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At least 1,099 records · Page 61

Numerical and neutron diffraction measurement of residual stress distribution in dissimilar weld

In this study, a model considering an asymmetric power heat distribution, temperature-dependent material properties, strain hardening and phase transformation was developed to predict temperature field and residual stress distribution in GTA dissimilar weld between austenitic stainless steel (304) and low carbon steel (1018). The effect of martensite formation on longitudinal and transverse residual stress distributions were investigated using both FE model and neutron diffraction measurement. The results indicate that martensitic phase has a significant influence on both residual stress components, i.e., transverse and longitudinal, and it not only can change the distribution shape of residual stress near the weld center line but, also, can alter the peak value of the residual stresses. The calculated temperature and weld zone profile were in agreement with the experimental results. Favorable general agreement was also found between the calculated residual stress distribution and residual stress measurements by the neutron diffraction method.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Removing Rotational Variations from Shoulder Thermocouples in Friction Stir Welding

Thick plate and lower temperature friction stir welding results in good post-weld properties by welding at very low tool rotational speeds. Low speeds cause large variations in the measured shoulder temperature, making temperature control difficult. This paper describes a computationally light method to correct for oscillating measured temperatures. Data is collected over the previous two revolutions and used to build a compensation table and calculate a derivative. In simulation, measured temperature variations are reduced by a factor of five to ten. Temperature data is preserved and not cornered, nor is any time delay induced by this method, unlike with filtering methods.

Friction Stir Welding, Temperature↗

FRICTION STIR LAP WELDING OF ALUMINUM - POLYMER USING SCRIBE TECHNOLOGY

Friction Stir Scribe (FSS) technology is a relatively new variant of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) which enables lap joining of dissimilar material with very different melting points and different high temperature flow behaviors. The cutter scribe attached at the tip of FSW tool pin effectively cuts the high melting point material such that a mechanically interlocking feature is created between the dissimilar materials. The geometric shape of this interlocking feature determines the shear strength attained by the lap joint. This work presents first use of scribe technology in joining polymers to aluminum alloy. Details of the several runs of scribe welding performed in lap joining of ~3.175mm thick polymers including HDPE, filled and unfilled Nylon 66 to 2mm thick AA5182 are presented. The effect of scribe geometry and length on weld interlocking features is presented along with lap shear strength evaluations.

Upadhyay, Piyush↗

Impact of Low-Temperature Neutron Irradiation on Tensile Behavior of Base Metal and Electron-Beam Welded 316L Stainless Steel

Here, a study of 316L type stainless steel in its base metal and electron-beam (e-beam) welded conditions was performed to observe the effects of low-temperature (60 °C to 100 °C) neutron irradiation on the tensile behavior of the samples. Fractography was used in understanding the tensile-tested fracture surfaces of the 316L samples in these different forms with the characterization of the both base metal and welded samples using electron microscopy. Irradiation of the tensile specimens made free of defects of cutting and mechanical polishing showed a reduction in their tensile ductility with increased radiation-induced hardening up to 1.40 × 10 19 n/cm 2 (E > 0.1 MeV) fluence that corresponds to 1.1x 10 -2 dpa, even at the low irradiation temperatures. These low-temperature neutron irradiated base metal and e-beam welded 316L specimens also consisted of closely similar fracture surfaces characteristic of ductile rupture.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Characterization of Static Performance and Failure of Resistance Spot Welds of High-Strength and Press-Hardened Steels

