Kovove Mater.

44 2006 119–126 119

The efffect of post-weld heat treatment on properties

of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel after submerged welding

M. Gojić1 *, B. Mioč2 , L. Kosec3

1
Faculty of Metallurgy, University of Zagreb, Aleja narodnih heroja 3, 44103 Sisak, Croatia
2
Zlatna Aurora Ltd., Hrvatskoga narodnog preporoda 25, 44010 Sisak, Croatia
3
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Received 2 August 2004, received in revised form 7 March 2006, accepted 8 March 2006

Abstract
The effect of post-weld heat treatment on mechanical properties, microstructure and frac-
ture mode of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel was examined using an optical microscope, and a
scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Steel plates, 18 mm thick, were welded by
means of the submerged arc welding technique and then heat treated in the temperature range
from 475 to 700 ◦C. It was found that the tensile strength, hardness and impact energy values
decrease with the increasing annealing temperature, except for annealing at 550 ◦C and 625 ◦C.
Anomalies were attributed to the precipitation of fine carbides. Complex cementite proved to
be beneficial in controlling the fracture mechanism in impact (Charpy V-notch) and tensile
tested specimens.

K e y w o r d s : low-alloyed steel, welding, mechanical properties, microstructure, fracture sur-

face

1. Introduction susceptible to cracking. In general, mechanical proper-

ties of the weld joints are inferior to those of the base
Low-alloyed ferritic steels are attributed to the metal [2]. Microstructural variations caused by weld-
group of preferred materials showing suitable me- ing are believed to be responsible for changes in me-
chanical properties and high resistance to corrosion. chanical properties of weld joints. For the low-alloyed
Among them the low-alloyed CrMo steels are a popu- CrMo steel weld joints a high percentage of service
lar variety of the steel family. They are widely used in failures have been reported [3] to occur in the heat-
the construction of pressure vessels, compressors, tur- -affected zone (HAZ). The complex thermal cycling
bine rotors, power generating plants and other highly of the zone adjacent to the fusion line during weld-
stressed construction components operating at elev- ing tends to induce microstructural changes, and in-
ated temperatures. They also serve in oil refineries and homogeneous HAZ may exhibit different mechanical
chemical industries as pipings, superheaters and tubu- properties.
lar systems owing to the excellent creep and oxidation Stress-relief cracking and reheat cracking of weld-
resistance properties [1]. ments may occur during stress-relief treatment or
The sufficient strength to withstand the inner pres- in high temperature service. Experimenting with the
sure and the high toughness that can ensure safety 1.25Cr-0.5Mo steel, Fujibashi et al. [4] have observed
against momentary impact due to unexpected acci- damage in the coarse-grained HAZ and weld metal.
dents are the most critical requirements for the ap- Higher residual stresses and brittle microstructure
plication of low-alloyed CrMo steels. It is generally in the post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) conditions
known that the allowable stress of welded components have been attributed to transverse weld metal crack-
is often based on their tensile strength and toughness. ing and multidirectional cracking in the coarse-grained
The manufacture of such components by welding can zone rather than to service-induced stresses.
induce high residual stresses as well as microstructures In weld joints or welded constructions brittle frac-
*Corresponding author: tel.: +385 44 5333 79, -80, -81; fax: +385 44 5333 78; e-mail address: [email protected]
120 M. Gojić et al. / Kovove Mater. 44 2006 119–126

T a b l e 1. Chemical compositions of the base and weld metals (wt.%)

Chemical composition

C Mn P S Si Mo Al Cr Ni Cu Nb

Base metal 0.07 1.40 0.016 0.003 0.46 0.45 0.04 1.42 0.49 0.09 0.06
Weld metal 0.09 1.43 0.012 0.003 0.62 0.47 0.03 1.19 0.14 0.08 0.015

ture can be induced under conditions of triaxial stress T a b l e 2. SAW parameters

