Abstract
The mechanical properties and microstructure features of the fine-grained heat-affected zone (FGHAZ) of ASTM4130 steel was investigated by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and welding thermal simulation test. It is found that serious embrittlement occurs in the FGHAZ with an 81.37% decrease of toughness, compared with that of the base metal. Microstructure analysis reveals that the FGHAZ is mainly composed of acicular, equiaxed ferrite, granular ferrite, martensite, and martensite-austenite (M-A) constituent. The FGHAZ embrittlement is mainly induced by granular ferrite because of carbides located at its boundaries and sub-boundaries. Meanwhile, the existence of martensite and M-A constituent, which distribute in a discontinuous network, is also detrimental to the mechanical properties.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
J.R. Still, Welding of AISI 4130 and 4140 steel for drilling systems, Weld. J., 76(1997), No.6, p.37.
Y.H. Chen, Y. Wang, and B. Han, Metallurgical microstructure and fine structure in local brittle zone of in-service welding of X70 pipeline steel, Trans. Mater. Heat Treat., 28(2007), No.1, p.79.
E. Bonnevie, G. Ferrière, A. Ikhlef, D. Kaplan, and J.M. Oraina, Morphological aspects of martensite-austenite constituents in intercritical and coarse grain heat affected zones of structural steels, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 385(2004), No.1–2, p.352.
G.S. Duan, W.Q. Chen, and B. Sun, Impact toughness in the welding heat affected zone of HSLA steel with boron, J. Univ. Sci. Technol. Beijing (in Chinese), 31(2009), No.8, p.995.
B.C. Kim, S. Lee, N.J. Kim, and D.Y. Lee, Microstructure and local brittle zone phenomena in high-strength low-alloy steel welds, Metall. Trans. A, 22(1991), No.1, p.139.
Y.J. Li, Z.D. Zou, H.Q. Wu, and J. Wang, Microstructure and performance in the inter-critical region of heat-affected zone of HQ130 steel, Trans. China Weld. Inst., 22(2001), No.2, p.54.
M. Eroglu and M. Aksoy, Effect of initial grain size on microstructure and toughness of intercritical heat-affected zone of a low carbon steel, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 286(2000), No.2, p.289.
F. Zia-Ebrahimi and G. Krauss, The evaluation of tempered martensite embrittlement in 4130 steel by instrumented charpy V-notch testing, Metall. Trans. A, 14(1983), No.5, p.1109.
R.M. Alé, J.M.A. Rebello, and J. Charlier, A metallographic technique for detecting martensite-austenite constituents in the weld heat-affected zone of a micro-alloyed steel, Mater. Charact., 37(1996), No.2–3, p.89.
S. Lee, B.C. Kim, and D. Kwon, Correlation of microstructure and fracture properties in weld heat-affected zones of thermomechanically controlled processed steels, Metall. Trans. A, 23(1992), No.10, p.2803.
G. Spanos, R.W. Fonda, R.A. Vandermeer, and A. Matuszeski, Microstructural changes in HSLA-100 steel thermally cycled to simulate the heat-affected zone during welding, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 26(1995), No.12, p.3277.
Y.P. Kang, Metallic Solid Phase Transition and Application, Chemical Industry Press, Beijing, 2008, p.18.
H.L. Gao, Study of strength and toughness of over-heated HAZ in medium carbon Q and T steel, Trans. China Weld. Inst., 15(1994), No.2, p.107.
C.L. Davis and J.E. King, Cleavage initiation in the intercritically reheated coarse-grained heat-affected zone: Part I. Fractographic evidence, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 25(1994), No.3, p.563.
S.F. Yu and B.N. Qian, Local brittleness of X70 pipeline steel, Chin. J. Mater. Res., 18(2004), No.4, p.405.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This work was financially supported by the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (No.2006AA09A103-6).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, Ly., Wang, Y., Han, T. et al. Microstructure and embrittlement of the fine-grained heat-affected zone of ASTM4130 steel. Int J Miner Metall Mater 18, 419–423 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-011-0456-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-011-0456-3