The static performances and failure characteristics of resistance spot welds (RSW) of steel sheets were studied in this work. Both similar and dissimilar joints of press-hardened steel grade 22MnB5 and as-rolled high-strength steel grade 1000 were examined. From metallographic analyses and micro-hardness measurements, it was shown that the microstructures of base metal (BM), heat affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone of steel joints were noticeably different. In particular, the HAZ close to BM or subcritical HAZ (SCHAZ) of 22MnB5 steel exhibited greatly decreased hardness due to occurring tempered martensite, in which carbide precipitation was clearly observed. Furthermore, tensile shear test and cross-tension test of the welded steel sheets were carried out. The determined maximum loads, energy absorbability and corresponding failure mechanisms were analyzed and compared. The RSW samples of similar steel grade 1000 provided the highest load-carrying capacity and absorbed energy in both tests. Due to the large hardness difference and soft zone in weldment of dissimilar steel specimen, failure loads and static absorbed energies were deteriorated up to 17 and 68%, respectively. The observed fracture occurrences of all investigated joints were pullout failure mode, in which BM and HAZ were the crack initiation sites of grades 1000 steel and 22MnB5 steel, respectively. The SCHAZ of welded boron steel considerably caused the failure onset in tension shear test, but seemed to have negligible effect on cross-tension test.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Evaluation of post-weld heat treatments applied to FeCrAl alloy weldments

The nuclear incident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has created a strong push for accident-tolerant fuel cladding to replace current zirconium-based cladding. A current near-term focus on iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys. Laser-welded FeCrAl samples (C35MN, C37M, and C35M10 TC) were subjected to three different post-weld heat treatment regimes: 650 °C for 5 h, 850 °C for 1 h, and 850 °C for 5 h. Here, the samples were then analyzed using optical light microscopy, micro-hardness indentation, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The base microstructure of C37M and C35M10 TC experienced significant grain coarsening outside the fusion zone due to the applied post-weld heat treatments, whereas Nb-rich precipitation in C35MN limited grain growth compared with the other alloys studied.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Friction stir welding of a carbon-doped CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy

Highlights: • Friction stir welding of a CoCrFeNiMn HEA doped with C was successfully obtained. • M{sub 23}C{sub 6} carbides with d≈150 nm form in the HEA due to addition of 0.9 at.% C. • Friction stir welding resulted in a decrease in grain size from 9.2 μm to 4.6 μm. • Smaller grain size and increased fraction of M{sub 23}C{sub 6} increase strength by 84 MPa. - Abstract: Butt-joint seam of a high entropy alloy (HEA) of the CoCrFeNiMn system was successfully obtained by friction stir welding (FSW). The HEA was produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. Along with the principal elements, a small amount (0.9 at.%) of C was added to the alloy. The as-cast alloy was cold rolled and annealed at 900 °C to produce refined microstructure. The structure of the annealed alloy consisted of a recrystallized face-centered cubic matrix with a grain size of 9.2 μm and fine Cr-rich M{sub 23}C{sub 6} carbides. FSW of the HEA resulted in microstructure refinement to d = 4.6 μm in the stir zone. A noticeable rise in strength and some decrease in ductility of the processed alloy in comparison with the initial condition can be associated with the microstructure refinement and some increase in the volume fraction of M{sub 23}C{sub 6} carbides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Cascading microstructures in aluminum-steel interfaces created by impact welding

With the rising need to develop light weight structures joining dissimilar metals is inevitable. Thus a fundamental understanding of the microstructure evolution and bond formation mechanism is necessary. In this work we probe the welded interface in aluminum and steel joined using vaporizing foil actuator welding (VFAW) a novel impact welding process. The goal of such a detailed characterization campaign is to understand the bond formation mechanism. The study demonstrates that the interfacial microstructure has a pronounced hierarchical nature. At the macro scale, the interface is characterized by a wavy interface which is a result of extensive plastic deformation that accompanies the process. Detailed transmission electron microscopy shows evidence for the formation of a liquid film at the interface resulting in significant inter diffusion of Fe. The solidified structure at the interface consisted of crystalline α-Al and an amorphous metastable Al-Fe intermetallic compound similar to the observations in rapid solidification of Al-Fe alloys. The sub-nm scale characterization of the interface using atom probe tomography showed two distinct zones 1. A magnesium (5 at.%) and oxygen (15 at.%) rich (not detectable using energy dispersive spectroscopy) which was probably from the decomposition of the surface oxide film 2. The rapidly solidified reaction zone consisting of primary crystalline α-Al and an amorphous Al-Fe (15 at.%)-O (0.5 at.%)-Si (1.5 at.%).Based on these observations a mechanism for the bond formation is presented.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Heterogeneous creep deformation in Dissimilar Metal Welds (DMWs)

