Cracking In High Strength Steel Weldments

Weldment cracking is a broad complex field. Even if one considers only cracking of steel weldments, the problems range from cracking at temperatures near the solidus during welding to cracking at room temperature days, weeks, or months after welding is completed. Numerous reports of investigations in this field are contained in the published and unpublished literature. However, most of these reports cover only a particular problem in a specific area of the broad field of weldment cracking. This review attempts to cover the major aspects of the entire field of weldment cracking. Necessarily, the review is for the most part general, only being specific in a few instances to illustrate a point. (Author).

A comprehensive guide to avoiding hydrogen cracking which serves as an essential problem-solver for anyone involved in the welding of ferritic steels. The authors provide a lucid and thorough explanation of the theoretical background to the subject but the main emphasis throughout is firmly on practice.

Recent studies of the developments in welding steels with yield strengths greater than 150 ksi have included low-alloy martensitic steels, medium-alloy martensitic steels, nickel maraging steels, and bainitic steels. Only weldments from medium-alloy martensitic steels and nickel maraging steels have mechanical properties approaching those of the base plate without a complete postweld heat treatment. The most serious problem with the other steel is low toughness in the weld fusion zone. Adequate weld metal toughness under conditions of elastic strain can be obtarined over the entire 150 to 225 ksi yield-strength range only if the tungsten-arc welding process is used. Processes with higher deposition rates can produce comparable weld deposits only in the lower portion of the range. Above a yield strength of 200 ksi, 18Ni maraging steel weldments have the best combination of strength and toughness. Below 200 ksi, the HP 9-4-25 medium-alloy martensitic steel and 12Ni maraging steel weldments have nearly equal properties.

This is the fourth volume in the well-established series of compendiums devoted to the subject of weld hot cracking. It contains the papers presented at the 4th International Cracking Workshop held in Berlin in April 2014. In the context of this workshop, the term “cracking” refers to hot cracking in the classical and previous sense, but also to cold cracking, stress-corrosion cracking and elevated temp. solid-state cracking. A variety of different cracking subjects are discussed, including test standards, crack prediction, weldability determination, crack mitigation, stress states, numerical modelling, and cracking mechanisms. Likewise, many different alloys were investigated such as aluminum alloys, copper-aluminum dissimilar metal, austenitic stainless steel, nickel base alloys, duplex stainless steel, creep resistant steel, and high strength steel.

In order to predict when and how a material will crack under environmental conditions, engineers used to subject it to pressure for a long time, up to a year in cases; about 20 years ago, a testing method was developed that slowly but inexorably increases the pressure, which seems to cut down the ti

Analysis of Welded Structures: Residual Stresses, Distortion, and their Consequences encompasses several topics related to design and fabrication of welded structures, particularly residual stresses and distortion, as well as their consequences. This book first introduces the subject by presenting the advantages and disadvantages of welded structures, as well as the historical overview of the topic and predicted trends. Then, this text considers residual stresses, heat flow, distortion, fracture toughness, and brittle and fatigue fractures of weldments. This selection concludes by discussing the effects of distortion and residual stresses on buckling strength of welded structures and effects of weld defects on service behavior. This book also provides supplementary discussions on some related and selected subjects. This text will be invaluable to metallurgists, welders, and students of metallurgy and welding.