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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The Toughness of High-Strength Steel Weld Metals

Low-temperature phase transformation (LTPT) welding consumables are a new class of welding wires developed to mitigate hydrogen-induced cracking in the welding of high-strength steels without preheating or postweld heat treatment. LTPT weld metals have a high strength, but their toughness needs further investigation. LTPT weld metals predominately contain a martensite microstructure, which is necessary to achieve high strength; however, martensitic weld metals containing oxide inclusions have relatively poor toughness. For this study, three welding processes — gas metal arc welding (GMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), and hot wire GTAW — were investigated. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopes, and transmission electron microscopes were employed for characterization. The role of the shielding gas in the formation of oxide inclusions in LTPT weld metals was investigated. The formation of oxide inclusions in the weld metals was related to the CO 2 in the shielding gas. When 100% Ar or a pure inert shielding gas mixture was used for all three welding processes, oxide inclusions were greatly reduced, and the weld metal toughness improved considerably, matching the base metal toughness. The mechanism by which inclusions promote fracture propagation in the weld metal was proposed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Microstructure and strength of a thick-section gas-tungsten arc weld in cast Haynes® 282® alloy

A 50-mm deep gas tungsten arc weld was made with matching filler metal in cast Haynes 282 alloy. The narrow gap joint was filled with 104 weld beads. The weld deposit was of high quality with no visible indications of physical defects. The weld heat-affected zone was characterized by microcracking and localized recrystallization. Hardness testing showed that a softened region in the as-welded heat-affected zone was nearly eliminated by post-weld heat treatment. Tensile testing up to 816°C showed that cross-weld specimen strengths were about 80% of the yield strength of the original cast base metal. The rupture strengths of cross-weld specimens are within 20% of wrought base metal reference data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

The Effect of Ar and N 2 Shielding Gas on Laser Weld Porosity in Steel, Stainless Steel, and Nickel

Complete, or near complete, elimination of porosity in 304L stainless steel keyhole laser welds was observed when using N2 instead of Ar shielding gas. Partial penetration autogeneous welds made at intermediate power levels of 2-4 kW using a CW fiber laser at travel speeds of 8-11 mm/s where porosity often occurs when using inert shielding gas. To investigate this effect further, laser welds were made in N 2 and Ar gas on three additional metals (A36 steel, 21-6-9 stainless steel, and pure nickel) that have varying properties and degrees of reactivity and solubilities with the shielding gasses. Optical metallography, x-ray radiography, and x-ray computed tomography were used to characterize the porosity levels in the welds. Results show that high levels of porosity occurred in nickel, regardless of shielding gas type, while low levels or no porosity was observed in 21-6-9 for either shielding gas. However, A36 and 304L exhibited porosity in all of the welds made with Ar, and very low or no porosity when made with N2. Computed tomography was used to quantify the porosity in selected welds, showing that the pore sizes are distributed in a monotonically decreasing trend that can be described by a two parameter Weibull relationship (β=0.5429, α=0.0366). Based on the results, it is believed that the reactivity of N 2 with alloying elements, and/or its solubility in the liquid weld pool, play a significant role in reducing the amount of retained porosity in unstable keyhole welds as they solidify and cool to room temperature.

Steel↗
DOE OSTI2021

Properties of a thick-section narrow-gap gas tungsten arc weld of cast Haynes 282

Abstract A 50.8-mm-deep gas tungsten arc weld was made with matching filler metal in cast Haynes 282 alloy. The narrow-gap joint was filled with 104 weld beads. Visual and dye-penetrant inspection of cross-weld specimens indicated that the cast base metal contained numerous casting defects. No visible indications of physical defects were found in the weld deposit. The weld heat-affected zone was characterized by microcracking and localized recrystallization. The cause of the cracking could not be determined. Hardness testing showed that a softened region in the as-welded heat-affected zone was nearly eliminated by post-weld heat treatment. Tensile testing up to 816 °C showed that cross-weld specimen strengths ranged from 57 to 79% of the cast base metal tensile strength. The stress-rupture strengths of cross-weld specimens are within 20% of base metal reference data. Failures of both tensile and stress-rupture specimens occurred in the base metal.

