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

Contd
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

Contd
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

Contd
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

Contd
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

Contd
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

Contd
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

Contd
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

Contd
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 Cr, Mo, Ni, Cu have little effect Limited usually to 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 on weldability Cu = 0.04%

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

Contd
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

Heat Affected Zone

Weld

Grain boundaries (scale of grains grossly exaggerated)

Region depleted of chromium & no longer 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