RESUMO
The objective of this study was to investigate how weld overlays with nickel superalloys are important for the integrity, due the high temperatures and corrosive environments that can be experienced in mineral processing environments, of mining and processing equipment. The Ni-Cr-Mo superalloy Inconel 686 overlays are fabricated through automatic gas metal arc welding with variations in arc voltage and travel speed (i.e., heat input), and they have overlap between adjacent weld tracks for applications in the mining and minerals sector. The impact of variations in the process parameters and the size of the weld overlapping on the dilution, solidification morphology, microsegregation, and microhardness were investigated. Both geometric and chemical composition definitions were used to quantify the extent of the weld dilution. Subsequently, the weld geometry and dilution were correlated with the solidification microstructure and phase transformations. The maximum dilutions were measured to be 13.63% (1/2 overlap, 5.96 kJ·cm-1) and 15.39% (1/3 overlap, 4.77 kJ·cm-1), which shows that less of an overlap increases the dilution level. Scanning electron microscopy and chemical composition analysis revealed that an increase in weld heat input and dilution level led to higher levels of microsegregation for Mo and Cr, as well as the volume fraction of Mo- and Cr-rich phases in the interdendritic/intercellular regions in the overlay layer. Analysis of the weld overlays in the current study revealed strong and unprecedented connections between the weld overlay process conditions, the resultant metallurgy (i.e., dendrite arm spacing, microsegregation, and phase formation), and the hardness of the overlay. It was concluded that the optimal weld overlays in the processing window studied in this investigation were fabricated at mid-level heat inputs (i.e., 4-5 kJ·cm-1) and a 1/2 track overlap.
RESUMO
In this paper, the possibility of applying different welding strategies to overlay an FeCrAl layer against corrosion from heavy liquid metal on a plain plate made of 316L austenitic stainless steel was investigated. This technology could be used in manufacturing the main vessel of CiADS, which may be considered as a more economic and feasible solution than production with the corrosion-resistant FeCrAl alloy directly. The main operational parameters of the laser welding process, including laser power, weld wire feeding speed, diameter of the welding wire, etc., were adjusted correspondingly to the optimized mechanical properties of the welded plate. After performing the standard nuclear-grade bending tests, it can be preliminarily confirmed that the low-power pulse laser with specific operational parameters and an enhanced cooling strategy will be suitable to surface an Fe-10Cr-4Al-RE layer with a thickness of approximately 1 mm on a 40 mm-thick 316L stainless steel plate, thanks to the upgraded mechanical properties incurred by refined grains with a maximum size of around 300 µm in the welded layer.
RESUMO
Based on the detailed three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) limit analyses, the present study investigates the plastic limit loads of complex-cracked pipes with two-layered materials for determining maximum load-carrying capacity or critical crack length of pipes with two-layered materials. The complex cracks in pipes with two-layered materials consist of a partial through-wall crack and 360-deg circumferential surface crack in the inner side of pipe in the same plane in pipe, which could be developed in the preemptive weld overlay region on the dissimilar metal weld (DMW) of nuclear pipe. In terms of FE limit analyses for complex-cracked pipes with two-layered materials, total thickness of pipe, depth of 360-deg internal surface crack, length of partial through-wall crack and the effect of strength mismatch between two materials are systematically considered in the present study. As for loading conditions, axial tension, global bending moment, and internal pressure are employed in the present FE analyses, and then, the confidence of the present FE procedure is confirmed by comparing the FE results with the existing solutions for complex cracks in single material. The results of the present FE plastic limit loads are compared with the existing solutions for complex-cracked pipes with two-layered materials. Also, a simple approach using equivalent single material based on the weighted average concept instead of using the properties of two materials is suggested for predicting plastic limit loads of two-layered materials. The present results can be applied to leak-before-break (LBB) analyses of nuclear piping with weld overlay.
RESUMO
Duplex stainless steels (DSSs) are complex materials and they have been widely used in the marine environment and gas industries, primarily offering a better resistance of pitting corrosion and good mechanical properties. In the present work, the effects of heat treatment on duplex stainless steel (DSS) weld overlay samples that were heat treated at three different temperatures, namely 350 °C, 650 °C, and 1050 °C, and followed by air cooling and water quenching were studied. Stress relief temperature at 650 °C had induced sigma phase precipitation in between delta ferrite and austenite (δ/γ) grain boundaries, resulting in the loss of corrosion resistance in the weld metal. Interestingly, post weld heat treatment (PWHT) test samples that were reheated to solution annealing temperature had shown no weight loss. The ferrite count determination in the region of weld metal overlay increased at hydrogen relief and decreased at stress relief temperatures due to slow cooling, which is more favorable to austenite formation. The amount of ferrite in the weld metals was significantly reduced with the increment of solution anneal temperature to 1050 °C because of sufficient time for the formation of austenite and giving optimum equilibrium fraction in the welds.