282↗
DOE OSTI2021

Characterization of fusion welded ceramics in the SiC-ZrB 2 -ZrC system

Various SiC-ZrB 2 -ZrC ceramics were joined by fusion welding to determine the maximum silicon carbide content that could be joined. Commercial powders were hot pressed, machined, and preheated to 1450 °C before joining with a tungsten inert gas welding torch at 160–200 A. Resulting welds were cross-sectioned and analyzed to determine which compositions were weldable and to characterize microstructural evolution in welded samples. As compositions approached the ternary eutectic, the welds had smaller SiC grains and exhibited better weldability. Penetration depth of welds was controlled by a combination of current input and welding speed. Here, the ternary eutectic in the system was found at 36.9 ± 1.3 vol% SiC, 42.7 ± 1.5 vol% ZrB 2 , and 20.4 ± 1.9 vol% ZrC and its melting temperature was 2330 ± 23 °C. A ternary phase diagram for the SiC-ZrB 2 -ZrC was constructed and proposed via microstructural analysis of arc melted pellets on binary joins between each binary eutectic and the ternary eutectic in the system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microstructure and mechanical performance of welded joint between a novel heat-resistant steel and Inconel 617 weld metal

Highlights: • MGBs were suspected as the DDC crack source during high-temperature tensile test. • Microhardness variations in different passes of joint denote grain refinement effect induced by the multi-pass welds. • After tensile test, changes in microhardness can be attributed to the extent of deformation and amount of precipitation. - Abstract: In the present study, the microstructure and mechanical performance of a tungsten inert gas welded joint between a novel heat-resistant austenitic steel and Inconel 617 weld metal were examined. Migrated grain boundaries were discovered more frequently in the lower portion of the weld metal that solidifies in austenite type. Ti-rich precipitates were observed in weld metal and Cr-rich and Nb-rich precipitates were observed in base metal. The fusion boundary area had the lowest impact toughness due to the large non-homogeneity of the microstructure. Microhardness profiles of the joint were obtained and the backing passes were found to produce the highest microhardness values, which was caused by the grain refinement effect. Ductile failure with slipping separation occurred in those joints ruptured after tensile tests at both room temperature and 923 K. In addition, multiscale precipitates in the joint after high-temperature tensile tests were inspected, where it was found that nanoscale particles contributed to the high-temperature resistance of the joint. Furthermore, microhardness changes in the joint after tensile tests were analysed according to the precipitation and strain-hardening mechanism.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mechanical properties of fusion welded ceramics in the $\mathrm{SiC-ZrB}$ 2 and $\mathrm{SiC-ZrB}$ 2 -$\mathrm{ZrC}$ systems

Mechanical properties of welded SiC-ZrB 2 and SiC-ZrB 2 -ZrC ceramics were measured up to 1700 °C. Commercial powders were hot pressed, machined into coupons, and preheated to 1600 °C before joining the ceramics using either tungsten inert gas welding or plasma arc welding. Toughness of the parent materials was 3–4 MPa*m 1/2 which decreased after welding to 2–2.5 MPa*m 1/2 . Strength of the SiC-ZrB 2 -ZrC parent material was ~700 MPa at 25 °C, ~300 MPa at 1700 °C, and retained 40–60% of this strength once welded. Strength of the SiC-ZrB2 parent material was ~600 MPa at 25 °C and 1700 °C and retained 20–30% of this strength once welded. Griffith analysis indicated that the strength in the parent materials was controlled by the size of SiC clusters while strength of welds was controlled by the size of pores in fusion zones. Therefore, removal of pores in produced fusion zones should be investigated to improve strength of future ceramic welds.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microstructure and Wear Resistance of FeCrBSi Plasma-Sprayed Coating Remelted by Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Process

Herein, an FeCrBSi coating was fabricated via plasma spray on AISI1045 steel, and subsequently, a gas tungsten arc welding (GTA) process was employed to remelt the coating. The microstructure, microhardness, fracture toughness and surface roughness of the coating before and after remelting were investigated, as well as the wear resistance was tested by a UMT-3-type sliding wear apparatus. The results showed that, upon remelting, most defects in the as-sprayed coating were effectively eliminated, the surface roughness decreased by 43%, and the coating–substrate interface bonding changed from mechanical to metallurgical. The phase composition of the as-sprayed coating was primarily α-Fe and a small amount of hard Fe{sub 3}B phase, while the remelted coating consisted of α-Fe and (Fe,Cr){sub 23}C{sub 6} and a small quantity of CrB. In addition, remelting the coating was found to induce a 287.6% increase in the fracture toughness, a 33.4% increase in the average microhardness, and a 47.5% decrease in the wear volume, while the failure mechanism changed from abrasive wear to fatigue wear upon remelting. Therefore, GTA remelting of plasma-sprayed coating was found to be a feasible method to obtain a coating with good wear resistance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Irradiation response in weldment and HIP joint of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel, F82H

This work investigates irradiation response in the joints of F82H employed for a fusion breeding blanket. The joints, which were prepared using welding and diffusion welding, were irradiated up to 6 dpa in the High Flux Isotope Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Post-irradiation tests revealed hardening in weldment (WM) and base metal (BM) greater than 300 MPa. However, the heat affected zones (HAZ) exhibit about half that of WM and BM. Therefore, neutron irradiation decreased the strength of the HAZ, leaving it in danger of local deformation in this region. Further the hardening in WM made with an electron beam was larger than that in WM made with tungsten inert gas welding. However the mechanical properties of the diffusion-welded joint were very similar to those of BM even after the irradiation.