and high loading rate [2]. To reduce residual stress
and increase toughness of the welds, PWHT must be Parameter Value
performed immediately after welding, at temperatures Arc voltage (V) 29–30
below Ac1 , i.e. before the transformation of ferrite into Arc current (A) 270
austenite takes place. Furthermore, the annealing pro- Welding speed (m · min−1 ) 0.45
cess will improve the dimensional stability, enhance
corrosion resistance and reduce hardness peaks in the
weld joint area.
Our analysis of the changes in tensile strength be-
haviour and microstructure of the low-alloyed CrMo- × 10 × 55 mm) at room temperature. V-notch was
Nb steel was aimed at establishing a relationship machined in the middle of the weld metal sample.
between those changes and the conditions of sub- Sections of the weld joints 30 mm in length (cross-
merged arc welding (SAW) and annealing. Our ob- -section 18 × 18 mm) with the weld metal in the
jective was also to try to find a correlation between middle part were cut from the welded plates and mech-
tensile strength, impact energy and fracture mode of anically polished. The etchant used was 2% nital.
the weld metal on the one hand, and microstructure The microstructure was examined using a light mi-
on the other, with a view to assessing the effect of the croscope (LM) and a scanning electron microscope
PWHT temperature. (SEM) equipped with a unit for energy dispersive
X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Transmission electron mi-
croscopy (TEM) served to investigate the finer as-
2. Experimental pects of the microstructure that had not been revealed
by SEM. Carbon extraction replicas were made to
Plates of 18 mm thickness, made from low-alloyed identify the carbide particles.
CrMoNb steel (Table 1), were welded using the
SAW technique. The welding parameters are listed
in Table 2. To ensure the quality of welds the weld 3. Results
edges were thoroughly cleaned. Preheating of weld
edges was carried out at 190 ◦C. The weld root was Results of tensile testing for the base and weld
obtained by means of the tungsten inert gas welding metals, together with values of standard deviation are
technique using a DCMS-IG solid electrode 2.4 mm in shown in Tables 3 and 4. The values are given as the
diameter. Fillet welding was carried out by the SAW means of three determinations. The tensile strength
technique using an S2CrMo1 BB25 flux-electrode with of the weld metal was higher than that of the base
a 2 mm diameter. The weld joint had 18 passes. Inter- metal. The reduction in area for the base metal was
pass temperatures were carefully controlled to avoid high, about 64 %, it was lower for the weld metal
weld cracking. (44.5 %), and it increased with a rise in the annealing
Immediately after welding the weld joint was sub- temperature.
jected to heat treatment in the temperature range There was no scattering of the hardness values
from 475 to 700 ◦C (± 3 ◦C) for 90 minutes, and was through weldment owing to the thermal history im-
then air cooled. posed by multipass welding. The welding coarsened
Tensile testing was carried out in conformity with HAZ formed from a previous pass could be affected
ASTM A-370 on both unwelded and welded specimens by heat, like in the PWHT process. Hardness values
using an Instron tensile machine type 1196. The weld across weldment are presented in Table 5. The hard-
metal was positioned in the middle of the gauge meas- ness of the base metal after PWHT decreased with the
ure. Tensile testing was done at room temperature. increasing temperature, except when annealing took
Hardness was measured by the Vickers method at place at 625 ◦C. Also the hardness of the HAZ show
30 kg load across the weld joint. Impact tests were local maxima at 550 ◦C. In the weld metal samples
performed on Charpy V-notch (CVN) specimens (10 annealed at 475 ◦C hardness was 280 HV 30. As the
 M. Gojić et al. / Kovove Mater. 44 2006 119–126 121

T a b l e 3. Mechanical properties of the base and weld metals before PWHT. Tested at room temperature

Yield strength Tensile strength Elongation Reduction of area Impact energy

(MPa) (MPa) (%) (%) (J)

Base metal 800 923 16.0 64.0 40.5

Standard deviation 10.7 9.5 2.1 1.5 6.1

Weld metal – 1059 – 44.5 27.3

Standard deviation 7.4 4.2 5.0

T a b l e 4. Mechanical properties of the weld metal (WM) after PWHT at various temperatures. Specimens tested at
room temperature

Temperature Tensile strength Reduction of area Impact energy

( ◦C) (MPa) (%) (J)

