Heat Treatment and The Effect of Welding: Week 2

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Heat Treatment and the Effect

of Welding

Week 2
Heat Treatment of Steels
The basis of heat treatment is that FCC iron
can dissolve all carbon in steel (up to 2%
C), while BCC iron can dissolve practically
none (<0.02% C).
Steel heated until it is transformed
completely to Austenite has all its carbon in
solution & uniformly distributed
Steel Phase Diagram
Cont’d
On cooling the carbon will attempt to precipitate
out of solution as Cementite
By controlling the mode of cooling the
distribution of Cementite & hence the mechanical
properties can be controlled
Steels are heated slowly to the Austenite region (+
30 to 50 °C) to ensure it is fully Austenitic & that
the grains are as small as possible
Final properties depend on the mode of cooling
Cooling

Annealing – usually on cast & hot worked


steels with coarse grain structures to obtain
grain refinement, stiffness & ductility
Particularly necessary on components
requiring additional work
Involves cooling slowly in the furnace or
packed in sand
Cont’d

Normalising – air cooling from the soak


temperature
Gives maximum grain refinement &
consequently harder stronger steels
Useful finishing treatment – Pearlite formed
is much finer than via annealing
Cont’d

Hardening – quenching into oil, water or brine


from the soak temperature fast enough to prevent
the formation of Pearlite
New phase known as Martensite (supersaturated
solution of carbon in ferrite) – very hard & as a
result the steels become very brittle
With water quenching the steel becomes too brittle
for use – becomes necessary to temper steel
Cont’d

Tempering – re-heating to the sub critical range


(approx 650 °C), where stresses set up on
quenching are relieved, so reducing the brittleness
Steel becomes tougher at the expense of hardness
Quenching & tempering are principally applied to
high carbon steels, where high hardness is
required or to alloy steels to achieve high strength
Welding
Extensively used for joining materials together
Very complex geometries can be effectively
welded
Produces cleaner lines and reduces painting costs
Cheaper, simpler & lighter than rivets or bolts
The material is heated locally to its melting
temperature
Additional metal may be introduced and the joint
is then allowed to cool naturally
Cont’d
Allows greater freedom for design
Allows for continuous beams & girders
Easy & quick alterations
Additions can easily be made
Methods Available
Arc welding
Gas welding
Friction welding
Spot welding
Soldering
Brazing
Electron beam
Laser
Diffusion bonding
Ideal Requirements of Welding
A.) Complete continuity should be
maintained between parts to be joined
Joint should be indistinguishable from the
parent metal
Practically the above is not always possible,
although satisfactory weld performance can
be achieved in most cases
Cont’d
B.) The joining material should have
properties that are similar to the parent
metal
Careful selection of welding rods etc. is
therefore essential
Heat Affected Zone
Weld is basically a rapidly formed casting
surrounded by a heat affected zone (HAZ)
A temperature gradient is set up in the
material during welding
Temperature gradient ranges from the
melting point at the point of fusion to
ambient temperature at some distance from
the weld
Cont’d
High temperature followed by fairly rapid
cooling causes changes in the metallurgy of
the metal and the joint quality can be
affected by:
a.) Structure & quality of the weld metal
b.) Structure & properties of the part of
the metal in the heat affected zone
Rate of Cooling After Welding
The slower the rate of cooling, the closer
the structure to equilibrium
Cooling occurs mainly by conduction in the
parent metal, depending upon the thermal
mass (thickness & size of parent material)
The greater the thermal mass, the faster the
rate of cooling
Arc Welding
The main method employed for structural
steelwork is arc welding
Principles – Electrode or filler wire melts due to
passage of welding current through the filler wire,
Arc (plasma) & back to the power source via the
earthed component
Typically arc temperature is 5000 to 30000K
The melt is transferred across the arc – several
mechanisms – droplets, spray etc.
Welding Process
Basically require:
1.) Heat source to effect fusion
2.) Satisfactory metallurgical properties
3.) An efficient process
Processes used
Manual metal arc
Automatic welding using continuous coated
electrodes
Submerged arc welding
Carbon dioxide shielded metal arc (MIG)
Electrostatic welding
Stud welding
Typical Welds
Butt Weld
Full penetration

