Correlation of inclusion size and chemistry with weld metal composition and microstructure in arc weldments of high strength steels

Abstract

Non-metallic inclusions are crucial to the development of acicular ferrite, the desired microstructure for optimal strength and toughness in weld metal. This study focused on obtaining correlation between the size and chemistry of inclusions and weld metal properties, especially the amount of acicular ferrite, in Gas Metal Arc (GMA) and Submerged Arc (SA) weldments in HY-100 and HSLA-100 steel. A strong correlation was found between the amount of acicular ferrite, flux basicity and inclusion composition and volume fraction in SAW weld metal samples. An index developed to consider the effect of chemistry and volume fraction of inclusions on acicular ferrite showed good correlation. The GMA weld samples were found to contain less acicular ferrite than the SAW samples, principally because of their lower oxygen content. However, it was again found possible to correlate inclusion chemistry and volume fraction with acicular ferrite formation. Unfortunately, the large amount of data scatter precluded the development of an index in this case.