475 1036 47.8 43.0

Standard deviation 13.9 2.1 7.3

550 988 49.8 64.0

Standard deviation 16.8 4.1 6.1

625 998 49.7 49.0

Standard deviation 14.0 3.0 4.2

700 876 59.2 78.9

Standard deviation 18.2 1.8 5.4

T a b l e 5. Hardness of weldment The impact energy of the weld metal increased

with the increasing annealing temperature except for
BM HAZ WM annealing at 625 ◦C. The most likely reason for de-
(HV 30) (HV 30) (HV 30) creasing of the impact energy was of fine precipitates
dispersed throughout the weld metal. The dispersed
Base metal 301 – – particles improve strength and reduce plasticity and
Standard deviation 6.2 toughness. Precipitated particles should be stronger
than the matrix, adding strength through both their
After welding 301 315 294 reinforcing action and the additional interfacial sur-
Standard deviation 5.3 6.4 3.5 faces that present barriers to dislocation movement.
The values of impact energy revealed that the micro-
After annealing at 475 ◦C 294 287 280 structure of the weld metal was recovered at 700 ◦C.
Standard deviation 4.7 3.8 5.0 The microstructure of the base metal consists of
granular bainite (Fig. 1a). The bainite formed dur-
After annealing at 550 ◦C 287 301 275 ing continuous cooling of the CrMoNb steel differs
Standard deviation 5.4 3.1 5.2
from that expected to form during isothermal trans-
formation. This was confirmed by the results of this
After annealing at 625 ◦C 294 294 270 study. Near the fusion line the HAZ consisted mainly
Standard deviation 5.9 4.5 4.1
of coarse-grained bainite (Fig. 1b). The region close to
the fusion line experienced a peak temperature above
After annealing at 700 ◦C 235 232 224 Ac4 (boundary between γ and γ + δ fields), and as
Standard deviation 4.1 3.1 3.0
a consequence, the prior austenite grain content in-
creased. The weld metal consists of fine recrystallized
ferrite grains characteristic for the upper bainite mi-
annealing temperature rose up to 700 ◦C the hardness crostructure (Fig. 2a). Carbides were present on the
dropped to 224 HV 30. boundaries of lath-like arrangements of ferrite and
122 M. Gojić et al. / Kovove Mater. 44 2006 119–126

Fig. 1. Micrograph of the low-alloyed CrMoNb steel, LM, Fig. 2. SEM micrographs of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel weld
a) base metal, b) heat-affected zone/base metal interface. metal, a) before PWHT, b) after PWHT.

prior austenite grains. This microstructural variation, of dimple morphology are illustrated. At the anneal-
clearly, was responsible for different hardness values ing temperature of 700 ◦C areas of dimple morpho-
across the weld joint (Table 5). logy were found in both CVN and tensile tested spe-
After PWHT a noticeable change in carbide distri- cimens (Figs. 5–7). Spherical carbide particles were
bution and morphology could be observed (Fig. 2b). found inside dimples. The EDX analysis demonstrated
Typical TEM-bright micrographs of the steel annealed the presence of carbides and non-metallic inclusions at
at 700 ◦C, with visible rod-shaped carbides (20–50 the fracture surfaces (Figs. 5b and 7b).
nm), are shown in Fig. 3. In general, coarsening of
microstructure of the weld joints as well as noticeable
changes in the mechanical properties took place dur- 4. Discussion
ing PWHT.
In Fig. 4, facets of transgranular cleavage and areas During the thermal cycle the molten weld metal so-
 M. Gojić et al. / Kovove Mater. 44 2006 119–126 123

Fig. 4. SEM microfractograph of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel

weld metal after Charpy impact testing. TF – transgran-
ular cleavage, DF – areas of dimple morphology.

