to obtain softness, improve
machine-ability, increase or restore ductility and toughness,
relieve internal stresses, reduce or eliminate structural in-
homogeneity, refine grain size and to prepare steel for
subsequent heat treatment
 Full Annealing
Consists of heating the steel 30 - 50o C above the ac3, holding at
this temperature and then slowly cooling at a rate of 30 -200 o C
per hour, depending on the composition of steel
The rate of heating for annealing of rolled stock or forging maybe
as high as the furnace can provide. For welded assemblies rate of
heating may need to be controlled to avoid stresses and distortion
Holding time is usually 30 minutes to an hour per ton of charge
Slow cooling enables the austenite to transform to pearlite, ferrite
and / or cementite structure depending on the composition
The more stable the austenite is, the slower should be the cooling
to allow this transformation. Thus alloy steels, where the austenite
is more stable, should be cooled more slowly (at the rate of 30-
100o C per hour) than carbon steels (at a rate of 150-200 o C per
hour)
 Solution Annealing

To dissolve all carbides, nitrides and other inter-

metallic compounds in a phase stable at high
temperature. Temperature depending on phase
diagram of the alloy
Carried out mainly on non-ferrous alloys,
maraging steels and other precipitation hardening
stainless steels prior to quenching and
precipitation hardening / aging treatment
Austenitic stainless steels may also be solution
treated and quenched to eliminate harmful
carbide precipitation
 Normalizing

Normalizing of steel is a process of heating steel to

a temperature 40-50o C above Ac3, holding at this
temperature for a short time and subsequent
cooling in air
This is used to eliminate coarse-grained structures
obtained in previous working (rolling, forging or
stamping), to improve the structure in welds or to
reduce internal stresses
Also to increase the strength of medium carbon
steels to a certain extent (in comparison with
annealed steel) and to improve the machinability of
low carbon steels,
 Hardening & tempering
In the third group - hardening, alloys are heated above the
critical phase transformation temperatures, held at this
temperature and then quenched (rapidly cooled) in water, oil
or molten salt baths
During heating the ferrite and considerable amounts of
cementite (or pearlite in eutectoid steels) are transformed
into austenite
Cooling at a rapid rate ensures that austenite is transformed
into a hard phases called martensite.
Higher alloyed steels may harden by air cooling
The hardened steel is then tempered below the A1
temperature between 350 650 C to develop the required
combination of strength and toughness.
 Classification of Mechanical Tests

Uniaxial & uniform loading Non-uniform / multi-axial

Tensile / compression Bend test
Stress Relaxation Rotating beam fatigue
Fatigue (Load / Strain Control) Impact (CVN)
Creep Hardness
Notch tensile test
KIC, JIC etc

Material parameters required for stress analysis of engineering

structures primarily come from uniaxial tests
 Mechanical Tests: Test Variables
Tensile / Compression Creep
v = constant L or stress = constant

Moving Cross head

Test variables
l Cross head velocity: v
Load cell Load: L

Fixed Cross Head Strain: e
Stress relaxation Fatigue: v=f (t)
Strain Control Load Control
e = constant
e t L t
v=0
 Tensile test
Uniform Necking
P deformation
Load P UTS
Stress
Area A0

Elongation
L L0
100 0.02% Proof Stress
L = L-L0 L0
Proportional limit: YS Fracture
A A
RA 0 100 stress

Stress
A0
Stress
E if stress YS
Strain

P % Elongation
Plastic deformation

Strain Elastic strain

P LC steel
E,YS & UTS are material properties. These are
independent of specimen dimension. Ductility
Strain depends on specimen size. Shorter specimen
exhibits higher ductility due to necking.

E,YS & UTS decrease as temperature increases.

 Creep Test

In creep test the specimen is held at constant

temperature in an electric resistance heating
furnace and is subjected to a static tensile load.
The load causes the specimen to elongate
gradually and the amount of elongation measured
periodically.
Amount of elongations is plotted against periods
of time to obtain the creep curve.
One standard of creep strength is the stress to
produce a creep rate of one percent per 100,000
hrs
 Creep test: shape of creep strain time plot

Tertiary
Primary Secondary /
Steady state
Strain

l
s Steady state creep rate
l l0
tr = time to rupture
Strain
time
l0

Creep is a slow time dependent deformation. All metals & alloys under go creep. It
is measurable if test temperature is > 0.5TM (melting point in deg Kelvin). It is a
strong function of stress & temperature. Creep test at a given temperature and
stress gives us time to rupture, steady state (minimum) creep rate, rupture strain
 Stress & temperature dependence of creep

stress Temp.
strain

strain
time time
Master rupture plot

Safe stress
Stress

tr

LMP = T (20+log tr) Temperature

Rupture data are more readily available for design & selection of
material for high temperature components (boiler & turbine).
 Hardness
Hardness is a measure of resistance to deformation. Three common methods
of measuring hardness: Scratch, Rebound & Indentation Hardness.