Hirose, Takanori↗
DOE OSTI2020

Materials and technological processes for High-Gradient accelerating structures: new results from mechanical tests of an innovative braze-free cavity.

Pure oxygen-free high-conductivity copper is a widely used material for manufacturing accelerating cavities working at room temperature. Several studies attempted to explain limitations associated with the maximum allowed field gradients and the behaviour of vacuum RF breakdown in copper accelerating structures through generation and movement of dislocations under stresses associated with RF electric and magnetic fields. Pure copper and also copper alloys undergo mechanical and thermal treatments to be hardened and strengthened during manufacturing, although their mechanical properties significantly change after heating above 590°C. High temperature brazing and diffusion bonding are assembly methods widely used to manufacture ultra-high vacuum accelerating devices. However, these processes, occurring at about 800–1000°C, significantly affect the mechanical properties of copper and copper alloys. We introduce here a novel Tungsten Inert Gas welding procedure, which is fast and keeps the high-gradient surfaces of the cavity and other components well below the copper annealing temperature. This process may be successfully used to manufacture copper-based accelerating components. This technology further preserves the hardness and cleanliness of copper in order to achieve the maximum accelerating gradient.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Methodology for Estimating Thermal and Neutron Embrittlement of Austenitic Stainless Steel Welds During Service in Light Water Reactors

The effect of thermal aging on the degradation of fracture toughness and Charpy-impact properties of austenitic stainless steel (SS) welds has been characterized at reactor temperatures. The solidification behavior and the distribution and morphology of the ferrite phase in SS welds are described. Thermal aging of the welds results in moderate decreases in Charpy-impact strength and fracture toughness. The upper-shelf Charpy-impact energy of aged welds decreases by 50–80 J/cm2. The decrease in fracture toughness J-R curve, or JIc is relatively small. Thermal aging has minimal effect on the tensile strength. The fracture properties of SS welds are insensitive to filler metal; the welding process has a significant effect. The large variability in the data makes it difficult to establish the effect of the welding process on fracture properties of SS welds. Consequently, the approach used for evaluating thermal and neutron embrittlement of austenitic SS welds relies on establishing a lower-bound fracture toughness J-R curve for unaged and aged, and non-irradiated and irradiated, SS welds. The existing fracture toughness J-R curve data for SS welds have been reviewed and evaluated to define lower-bound J-R curve for submerged arc (SA)/shielded metal arc (SMA)/manual metal arc (MMA) welds and gas tungsten arc (GTA)/tungsten inert gas (TIG) welds in the unaged and aged conditions. At reactor temperatures, the fracture toughness of GTA/TIG welds is a factor of about 2.3 higher than that of SA/SMA/MMA welds. Thermal aging decreases the fracture toughness by about 20%. The potential combined effects of thermal and neutron embrittlement of austenitic SS welds are also described. Lower-bound curves are presented that define the change in coefficient C and exponent n of the power-law J-R curve and the JIc value for SS welds as a function of neutron dose. The potential effects of reactor coolant environment on the fracture toughness of austenitic SS welds are also discussed.

Chopra, O. K.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Oxygen Effects on Solidification Behavior of Gas Tungsten Arc–Welded Laser Powder Bed Fusion–Fabricated 304L Stainless Steel

ct The laser – powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process inherently accumulates interstitial gas elements during powder fabrication and laser deposition processes. Such elements can lead to localized variations in the weld pool and affect the solidification behavior (when compared with its wrought equivalent), in addition to chemical micro-segregation within the fabricated material. This study was conducted to characterize the solidification behavior of gas tungsten arc welds made on L-PBF 304L stainless steel. The effect of surface active elements on the local solidification rates was studied. An emphasis was placed on the role local solidification rates and temperature gradients throughout the weld play on the resultant weld solidification structure and micro-segregation. It was determined that gas tungsten arc welds on L-PBF 304L stainless steel exhibited a vermicular ferrite solidification structure compared to a mix of vermicular and lathy ferrite structure in wrought 304L. The varying thermal gradients affected the solidification modes and partitioning of elements leading to fluctuations of micro-segregation in the L-PBF 304L. Macroscopically, such partitioning affected the surface tension within the weld pool, producing asymmetric weld pool geometries. The compositional differences between wrought and L-PBF fabricated 304L stainless steels resulted in irregular solidification behaviors during welding affecting the final weld microstructure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Effect of Mo-rich Fillers in Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of Inconel 718 for Improved Strength and Hot Corrosion Resistance

