Microstructural Evolution and Resulting Mechanical Properties of Weld Joints upon Flux Cored Arc Welding and Post-weld Heat Treatment

摘要

The objective of this study is to determine the mechanism of the dramatic increase of impact toughness at low temperatures after post-weld heat treatment on weld joints. In this study, weld joints using two semi-automatic welding consumables were fabricated by flux cored arc welding with subsequent PWHT at 660℃ for 65 min and 195 min, respectively. Tests of the tensile and yield strength, microhardness and impact toughness, were carried out. The microstructure was inspected by optical, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy in addition to compositional analysis using energy dispersive spectrometry. PWHT was observed to result in grain coarsening, sub-grain structure formation and decrease of the dislocation density. The increase of impact toughness is attributed to the relieved thermal stress, the inclusions and precipitations, softening of the structure, dislocation recovery and sub-grain structure.