Hardness Indenter Magnitude Load

Brinell P Fe : P 30 D 2
P
BHN
D D / 2 ( D D2 d 2 ) Al : P 5D 2
d

Vickers Diamond
1.854 P
1 - 120 Kg
Pyramid: DPH
136deg L2
DPH f P 20 300 g
L Microhardness

Rockwell Diamond cone: Rc: 0-100: Steel 150 Kg

120deg: Brale RA: 0-100: Brass 60 Kg
Steel ball: RB: 0-100: Al 100 Kg
1.6mm

Hardness gives an idea of strength & heat treatment of metals.

Creep of Glass-ceramic SOFC seal materials at 750C
Creep of Glass-ceramic SOFC seal materials at 750C

750C

650C

550C
25C
 Fatigue test
A metal subjected to a fluctuating stress fails at a stress much lower than that
required to cause fracture. This phenomenon is called fatigue.

Mild steel
max
Endurance limit

1234
min
S-N curve
Al alloy

Rotating beam fatigue testing machine Log Nf 108

Inert: vac.

Corrosive
environment

Log Nf
Fatigue strength = Endurance limit = f (size, surface finish, surface
prop, residual stress, UTS, inclusion content, environment)
 Hydrogen embrittlement test
Steel picks up hydrogen during welding, pickling, heat treatment,
electroplating or corrosion due to cathodic charging. This makes the
steel notch sensitive and makes it susceptible to delayed fracture.

P Charpy impact test is not

No hydrogen suitable to detect hydrogen
embrittlement.

Slow strain rate test, slow

Hydrogen charged bend test, notch tensile tests
Log tr show loss of ductility.

P
There is a critical stress below which delayed fracture
does not take place.
 Stress corrosion tests
P
Chemical species Alloy Temperature
Chlorides in water Austenitic steel Above room temp
NaOH, KOH soln. Carbon steel 100 deg C
Nitrates in water Carbon steel 100 deg C
NH3 or ammonium Copper alloys Room temp. P
salts in water

fracture
KIC III
II
KI
da/dt

KISCC I
threshold
Log tr
K
 Charpy Impact Test

A rectangular bar with a square cross section and a notch of

specified geometry at the mid length supported near its ends
is struck a single blow behind the notch sufficient to break the
specimen generally by the swing of a weighted pendulum.

Notch toughness is then assessed by any or more of the

following parameters:

Percent shear appearance of the fractured surface

Energy absorbed
Amount of lateral deformation of the compression surface
behind the notch .
 Impact testing

CVN, J

Temp.
HAZ has coarse grain & high transition temperature. This
was the cause for failure of Liberty ship.
 Fracture mechanics

2a Crack propagates when E

New free
surface: elastic stored energy is a
large enough to create
new surface. s p
Ductile: p >> s Brittle: s >> p
Crack tip stress field
y K c E

r Criterion for unstable crack growth: K > Kc
y f K , r ,
K a GF
Kc can be easily estimated if we know the load at which
GF = 1 for infinite plate
UCE takes place. Quite difficult for ductile material.
K = SIF
 Experimental FM
Pc P
w

P
K
B w
P
w
f a Kc LEFM

B = thickness
For most commercial alloys do not exhibit such plots.

EPFM Variation of fracture
a dU toughness with plate
J Kc thickness.
Bda 2
P
J K
a+a J KIC = material property
E
B
NB. Normal design: if a plate deforms, increase thickness. FM based
design: if a plate cracks, reduce thickness.
Mechanical tests carried out on weld
joints
Standard tests
Macro-section examination of fillet welds
Fracture test on fillet welds
Transverse tensile tests on butt welds
Face, root and side bend tests on butt welds
Charpy impact tests on weld and HAZ at RT & LT

Special tests
Fatigue tests
Stress rupture tests
Hydrogen tests
CTOD tests
 Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of
the following faculty members for developing
this module

Dr.R.N.Ghosh
Mr.R.Banerjee
Mr.A.A.Deshpande
Dr.Shaju Albert
THANK YOU