Dissimilar Metal Welds (DMWs) made between ferritic low alloy steels and austenitic alloys are widely used in high temperature components of nuclear and fossil energy power plants. Literature shows that these bimetallic welds fail prematurely by creep mechanism close to the interface of the ferritic (BCC) and austenitic regions (FCC), with lifetimes much less than the creep lives of both materials. These creep failures are associated with cavity formation close to BCC/FCC interfaces. However, the spatial and temporal variations of creep strain rates in these DMWs have not been measured. In this research, DMW coupons were fabricated between 2.25Cr-1Mo steel and Alloy 800 H base material using a Ni base Inconel weld consumable. These samples were aged at 600 °C for 2000 h and 4000 h to induce two different sizes and distributions of Type I interfacial carbides and further subjected to a short term (~1 month) creep testing. Here, surface strains were measured with Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique to extract local creep strain rates. In both samples, creep strain concentration occurred in the BCC matrix. The location of creep strain concentration from the BCC/FCC interface, changed from 5 µm (2000 h aged condition) to 400 µm (4000 h aged condition) depending on the initial carbide distributions in these regions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tensile Fracture of Welded Polymer Interfaces: Miscibility, Entanglements, and Crazing

Large-scale molecular simulations are performed to investigate tensile failure of polymer interfaces as a function of welding time t. Changes in the tensile stress, mode of failure and interfacial fracture energy G I are correlated to changes in the interfacial entanglements as determined from Primitive Path Analysis. Bulk polymers fail through craze formation, followed by craze breakdown through chain scission. At small t welded interfaces are not strong enough to support craze formation and fail at small strains through chain pullout at the interface. Once chains have formed an average of about one entanglement across the interface, a stable craze is formed throughout the sample. The failure stress of the craze rises with welding time and the mode of craze breakdown changes from chain pullout to chain scission as the interface approaches bulk strength. The interfacial fracture energy G I is calculated by coupling the simulation results to a continuum fracture mechanics model. As in experiment, G I increases as t 1/2 before saturating at the average bulk fracture energy G b . As in previous studies of shear strength, saturation coincides with the recovery of the bulk entanglement density. Before saturation, G I is proportional to the areal density of interfacial entanglements. Immiscibiltiy limits interdiffusion and thus suppresses entanglements at the interface. Even small degrees of immisciblity reduce interfacial entanglements enough that failure occurs by chain pullout and G I << G b .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Corrosion behaviour of friction-bit-joined and weld-bonded AA7075-T6/galvannealed DP980

Joining of aluminium alloys 7075-T6 and galvannealed dual phase 980 steel was achieved by friction bit joining (FBJ) and weld-bonding (FBJ + adhesive) processes. Accelerated laboratory-scale corrosion tests were performed on both FBJ only and weld-bonded specimens to study joint strength under a corrosive environment. Static lap shear tests showed that both FBJ only and weld-bonded cases generally retained more than 80% of the joint strength of non-corroded specimens at the end of corrosion testing. The presence of Zn/Fe coating on the steel substrate resulted in improved corrosion resistance for FBJ specimens, compared to joints produced with bare steel. An optical microscopy was used for cross-sectional analysis of corroded specimens. Some corrosion on the joining bit was observed near the bit head. However, the joining bit was still intact on the steel substrate, indicating that the primary bond was sound.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development of a high power electron beam welding gun with replaceable high voltage feed-through insulators

