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Effect of Welding Thermal Cycle on Microstructural Characteristics and Toughness in Simulated Heat Affected Zone of Low-C Medium-Mn High Strength Steel

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Abstract

We describe here microstructural characteristics and low temperature impact toughness relationship of simulated heat affected zone (HAZ) in low-C medium-Mn high strength steel based on thermal simulation. The results indicated that the low-temperature impact energy of coarse grained HAZ (CGHAZ) was decreased from 39 to 29 J with the increasing simulated welding heat input from 10 to 30 kJ/cm. The deterioration of toughness in CGHAZ was mainly attributed to coarse martensite lath. The low-temperature impact energy of CGHAZ, fine grained HAZ (FGHAZ), intercritical HAZ (ICHAZ) and subcritical HAZ (SCHAZ) at − 40 °C was 38, 92, 57 and 146 J, respectively, and the microhardness was 381, 399, 321 and 282 HV, respectively, at simulated welding heat input of 15 kJ/cm. High proportion of high misorientation boundaries and fine martensite lath microstructure in FGHAZ induced relatively good low temperature impact toughness and highest microhardness. The microstructure of ICHAZ comprises tempered martensite, retained austenite and non-uniform martensite, which reduced the impact toughness to some extent. The microstructure and properties of SCHAZ did not change significantly compared to the base metal because of lower peak temperature.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully appreciate the financial support by the National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program), China [Grant No. 2015AA03A501]. The authors gratefully acknowledge continued collaboration with Professor R.D.K. Misra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Y. Dong & Lin-xiu Du

  2. State Key Laboratory of Metal Material for Marine Equipment and Application, Anshan, 114009, China

    X. Y. Qi & L. Yan

  3. Iron and Steel Research Institute of ANGANG Group, Anshan, 114009, China

    X. Y. Qi & L. Yan

  4. Laboratory for Excellence in Advanced Steel Research, Department of Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, El Paso, TX, 79968-0521, USA

    R. D. K. Misra

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Dong, Y., Qi, X.Y., Du, Lx. et al. Effect of Welding Thermal Cycle on Microstructural Characteristics and Toughness in Simulated Heat Affected Zone of Low-C Medium-Mn High Strength Steel. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 31, 2653–2663 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-06453-1

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