Partial penetration
Cont’d
Fillet Weld
t = throat
l1 = vertical leg
l2 = horizontal leg

t l1

l2
Defects
Residual stresses
Distortions
Undercut
Incomplete penetration
Porosity
Slag inclusion
Weld Metal Solidification
Cracking
Weld metal solidification cracking – hot
cracking – longitudinal in a fillet weld –
blue appearance (oxidised surface) – due to
material composition and/or weld restrain &
bead shape
Heat Affected Zone (HAZ)
Cracking
Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) Cracking – heat
affected zone due to weld – adjacent to
bead – affected by heat input & cooling
cycle – depends on composition but cooling
rate can affect microstructure – hardening –
more brittle – carbide formation
Susceptibility also affected by hydrogen in
the weld metal – introduced from the weld
rod which is consumable
Carbon Equivalent
Metal arc welding of carbon & carbon
manganese steels need to be checked by
reference to BS EN 1011 – 2: 2001 –
guidance on carbon equivalents – suggests
suitable preheat levels to reduce cooling
rate for various thicknesses & limits on
hydrogen levels – sometimes need post heat
(heat treatment)
Empirical Formula

CE  C  Mn / 6  (Cr  Mo  V ) / 5  ( Ni  Cu ) / 15

C & Mn have a significant effect Limited usually to


Cr, Mo, Ni, Cu have little effect CE value <0.5%

C = carbon; Mn = manganese; Cr = chromium; Mo = molybdenum;


V = vanadium; Ni = nickel; Cu = copper
HAZ Cracking

Weld bead HAZ crack

HAZ
Lamellar Tearing
Associated with non-metallic manganese –
sulphides & silicates when rolled material is
extended as planer type inclusions (like
wrought iron)
Welds run parallel to inclusions & cracks
are induced through contractile stressing
across thickness of the plate
Lamellar Tear Diagram

Inclusions
thin planer
types

Lamellar tear
BS 4360 Steel (grade 50C)
Typical ladle analysis:
C = 0.21%
Mn = 1.50%
Cr = 0.025%
Mo = 0.015%
Determine the carbon
Ni = 0.04% equivalent & comment
Cu = 0.04% on weldability
Carbon Equivalent of BS 3460
Steel

CE  C  Mn / 6  (Cr  Mo  V ) / 5  ( Ni  Cu ) / 15

CE  0.21  1.5 / 6  (0.025  0.015) / 5  (0.04  0.04) / 15


 0.21  0.25  0.08  0.005
 0.473%
Comments on Weldability
Few problems are encountered at values
<0.25%
Higher values from 0.30% up to 0.70% may
be tolerated if cooling is controlled &
precautions taken to keep down the
hydrogen content of the weld & the HAZ –
hydrogen can be introduced by moisture in
fluxes – tends to result in cold cracking
unless dispersed by heat treatment
Cont’d
If, of the elements in this formula, only carbon
and manganese are stated on the mill sheet for
carbon and carbon manganese steels, then 0,03
should be added to the calculated value to
allow for residual elements.
Where steels of different carbon equivalent or
grade are being joined, the higher carbon
equivalent value should be used
Weld Decay in Stainless Steel
Weld
Heat Affected Zone

Region depleted of
Grain boundaries (scale of chromium & no longer
grains grossly exaggerated) stainless – is attacked
preferentially by corrosion
Welding & Structural Steels
Designed to be weldable
No serious loss of performance in the weld
or the HAZ
Structural engineers make allowance for
HAZ in the design process (typically a
20N/mm2 reduction in the yield strength is
applied)
Electric Arc Welding
Electric Arc Welding Equipment
Use of Electric Arc Welding
Metal Arc Inert Gas Shielded
MIG Equipment
Use of MIG Equipment
Butt Weld
Slag Inclusion
X-Ray Testing

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