Synchrotron-based methods have been developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for the direct observation of microstructure evolution during welding. These techniques, known as spatially resolved (SRXRD) and time resolved (TRXRD) x-ray diffraction, allow in-situ experiments to be performed during welding and provide direct observations of high temperature phases that form under the intense thermal cycles that occur. This paper presents observations of microstructural evolution that occur during the welding of a medium carbon AISI 1045 steel, using SRXRD to map the phases that are present during welding, and TRXRD to dynamically observe transformations during rapid heating and cooling. SRXRD was further used to determine the influence of welding heat input on the size of the high temperature austenite region, and the time required to completely homogenize this region during welding. These data can be used to determine the kinetics of phase transformations under the steep thermal gradients of welds, as well as benchmark and verify phase transformation models
