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Microstructure and Hydrogen-Induced Failure Mechanisms in Fe and Ni Alloy Weldments

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Abstract

The microstructure and fracture morphology of AISI 8630-IN625 and ASTM A182-F22-IN625 dissimilar metal weld interfaces were compared and contrasted as a function of postweld heat treatment (PWHT) duration. For both systems, the microstructure along the weld interface consisted of a coarse grain heat-affected zone in the Fe-base metal followed by discontinuous martensitic partially mixed zones and a continuous partially mixed zone on the Ni side of the fusion line. Within the partially mixed zone on the Ni side, there exists a 200-nm-wide transition zone within a 20-μm-wide planar solidification region followed by a cellular dendritic region with Nb-Mo–rich carbides decorating the dendrite boundaries. Although there were differences in the volume of the partially mixed zones, the major difference in the metal weld interfaces was the presence of M7C3 precipitates in the planar solidification region, which had formed in AISI 8630-IN625 but not in ASTM A182-F22-IN625. These precipitates make the weldment more susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement and provide a low energy fracture path between the discontinuous partially mixed zones.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge ExxonMobil for providing funding and materials, The Welding Institute for providing fracture specimens and Acute Technological Services for fabrication of test weld samples. One of the authors (JAF) acknowledges several members of the University of Illinois Materials Research Lab staff for their assistance in training on a variety of equipment, especially Mike Marshall, Jim Mabon, and Changhui Lei as well as Bill Lamberti and Bill Horn from ExxonMobil for the nanoSIMS results. The research for this publication was carried out, in part, in the Center for Microanalysis of Materials in the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois. IMR acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    J. A. Fenske (Graduate Student) & I. M. Robertson

  2. ExxonMobil Development Company, Houston, TX, 77060, USA

    J. A. Fenske (Graduate Student), Dan Lillig (Lead Materials Engineer) & Brian Newbury (Regional Quality Advisor-Subsea and Deepwater Projects)

  3. National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA, 22230, USA

    I. M. Robertson

  4. Corporate Strategic Research, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, NJ, 08801, USA

    Raghavan Ayer (Senior Scientific Advisor)

  5. Trendsetter Engineering, Inc., Houston, TX, 77070, USA

    Martin Hukle (Senior Materials Engineer)

  6. ExxonMobil Canada Energy, Calgary, AB, T2P 3M9, Canada

    Dan Lillig (Lead Materials Engineer)

Authors
  1. J. A. Fenske
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  2. I. M. Robertson
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  3. Raghavan Ayer
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  4. Martin Hukle
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  5. Dan Lillig
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to I. M. Robertson.

Additional information

Manuscript submitted July 15, 2011.

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Fenske, J.A., Robertson, I.M., Ayer, R. et al. Microstructure and Hydrogen-Induced Failure Mechanisms in Fe and Ni Alloy Weldments. Metall Mater Trans A 43, 3011–3022 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-012-1129-1

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