• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.65-72
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• 2004

The tendency and degree of hot cracking of high strength 5083, 6N01 and 7N01 Al alloy welds by using DCSP-GTAW through modified Varestraint test and autogenous butt welding were investigated. In hot cracking test, 6N01 alloy showed the highest susceptibility to hot cracking in the weld metal and HAZ. Cracking susceptibilities generally increased with increase of solidification temperature range of the base metal and bead penetration-to-width ratio of the weld metal. The cracks in welds of the alloys vertically formed to solid-liquid interface and propagated along with columnar grain boundaries. The fracture facets of cracks showed the typical morphology of solidification crack observed as dendritic structures. Especially, in 6N01 alloy, liquation cracks which were due to elements of Si, Fe and Mg also observed in HAZ near fusion boundary. In butt welding of different Al alloys, the bead crack was mainly occurred in the welds of 6N01, 7N01 and other Al alloys together with 6N01 or 7N01. In the butt welds of 7N01, it was found that the component of Cu had an effect on the higher susceptibility to the hot cracking.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 2002

In order to clarify hot cracking phenomena occurred in Inconel 690 welds and it's prevention, in this study, the cracking behavior and the influence of welding variables on cracking in Inconel 690 overlay welds on Mn-Ni-Cr-Mo steel(SA 508 cl.3) for pressure vessel were investigated by using mock-up test. The main results are as follows: The cracks in Inconel 690 overlay welds were mainly generated near the start and the end part of welding beads adjacent to STS 309L welded outside of Inconel 690 welds. Most of the cracks showed typical solidification crack, and also it was assumed that there was possibility of liquation cracking in HAZ. The existence of Nb constituents or concentration of Nb was recognized on the fracture facets of the solidification cracks in the welds by SMAW. Therefore Nb was considered to be the main factor of the solidification cracking. As the weld heat input was more increased and the weld bead length was longer, the extent of cracking was more increased. Moreover the extent of cracking was considerably decreased by changing of welding sequence to the start and the end part of welds. Hot cracking in welds by GTAW was considerably decreased as compared with that of SMAW. And cracks were well generated in the Inconel 690 overlay welds adjacent to 575 309L welds. This means that the hot cracking susceptibility of Inconel 690 welds was largely varied by chemical components and/or compositions of filter metals, base metals and neighboring welds.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.74-83
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• 2002

In order to investigate the hot cracking phenomena of the Inconel 690 overlay welds, the hot cracking test(modified Varestraint test) was performed by varying augmented strain and welding speed in GTAW. A total of five kinds of specimens was used in the hot cracking test. The specimens used were two kinds of one layer specimens that were composed of just Inconel 690 deposited metal and three kinds of double layer specimens that were composed with as upper part of Inconel 690 weld metal and lower part of SA508 cl.3 or STS 309L. The main results are as fo11ows: In the welds composed of just Inconel 690, as the augmented strain was more increased and the welding speed was more decreased, the extent of cracking was more increased. And these cracks were mainly solidification cracks, and liquation cracks were also observed partially in HAZ. And hot cracking susceptibily of Inconel 690 welds by using filler metals containing Nb were higher than that of the welds with Nb free. The hot cracking susceptibility of Inconel 690 weld metal was increased with dilution of SA 508 cl.3 and STS 309L, and the influence of SA 508 cl.3 was higher than that of 575 309L. The results of calculation of $TSC\Delta$ and $TLC\Delta$ in Inconel 690 weld metal changed by dilution with base metal or neighboring welds were agreed well with the results of hot cracking test in this study. Therefore, it was expected that the hot cracking was considerably decreased or prevented by using proper welding conditions such as lower heat input, filler metals, base metal and neighboring welds.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.152-154
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• 2005

Austenitic stainless steel has good weldability but is sensitive to hot cracking such as solidification crack and liquation crack. In this study, the specimens of dissimilar metals made between austenitic stainless steel and Al-brass were welded by GTAW process using four different filler metals. Cracks were detected in the heat-affected zone of the stainless steel when welded with CuAl, CuSn and NiCu filler metals, but no cracks were detected a Ni filler metal was used. The cracks propagated along the grain boundary in the heat affected zone near the fusion line to base metal of 316L stainless steel. The cracks were located inside the weld bead with very fine hairline crack. All cracks initiated at the fusion line and moved forward in the base metal. From energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), Cu peak was detected only in the crack-opening area.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.235-243
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• 2002

Ni-base superalloys are used extensively in industry, both in aeroengines and land based turbines. About 60% by weight of most modern gas turbine engine structural components are made of Ni-base superalloys. To satisfy practical demands, the efficiency of gas turbine engines has been steadily and systematically increased by design modifications to handle higher turbine inlet or firing temperatures. However, the increase in operating temperatures has lead to a decrease in the life of components and increase in costs of replacement. Moreover, around 80% of the large frame size industrial/utility gas turbines operating in the world today were installed in the mid-sixties to early seventies and are now 25 to 30 years old. Consequently, there are greater opportunities now to repair and refurbish the older models. Basically, there are two major factors influencing the weldability of the cast alloys: strain-age cracking and liquation cracking. Susceptibility to strain-age cracking is due to the total Ti plus AI content of the alloy; Liquation cracking is due either to the presence of low melting constituents or constitutional liquation of constituents. Though Rene 41 superalloy has 4.5wt.% total Ti and Al content and falls just below the safe limit proposed by Prager et al., controlled grain size and special heat treatments are needed to obtain crack-free welds. Varying heat treatments and filler materials were used in a laboratory study, then the actual welding of service parts was carried out to verity the possibility of crack-tree weld of components fabricated from Rene 41 superalloy. The microstructural observations indicated that there were two kinds of carbides in the FCC matrix. MC carbides were located along the grain boundaries, while M$_{23}$C$_{6}$ carbide was located both inter and intra granularly. Two kinds of filler materials, Rene 41 and Hastelloy X were used to gas tungsten arc weld a patch into the sheet metal, along with varying pre-weld heat treatments. The microstructure, hardness and tensile tests were determined. The service distressed parts were categorized into three classes: with large cracks, with medium cracks and with small or no visible cracks. No significant difference in microstructure among the specimens was observed. Specimens were cut from the corner and the straight edge of the patch repair, away from the corner. The only cracks present were found to be associated with inadequate surface preparation to remove oxidation. Guidelines for oxide removal and the welding procedures developed in the research enabled crack-free welds to be produced.d.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.59-68
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• 2004