The formation of Laves phase in the fusion zone of Inconel 718 welds is considered to be detrimental and requires major attention, as this phase deteriorates the mechanical properties and high-temperature corrosion resistance. This present study addresses the use of current pulsing technique on the gas tungsten arc welding of 5-mm-thick Inconel 718 plates. Nb-free fillers, namely ERNiCrMo-10 and ERNiCrMo-14, are chosen for joining these plates. Microstructure studies revealed the segregation of Mo-rich phases at the inter-dendritic regions of the fusion zone of both the weldments. Further, the occurrence of detrimental Laves phase was minimized while employing Mo-rich fillers. It is inferred from the tensile studies that the fractures occurred in the parent metal for ERNiCrMo-10 filler and at the fusion zone while employing ERNiCrMo-14. Room-temperature Charpy impact studies also affirm that the impact toughness of ERNiCrMo-10 welds is significantly greater than that of ERNiCrMo-14. Hot corrosion studies were performed on the coupons by exposing them to a synthetic molten salt environment comprising Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} + 60%V{sub 2}O{sub 5} at 800 °C for 50 h. Owing to the presence of higher amounts of Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} and NiO, both fusion zones exhibited better hot corrosion resistance than the parent metal. The novel outcome of the study reiterates that with the use of current pulsing and Mo-rich fillers, the detrimental phase shall be controlled.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Gas tungsten arc welding and post weld heat treatment effects on microstructure and mechanical property of castable nanostructured alloy steel

Here, this paper details the first study of castable nanostructured alloy (CNA) steel gas tungsten arc weldability and the post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) effects. Effects of welding heat input, thermal cycles, and PWHT on microstructures, microhardness distributions, room temperature tensile properties, and fracture characteristics are discussed. Results show that CNA steel exhibits excellent weldability (i.e., no indication of welding defects and reasonable tensile properties). The welded joint exhibited heterogeneous microstructures with δ-ferrite as well as large microhardness variation and fluctuation. The welded joint yield and ultimate tensile strengths were similar to those of the base metal, but the elongations decreased by 30 %. However, with normalization and tempering PWHT, the δ-ferrite was eliminated, microstructure was modified, hardness was unified, and joint ductility was restored. The study indicated that the CNA reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic steel owns excellent weldability, and PWHT is needed for the industrial application of welded structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fatigue Performance of High-Strength Pipeline Steels and Their Welds in Hydrogen Gas Service

Objectives of the project include: Enable the use of high strength steel hydrogen pipelines, as significant cost savings can result by implementing high strength steels as compared to lower strength pipes. Demonstrate that girth welds in high-strength steel pipe exhibit fatigue performance similar to lower-strength steels in high-pressure hydrogen gas. Identify pathways for developing high-strength pipeline steels by establishing the relationship between microstructure constituents and hydrogen-accelerated fatigue crack growth (HA-FCG)

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2019

Microstructure Optimization and Cracking Control of Additive Manufactured Bainite Steel by Gas Metal Arc Welding Technology

In this work, bainite steel thin wall was prepared by additive manufacturing (AM) with an in situ isothermal transformation at 300 °C. The microstructures were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The mechanical properties of the AM samples were measured by microhardness testing and tensile testing. The results show that the bainite steel thin wall is free from cracks and each layer has a good bond with preceding one. The bainite steel thin wall displays consistent mechanical properties. The formation of the bainite microstructure improves the toughness of the thin wall and reduces the embrittlement caused by dendritic segregation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Towards real time diagnostics of Hybrid Welding Laser/GMAW

Methods are currently being developed towards a more robust system real time feedback in the high throughput process combining laser welding with gas metal arc welding. A combination of ultrasonic, eddy current, electronic monitoring, and visual techniques are being applied to the welding process. Initial simulation and bench top evaluation of proposed real time techniques on weld samples are presented along with the concepts to apply the techniques concurrently to the weld process. Consideration for the eventual code acceptance of the methods and system are also being researched as a component of this project. The goal is to detect defects or precursors to defects and correct when possible during the weld process.

42 ENGINEERING↗