Ceramic to metal sealed feed-through insulators are commonly used in electron beam welding gun. The above feed-through insulators are susceptible to failure, as the brazing joints in them are not always very strong. Failure in one of these feed-through could render the complete gun unusable. This problem has already been faced in BARC, which led to the development of the electron gun with replaceable feed through insulators. A 24 kW Electron Beam Welding (EBW) gun with indigenous designed replaceable insulators is fabricated in BARC. Emphasis during the design of the gun had been to reduce the use of imported components to zero. This paper describes the design and fabrication of this gun and reports various simulations and tests performed. Beam trajectory of the gun is numerically computed and presented. Weld passes were carried out on stainless steel plates show satisfactory penetrations. (author)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Influence of Tool Runout on Force Measurement During Internal Void Monitoring for Friction Stir Welding of 6061-T6 Aluminum

Abstract The goal of this research was to examine how altering the amount of friction stir tool eccentricity while controlling the amount of slant in the tool shoulder (drivers of oscillatory process forces) effects the generation of process force transients during sub-surface void interaction. The knowledge gained will help improve the accuracy of force-based void monitoring methods that have the potential to reduce the need for post-weld inspection. Process force transients during sub-surface void formation were examined for multiple tools with varying magnitudes of kinematic runout. The eccentric motion of the tool produced oscillations in the process forces at the tools rotational frequency that became distorted when features (flats) on the tool probe interacted with voided volumes, generating an amplitude in the force signals at three times the tool rotational frequency (for three-flat tools). A larger tool eccentricity generates a larger amplitude in the force signals at the tool’s rotational frequency that holds a larger potential to create a distortion during void interaction. It was determined that once void becomes large enough to produce an interaction that generates an amplitude at the third harmonic larger than 30% of the amplitude at the rotational frequency in a weld with no interaction (amplitude solely at rotational frequency), the trailing edge of the tool shoulder cannot fully consolidate the void, i.e., it will remain in the final weld. Additionally, once the void exceeds a certain size, the amplitudes of the third harmonics saturate at 70% of the amplitude at the rotational frequency during full consolidation. The interaction between the eccentric probe and sub-surface void was isolated by ensuring any geometric imperfection in the shoulder (slant) with respect to the rotational axis was removed. The results suggest that geometric imperfections (eccentricity and slant) with respect to the tool’s rotational axis must be known when developing a void monitoring method from force transients of this nature.

Engineering↗

Use of Mini-CT Specimens for Fracture Toughness Characterization of Irradiated Highly Embrittled Weld

In the 1990’s, the Heavy Section Steel Irradiation Program at the ORNL performed investigation of the shape of the fracture toughness master curve for reactor pressure vessel steel highly embrittled because of irradiation exposure. A radiation-sensitive reactor pressure vessel (RPV) weld with intentionally enhanced copper content, designated KS-01, has been characterized in terms of static initiation (KJc) and Charpy impact toughness in the unirradiated and irradiated conditions. The objective of this original project was to investigate the ability of highly embrittled material to maintain the shape of the unirradiated transition fracture toughness curve, as well as to examine the ability of the Charpy 41-J shift to predict the fracture toughness shift at such high level of embrittlement. Irradiation of this weld was performed at the University of Michigan Ford Reactor in the new HSSI irradiation-anneal-reirradiation (IAR) facility. Broken specimens from that project have been saved in ORNL storage. To verify applicability of Mini-CT specimens for fracture toughness characterization of RPV materials as part of the DOE Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program, Mini-CT specimens were machined from broken Charpy specimens and tested according to ASTM E1921 standard. As result of this study, the fracture toughness of this weld derived by testing Mini-CT specimens in the unirradiated and irradiated conditions is compared to previously reported fracture toughness derived by large number of conventional specimens.