lower than the chromium content in the base metal

(Table 1). The lower chromium content in the weld
metal, and the absence of niobium, have been repor-
ted to diminish the hardenability of steel [6].
The chemical composition and/or microstructure
of the weld metal as well as those of the HAZ are cru-
cial to the mechanical properties of welded construc-
tions. For weld joints of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel dis-
tinct microstructural variations, from the base metal
to the weld metal through the HAZ, have been repor-
ted. Generally, changes within the HAZ are known to
be intense and complex [7, 8]. The weld metal may
have a cast microstructure, whereas the HAZ can be
formed with ferrite, pearlite, bainite, martensite, or
other components. The microstructure of HAZ is in-
fluenced with the peak temperatures experienced by
Fig. 3. Micrographs of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel weld different HAZ regions during the welding process [9].
metal, bright field images, TEM, a) I position, b) II posi- The results obtained can be used for correlating
tion. the mechanical properties of the weld metal with
the microstructures at various annealing temperatures
(Table 4). At 625 ◦C the weld metal was expected to
lidified in the form of austenite dendrites which were have lower tensile strength than at 550 ◦C. However,
much smaller than the prior austenite grains of the there was an increase in tensile strength at 625 ◦C,
normalized base metal [5]. A thorough mixing of al- which was accompanied by lower values of impact en-
loying elements also took place in the liquid phase. ergy at room temperature. The phenomenon could be
The cooling rate of the weld metal was higher than attributed to the microstructural changes, i.e. to the
that of the base metal. The resulting microstructures precipitation of fine carbides.
were much finer, and lent higher tensile strength to the Similar trends in the precipitation of secondary
weld metal as compared to the base metal (Table 3). phases during tempering have been reported in earlier
Hardness measurements yielded lower values for studies on low-alloyed CrMo steels [10]. Higher hard-
the weld metal. This could be accounted for by the ness values at lower temperatures have been attrib-
chromium content of about 1.19 wt.%, which was uted to the conversion of ε carbide to cementite, to
124 M. Gojić et al. / Kovove Mater. 44 2006 119–126

Fig. 5. SEM microfractograph of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel Fig. 6. SEM microfractographs of low-alloyed CrMoNb
weld metal after Charpy impact testing (a) and EDX spec- steel weld metal after tensile testing. Specimens annealed
trum of carbide particle (b). at 475 ◦C, a) basic view, b) detail.

the precipitation of acicular M2 C carbides [11] and to M2 C and MC carbides are arranged in kinetic se-
the resistance of both carbides to the coarsening [12]. quence, whereas M23 C6 and M6 C carbides form sep-
The carbide precipitation in the bainitic regions could arate areas in the time-temperature diagram. The
be expected because of the increased carbon concen- first carbide to precipitate is cementite (M3 C), or
tration in these regions due to the rejection of carbon some transient iron carbide, if the PWHT tempera-
into austenite [13]. ture is low. The precipitation sequence can be sum-
The precipitation mechanism concerning low- marized as M3 C → M7 C3 + M2 C + M23 C6 →
-alloyed CrMo steel welds is very complex, and is M23 C6 + M6 C [15]. Even if molybdenum is present
still not fully understood. According to the investig- in the investigated steel (Table 1), the precipita-
ation of the secondary phase precipitation in CrMo tion of Mo-carbides was not established. Further
and CrMoV steels by Janovec [14] the M3 C, M7 C3 , studies are required before any conclusions concern-
 M. Gojić et al. / Kovove Mater. 44 2006 119–126 125

fracture mechanism. The beneficial effect of carbide

particles on both the reduction in area and CVN im-
pact energy can be attributed to the ductile fracture
mode. The ductile fracture is characterized by nucle-
ation, growth and coalescence of voids. The void nucle-
ation is associated with the release of carbide particles
from the ductile matrix on the steel plastic deforma-
tion. When the external load increases, growth and
coalescence of voids are followed by microcrack form-
ation, shear localization, and finally, by fracture of the
loaded sample.

5. Conclusions

The results of investigation related to properties

of low-alloyed CrMoNb steel before and after PWHT
allow to draw the following conclusions:
1. The tensile strength of the weld metal was found
to be higher than that of the base metal.
2. The HAZ microstructure consisted mainly of
coarse-grained bainite near the fusion line, whereas
the weld metal was characterized by the upper bain-
ite microstructure.
3. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of complex
cementite particles (M3 C) in the bainitic matrix.
4. Complex cementite was found to be present in-
side ductile dimples at fracture surfaces and was con-
sidered to have control over the fracture mechanism.
5. Changes in mechanical properties as a function
of annealing temperature were directly related to the
changes in the substructure and carbide distribution.
After PWHT in the microstructure cementite particles
are observed. Two anomalies were observed at 550
and 625 ◦C. It is likely due to the precipitation of fine
carbide particles.

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