Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OF ALLOYS
WITH HIGHER
HARDENABILITY:
Case Studies
aster Flo Valve Inc (MFV) utilizes many alloys in the construction
requirements of Section IX of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Code (herein ASME IX) and ANSI/NACE MR0175/ISO 15156 (herein
NACE) are adhered to. End-user requirements typically require that
low-temperature impact toughness testing be included. The NACE2
standard is invoked when the end-user service environment is
H2S-containing (sour). The butt welding of forged anges or pipe
(ange herein) sections to valve bodies are examples of typical
construction methods. The valve bodies may be forged or cast
material depending on their size and complexity. There are many
alloys available that are suitable for valve body and ange construction;
material used for valve bodies and anges include AISI 4130, AISI
8620 and ASTM A182 F51. In many instances, the valve body material
and the ange metal are dissimilar. This metallurgical mismatchmay
result in poor properties within the weld metal (WM) and heat
aected zones (HAZ) . In this case, the engineer must consider the
heat treated condition, the weldability, the metallurgical properties
and the mechanical properties of both of the base metals to be
welded to ensure that a sound weldment is produced.
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The most common heat treatment cycle for both of these metals is
an
austenitizing process (water quench) followed by a tempering
treatment.
The water quench results in the formation of martensite while the
tempering treatment restores ductility and reduces hardness. A preaustenitizing
normalization cycle can be used to obtain increased Charpy impact
toughness properties through recrystallization and grain renement.
Welding:
The nominal compositions of 4130 and 8620 (Table 1) show that
4130 is
more richly alloyed than 8620. Due to the metallurgical mismatch
between
the metals, ller metal(s) with a decreased C content and increased
Mn
content, when compared to the base metals, is required. The
reduction in
C content decreases the hardenability of the weld metal (WM) and
heat
aected zone (HAZ), thereby lessening the likelihood of cracking
post-weld.
By reducing the hardenability, the probability of forming martensite
during
the thermal cycles of welding is reduced. The increase in Mn
content
within the weld metal compensates for the lost hardenability by
providing
solid-solution hardening, lowering of the temperature at which
austenite
transforms to ferrite and promoting grain renement , further
improving
strength. A preheat of at least 300F (150C) and a maximum
interpass
temperature of 500F - 600F (260C 315C) is required to
produce sound
weldments; The choice of these temperatures is always dependant
upon
the alloy(s) being welded. Improper monitoring of these
temperatures may
Special December Issue dition spciale
Dcembre 2014
9
lead to hydrogen cracking, usually within the HAZ
Table 1: Alloy Compositions of 4130 and 8620 and
degradation of the mechanical properties.
For welding these materials, the gas tungsten arc
welding
(GTAW) process is used for the root pass, allowing
the
welder a degree of exibility in t-up of the joint.
The
hot and ll passes are deposited using shielded
metal
arc welding (SMAW). The weld joint qualied was a
full penetration, butt joint with a 37.5 bevel angle
and 0.062 (1.5mm) land (Figure 1) and wall
thickness
ranging between 0.219 (5.5mm) and 1.00
(25.4mm).
Welds were completed using the welding
parameters
shown in Table 2. The maximum heat input utilized
was 52.9kJ/ (2.08kJ/mm); as expected, the HI
required
for thinner sections is considerably less.
Additionally,
thinner section welds are blanket- wrapped
following
welding to create a slower cooling rate.
Figure 1: Standard Weld Joint Conguration.
Welding: Element
20
Molybdenum
JOURNAL
0.15 - 0.25
0.15 - 0.25
Phosphorus
0.025 MAX
0.025
Sulfur
0.025 MAX
0.025
Silicon
0.15 - 0.35
0.15 - 0.35
Total Alloy
Content
3.68wt%
approx.
3.08wt%
approx.
Root Pass
Welding
GTAW (Tip
Process
Tig)
Electrical DCSP
Welding
Welding
1G Rolled
Parameters
Position
Electrode
2%
Thoriated
V-Groove
Shielding 99.9% Ar
Gas
Filler
ER90-B3
Metal Fill Passes
Bevel
Welding
GTAW (Tip
Process
Tig)
Electrical DCSP
Preheat
400F
Temperature
Max
600F
Interpass
Temperature
Shielding 99.9% Ar
Gas
Filler
ER90S-B3
Metal
21
Welding:
The metallurgical mismatch, both in terms of
chemistry
and required PWHT between F22 and X60 caused
significant diculty during the design-stage of this weld
joint.
To accommodate this, the butt weld joint (Figure 2)
conceived required the qualication of two
individual
weld procedures (ASME IX procedure qualication
records (PQR herein)). These procedures were: a
butter
layer of C-Mn welded to the F22 base metal using
GTAW
and a butt weld joint joining buttered F22 to X60
using
an Inconel 625 ller metal, also using GTAW.
