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Changes in microstructure and properties of weld heat-affected zone of high-strength low-alloy steel

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Abstract

The evolution of the microstructure and toughness of APL5L X80 pipeline steel after thermal welding simulation was investigated by X-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that primary heat-affected zones can be divided into weld, coarse-grained, fine-grained, intercritical, and subcritical zones. The microstructure of the weld zone is mainly composed of bainitic ferrite and a small amount of granular bainite; however, the original austenite grains are distributed in the columnar grains. The structure of the coarse-grained zone is similar to that of the weld zone, but the original austenite grains are equiaxed. In contrast, the microstructure in the fine-grained zone is dominated by fine granular bainite, and the effective grain size is only 8.15 μm, thus providing the highest toughness in the entire heat-affected zone. The intercritical and subcritical zones were brittle valley regions, and the microstructure was dominated by granular bainite. However, the martensite–austenite (M/A) constituents are present in island chains along the grain boundaries, and the coarse size of the M/A constituents seriously reduces the toughness. The results of the crack propagation analyzes revealed that high-angle grain boundaries can significantly slow down crack growth and change the crack direction, thereby increasing the material toughness. The impact toughness of the low-temperature tempering zone was equivalent to that of the columnar grain zone, and the impact toughness was between those of the critical and fine-grained zones.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the financial support from National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFBO304900).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Iron and Steel Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100081, China

    Shu-jun Jia, Qi-lin Ma, Ba Li, He-song Zhang & Qing-you Liu

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Steel Commonality, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Qi-lin Ma

  3. Construction Project Management Branch of China National Petroleum Pipeline Network Group Co., Ltd., Langfang, 065000, Hebei, China

    Yu Hou

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  1. Shu-jun Jia
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  4. Ba Li
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Correspondence to Shu-jun Jia.

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Jia, Sj., Ma, Ql., Hou, Y. et al. Changes in microstructure and properties of weld heat-affected zone of high-strength low-alloy steel. J. Iron Steel Res. Int. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42243-023-01133-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42243-023-01133-x

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