Plasma transferred arc welding (PTAW) has been taken into consideration for repairing Ni-based superalloy components used gas turbine blades. Various cracks has been generally reported to be found in the base metal heat affected zone(HAZ) along grain boundary. Thus, hot cracking susceptibility of Ni-based superalloys was evaluated according to heat treatments. Hot ductility test was conducted on specimens with solution treated at 112$0^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours and aging treated at 845$^{\circ}C$ for 24hours after solution treatment. The results of the hot ductility test appeared that solution treated specimens were the highest ductility recovery rate among three conditions. The loss of ductility at high temperature in Ni-based superalloy was mainly controlled by the degree of pain boundary wetting due to constitutional liquation of MC carbide precipitates. Meanwhile, the highest ductility recovery rate in solution-treated alloys seems to be lack of M23C6, which can be dissolved during heating and then result in the local enrichment of Cr in the vicinity of the grain boundary.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2000

This research investigates microstructures and fatigue properties of the weldments of 6005A aluminum alloy developed for railroad vehicles. The samples were extruded into a truss structure and welded together using the gas metal arc welding process. The extruded sample showed a wide variation in grain size, possibly due to the frictional heating as well as the inghomogeneous metal flow in the extrusion die. The mechanical properties of the samples were affected by the mirocstructures. The fatigue strength of the welded structure was found to decrease significantly from that of the base metal. It was found that the fatigue characteristics of the welded structure were determined by the microstructure of the parent metal as well as weld defects such as porosities and the liquation cracks.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2000

This study was performed to investigate types and formation mechanism of cracks in two Al alloy welds, A5083 and A7N01 spot-welded by pulse Nd : YAG laser, using SEM, EPMA and Micro-XRD. In the weld zone, three types of crack were observed : center line crack({TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX}), diagonal crack({TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX}), and U shape crack({TEX}$C_{U}${/TEX}). Also, HAZ crack({TEX}$C_{H}${/TEX}) was observed in the HAZ region, furthermore, mixing crack({TEX}$C_{M}${/TEX}) consisting of diagonal crack and HAZ crack was observed. White film was formed at th hot crack region in the fractured surface after it was immersed to 10% NaOH water. In the case of A5083 alloy, white films in {TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX} crack and {TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX} crack region were composed of low melting phases, {TEX}$Fe_{2}SiAl_{8}${/TEX} and eutectic phases, $Mg_2$Al$_3$ and $Mg_2$Si. Such films observed $CuAl_2$, {TEX}$Mg_{32}(Al,Zn)_{3}${/TEX}, MgZn$_2$, $Al_2$CuMg and $Mg_2$Si were observed in the whitely etched films near {TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX} crack and {TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX} crack regions. The formation of liquid films was due to the segregation of Mg, Si, Fe in the case of A5083 alloy and Zn, Mg, Cu, Sim in the case of A7N01 alloy, respectively. The {TEX}$C_{C}${/TEX} and {TEX}$C_{D}${/TEX} cracks were regarded as a result of the occurrence of tensile strain during the welding process. The formation of {TEX}$C_{M}${/TEX} crack is likely to be due to the presence of liquid film at the grain boundary near the fusion line in the base metal as well as in the weld fusion zone during solidification. The {TEX}$C_{U}${/TEX} crack is considered a result of the collapsed keyhole through incomplete closure during rapid solidification.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.213-213
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• 2000

This study was performed to investigate types and formation mechanism of cracks in two Al alloy welds, A5083 and A7NO1 spot-welded by pulse Nd: YAG laser, using SEM, EPMA and Micro-XRD. In the weld zone, three types of crack were observed: center line crack($C_{C}$), diagonal crack($C_{D}$), and U shape crack($C_{U}$). Also, HAZ crack($C_{H}$), was observed in the HAZ region, furthermore, mixing crack($C_{M}$), consisting of diagonal crack and HAZ crack was observed.White film was formed at the hot crack region in the fractured surface after it was immersed to 10%NaOH water. In the case of A5083 alloy, white films in C crack and $C_D crack region were composed of low melting phases, Fe₂Si$Al_8$ and eutectic phases, Mg₂Al₃ and Mg₂Si. Such films observed near HAZ crack were also consist of eutectic Mg₂Al₃. In the case of A7N01 alloy, eutectic phases of CuAl₂, $Mg_{32}$ (Al,Zn) ₃, MgZn₂, Al₂CuMg and Mg₂Si were observed in the whitely etched films near $C_{C}$ crack and $C_{D}$ crack regions. The formation of liquid films was due to the segregation of Mg, Si, Fe in the case of A5083 alloy and Zn, Mg, Cu, Si in the case of A7N01 aooly, respectively.The $C_{D}$ and $C_{C}$ cracks were regarded as a result of the occurrence of tensile strain during the welding process. The formation of $C_{M}$ crack is likely to be due to the presence of liquid film at the grain boundary near the fusion line in the base metal as well as in the weld fusion zone during solidification. The $C_{U}$ crack is considered a result of the collapsed keyhole through incomplete closure during rapid solidification. (Received October 7, 1999)