The butter layer weld using C-Mn ller metal (ER
100S-G)
was qualied by butt welding two, F22 coupons
according
to Figure 3 using the GTAW process. This weld was
PWHT
at 1200F (650C) for 3 hours. This weld was
mechanically
tested following PWHT. The yield strength of the
joint
was 89ksi (614MPa), the tensile strength was
105.5ksi
(730MPa). The hardness met the 22HRc maximum
for
F22, imposed by the end-user while the impact
toughness averaged 107ft-lbs (145J) along the fusion
line.
22
JOURNA
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0.5 - 1.75
6.35 - 44.4
Case Study
3: Butt Welding of UNS S31803 to
(SDSS)
UNS
S32760 using TIP-TIG.
The family of duplex stainless steels (DSS) and superduplex stainless steels (SDSS) are readily weldable using
the GTAW process. Considerable attention must be paid
to the HI and shielding gas used when welding these
alloys. The AWS D10.18 standard provides suggestions
for the HI range for welding these alloys successfully
(Table 5). The suggested range for DSSs is from 12.763.5kJ/ (0.5-2.5kJ/mm9) and for SDSSs, the range is
from 6.3-45kJ/ (0.25k-1.75kJ/mm9). These ranges are
quite broad and provide insucient guidance during
weld procedure development. If a HI in the upper range
is used to weld using GTAW, there is a tendency to
increase the amount of precipitation and hardness and
decrease the corrosion resistance and impact energy.
If a HI towards the low-end of the recommended range
is used, in addition to reduced corrosion resistance,
reduced impact energy and increased hardness, the
austenite to ferrite balance will shift to favor ferrite
formation 10, 11 degrading the weldment performance.
Welding:
The TIP-TIG process was utilized to weld 0.5 (12.7mm)
Welding
Weld
Average
ASTM
thick pipe
coupons ofThickne
DSS and SDSS, creatingG48A
a dissimilar
Process
Impact
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ss
Energy, HAZ 25C, 24
24
hrs
(Fusion
Manual GTAW 0.375"
2
80.1 ft-lbs,
1.59g/m
-58F
88
ft-lbs, -50F 0 g/m2
Hot-Wire,
0.500"
Semiautomat
ed
microstructure
did not show evidence of deleterious
GTAW
phase
Mn
butter weld and the Inconel 625 inlay weld required
stainless steel welding presents an even greater
PWHT
challenge
and were qualied separately from the nal butt weld
when compared to welding the lower alloyed steels.
joint. The nal weld, joining the butter and inlayed
Using
F22 to
the TIP-TIG process for these alloys resulted in a HAZ of X60 was completed without PWHT using Inconel 625
decreased width, which did not contain deleterious
ller
phases
material. The integrity of this weld joint illustrates
such as sigma phase and excessive precipitates. The
that
weld
success can be achieved through a non-traditional
joint also exceeded the mechanical strength and impact approach.
toughness required by the end-user. This weldment,
when
Kimberley Meszaros, P.Eng., M.Sc.
tested according to the ASTM G48A test method,
Senior Materials Engineer, Master Flo Valve Inc
recorded
Jeremy Wright,
no weight loss. These results were a signicant
General Manager, Arc Innovations/ G. Wrights Welding
improveMatthew Yarmuch, MSc, PEng, IWE
ment over performance of welds completed using the Program Leader, Welding & Slurry Systems Engineering
semi-automated GTAW welding process. Additionally, a Alberta Innovates, Technology Futures
signicant improvement in productivity was noted.
1
and Control of Duplex Stainless Steel Pressure and Process Plants, Duplex America
2000
Conference, Houston, USA.
25
2010 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX Welding and Brazing Qualications,
ANSI/ NACE MR0175/ISO 15156, Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries Materials for use in
TWI Knowledge Summary, Arc Weldability of Dissimilar Metals, 2004, TWI Ltd., retrieved
F.J. Windsor, " Welding of Low-Alloy Steels, ASM Handbook Volume 6, Welding, Brazing
R. Smith, ESAB, Arc Welding of Carbon Steels, ASM Handbook Volume 6, Welding, Brazing
ASM, Classication and Designation of Carbon and Low-Alloy Steels, ASM Handbook
J. Wright, personal communication, August 31, 2011.
Hoskins, S., 2002, The Weldability of TMCP Microalloyed Structural Steels, University of
American Welding Society (AWS), Guide to Welding Ferritic/Austenitic Duplex
Yarmuch, M., Sandy, K., (2010, October 5-7) Eect of Welding Parameters on Duplex
C. Baxter et al., (2000, Feb 29- 2000, Mar 2000) Practical Aspects for Production Welding