Sokolov, Mikhail A.↗

Modelling of cracking during beam oscillation laser welding of a creep-resistant nickel alloy

During high power laser welding of Inconel 740H, horizontal solidification cracks form at locations between approximately 70–80% of the weld depth. With the integration of circular beam oscillation, the laser energy density distribution and underlying thermo-mechanical conditions were altered. By coupling three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid flow, and stress modelling tools, the role that circular beam oscillation plays in the formation of the strain rates and stresses driving this cracking phenomenon was identified. While the addition of a circular oscillation pattern appeared to lower the stress levels along the solidification front, it did not eliminate the appearance of horizontal cracking. Only when the beam amplitudes reached 1.6 mm did solidification cracking disappear, but the weld depths were also significantly reduced.

Gao, Mingze↗

SNL/SRNL Joint Project on degradation of mechanical properties in structural metals and welds for GTS reservoirs.

This project was intended to enable SNL-CA to produce appropriate specimens of relevant stainless steels for testing and perform baseline testing of weld heat-affected zone and weld fusion zone. One of the key deliverables in this project was to establish a procedure for fracture testing stainless steel weld fusion zone and heat affected zones that were pre-charged with hydrogen. Following the establishment of the procedure, a round robin was planned between SNL-CA and SRNL to ensure testing consistency between laboratories. SNL-CA and SRNL would then develop a comprehensive test plan, which would include tritium exposures of several years at SRNL on samples delivered by SNL-CA. Testing would follow the procedures developed at SNL-CA. SRNL will also purchase tritium charging vessels to perform the tritium exposures. Although comprehensive understanding of isotope-induced fracture in GTS reservoir materials is a several year effort, the FY15 work would enabled us to jump-start the tests and initiate long-term tritium exposures to aid comprehensive future investigations. Development of a procedure and laboratory testing consistency between SNL-CA and SNRL ensures reliability in results as future evaluations are performed on aluminum alloys and potentially additively-manufactured components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Modeling Long-term Creep Performance for Welded Nickel-base Superalloy Structures for Power Generation Systems

The goal of this project is to model long-term creep performance for nickel-base superalloy weldments in high temperature power generation systems. The project uses physics-based modeling methodologies and algorithms for predicting alloy properties in heterogeneous material structures. The modeling methodology will be demonstrated on a gas turbine combustor liner weldment of Haynes 282 precipitate-strengthened nickel-base superalloy. The major developments are: (1) microstructure-property relationships under creep conditions and microstructure characterization (2) modeling inhomogeneous microstructure in superalloy weld (3) modeling mesoscale plastic deformation in superalloy weld and (4) a constitutive creep model that accounts for weld and base metal microstructure and their long term evolution. The developed modeling technology is aimed to provide a more efficient and accurate assessment of a material’s long-term performance compared with current testing and extrapolation methods. This modeling technology will also accelerate development and qualification of new materials in advanced power generation systems. This document is a final technical report for the project, covering efforts conducted from October 2014 to December 2016.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Online Weld Quality Inspection System with Infrared Thermography

Today’s passenger vehicle on average contains 4,000 to 6,000 resistance spot welds (RSW). All US automakers perform destructive teardown evaluation to ensure the quality of the spot welds due to their criticality in crash resistance and performance of vehicles. The destructive teardown evaluation is labor intensive and costly. Sponsored by DOE VT Office, ORNL recently developed a prototype system (hardware and software) to non-destructively evaluate the quality of RSW based on infrared (IR) thermography. Highly cost competitive, ORNL’s system has been tested extensively in the laboratory with initial successful production environment validation. Ford, Honda, GM, Chrysler and major Tier One suppliers all have shown keen interest in this new technology. ORNL’s Technology Transfer Office licensed this technology to a small business (APLAIR Manufacturing Solutions) in TN. The licensee planned to develop a new hardware system based on ORNL’s IR NDE technology for real-time online weld inspection. In this CRADA project, ORNL was tasked to assist the licensee to transfer the technology and develop the new product suitable for automotive body-in-white production environment, making the technology ready for ‘real-world’ auto-body assembly line production environment.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