Experimental Investigation of Welding Stresses in MWIC Weldability Test

The use of high-strength steels in the manufacture of energy pipelines, coupled with the transition to larger pipe diameters and greater wall thicknesses, has led to an increased potential for cracking including hydrogen assisted cracking of energy pipelines due to higher constraint induced stresses. In the present study, a modified version of the Welding Institute of Canada (MWIC) restraint test was used to simulate the constraint conditions of full-scale girth welds on energy pipelines, allowing the influence of welding process parameters on crack formation to be assessed. MWIC test samples of X70 grade high-strength low alloy pipeline steel were manually welded using two different welding processes, namely shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and modified short-arc welding (MSAW). Residual strains, and hence stresses, in these samples were analysed quantitatively using neutron diffraction technique. Overall, results indicate that the modified WIC restraint test produces significant residual stresses and so is effective in constraining the root run and in consequence studying the hydrogen assisted cracking of high-strength pipeline steels

Quantification of residual stresses in multi-pass welds using neutron diffraction

Abstract not available.Houman Alipooramirabad, Anna Paradowska, Reza Ghomashchi, Andrei Kotousov, Mark Rei

Prediction of welding stresses in WIC test and its application in pipelines

In the present study, the Welding Institute of Canada (WIC) restraint test was used to simulate the restraint conditions of full-scale girth welds on energy pipelines to ascertain the influence of welding process parameters on welding stresses. Finite element models are developed, and validated with neutron diffraction measurements, to evaluate the welding stresses for under-matched, matched and over-matched welds. The effects of heat input, wall thickness and variable restraint lengths of WIC sample are systematically investigated. As a practical outcome, this work can help in selection of the appropriate restraint length for WIC tests to simulate the specified stress conditions in the pipeline, and, ultimately, reduce the risk of Hydrogen Assisted Cold Cracking (HACC) in high strength low alloy

Corrosion Behavior of Metal Active Gas Welded Joints of a High-Strength Steel for Automotive Application

© 2017, ASM International. In this work, the corrosion behavior of metal active gas-welded joints of a high-strength steel with tensile yield strength of 900 MPa was investigated. The welded joints were obtained using two different heat inputs. The corrosion behavior has been studied in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization tests. Optical microscopy images, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray revealed different microstructural features in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the weld metal (WM). Before and after the corrosion process, the sample was evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy to measure the depth difference between HAZ and WM. The results showed that the heat input did not play an important role on corrosion behavior of HSLA steel. The anodic and cathodic areas of the welded joints could be associated with depth differences. The HAZ was found to be the anodic area, while the WM was cathodic with respect to the HAZ. The corrosion behavior was related to the amount and orientation nature of carbides in the HAZ. The microstructure of the HAZ consisted of martensite and bainite, whereas acicular ferrite was observed in the weld metal