Weldability of High Alloys

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of silicon and iron on the weldability of HAYNES HR-160{reg_sign} alloy. HR-I60 alloy is a solid solution strengthened Ni-Co-Cr-Si alloy. The alloy is designed to resist corrosion in sulfidizing and other aggressive high temperature environments. Silicon is added ({approx}2.75%) to promote the formation of a protective oxide scale in environments with low oxygen activity. HR-160 alloy has found applications in waste incinerators, calciners, pulp and paper recovery boilers, coal gasification systems, and fluidized bed combustion systems. HR-160 alloy has been successfully used in a wide range of welded applications. However, the alloy can be susceptible to solidification cracking under conditions of severe restraint. A previous study by DuPont, et al. [1] showed that silicon promoted solidification cracking in the commercial alloy. In earlier work conducted at Haynes, and also from published work by DuPont et al., it was recognized that silicon segregates to the terminal liquid, creating low melting point liquid films on solidification grain boundaries. Solidification cracking has been encountered when using the alloy as a weld overlay on steel, and when joining HR-160 plate in a thickness greater than19 millimeters (0.75 inches) with matching filler metal. The effect of silicon on the weldability of HR-160 alloy has been well documented, but the effect of iron is not well understood. Prior experience at Haynes has indicated that iron may be detrimental to the solidification cracking resistance of the alloy. Iron does not segregate to the terminal solidification product in nickel-base alloys, as does silicon [2], but iron may have an indirect or interactive influence on weldability. A set of alloys covering a range of silicon and iron contents was prepared and characterized to better understand the welding metallurgy of HR-160 alloy

The Determination of Hydrogen Distribution in High-Strength Steel Weldments Part 2: Opt o-Electronic Diffusible Hydrogen Sensor

ABSTRACT. In Part 1, methods for measurement of hydrogen distributions in high-strength welded steel using laser ablation were described. Part 2 will elaborate on an advanced design for a diffusible hydrogen sensor that utilizes the optoelectronic properties of a hydrogensensitive material such as tungsten (Vl) oxide, WO~. The sensor generates the necessary analytical signal in less than one hour and has been calibrated to yield results in mL/100 g weld metal. The sensor is extremely sensitive to hydrogen and relatively inexpensive. An array of sensors could conceivably be used to measure diffusible hydrogen distributions across the weld face with a resolution of approximately one millimeter. The sensor shows excel lent promise as an advanced hydrogen measurement technique, and research is continuing to establish procedures for transfer to industry

Hydrogen-trapping mechanisms in nanostructured steels

Nanoprecipitation-hardened martensitic bearing steels (100Cr6) and carbide-free nanobainitic steels (superbainite) are examined. The nature of the hydrogen traps present in both is determined via the melt extraction and thermal desorption analysis techniques. It is demonstrated that 100Cr6 can admit large amounts of hydrogen, which is loosely bound to dislocations around room temperature; however, with the precipitation of fine coherent vanadium carbide traps, hydrogen can be immobilized. In the case of carbide-free nanostructured bainite, retained austenite/bainite interfaces act as hydrogen traps, while concomitantly retained austenite limits hydrogen absorption. In nanostructured steels where active hydrogen traps are present, it is shown that the total hydrogen absorbed is proportional to the trapped hydrogen, indicating that melt extraction may be employed to quantify trapping capacity