Materials Science & Engineering A 639 (2015) 482–488

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Materials Science & Engineering A

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msea

Effect of thermo-mechanical cycling on the microstructure and

toughness in the weld CGHAZ of a novel high strength low carbon steel
H. Xie a, L.-X. Du a,n, J. Hu a, G.-S. Sun a, H.-Y. Wu a, R.D.K. Misra b,n
a
The State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
b
Laboratory for Excellence in Advanced Steel Research, Center for Structural and Functional Materials Research and Innovation and Department
of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: We have studied the microstructural evolution in the simulated coarse grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ)
Received 27 April 2015 of novel low carbon microalloyed steel with yield strength of 1000 MPa using electron microscopy, while
Received in revised form the crystallographic characteristics were studied by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The dete-
9 May 2015
rioration in low temperature toughness after the simulated welding cycle was attributed to the formation
Accepted 11 May 2015
of coarse blocky M–A constituent. However, the lower bainite microstructure of the matrix was beneficial
Available online 16 May 2015
for low temperature impact toughness because of similarity in the crystal structure of variants of lath
Keywords: martensite, which were present in high proportion at the high angle grain boundaries. A high fraction of
Coarse grain heat affected zone small M–A constituent also influenced impact toughness.
Low carbon steel
& 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Ultra-high strength steel
Martensite–austenite constituent
Toughness

1. Introduction intercritically reheated CGHAZ (IC CGHAZ) after welding of the

Increasing the strength of a metal requires the use of expensive
alloying elements, which in most cases are indispensable. A more
direct method is to increase the carbon content, although this
promotes the formation of martensite–austenite (M–A) con-
stituent, which can drastically reduce the heat-affected zone (HAZ)
toughness [1–3]. Due to this, low carbon microalloyed high
strength steels have been widely studied during the past decade.
However other weld-related issues must also be taken into con-
sideration because of the possibility of formation of M–A con-
stituent, even at low carbon-content equivalent.
In the previous study, we reported that novel Nb–V–Ti and
Cr–Mo addition to microalloyed, low carbon content bainitic steel
produces an attractive structural material with high strength and
excellent low temperature toughness [4]. However, this combi-
nation of high strength and high impact toughness may deterio-
rate after thermal cycling that occurs during welding [5–8], be-
cause of austenite grain growth and formation of hard transfor-
mation products during cooling. This results in low toughness
zones which are susceptible to brittle-fracture within the local
brittle zones (LBZs) [9–10]. These LBZs are mainly located within
the coarse grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ) and the
n chemical composition, mechanical properties, thermo-mechanical
Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: dulx@ral.neu.edu.cn (L.-X. Du),
dmisra2@utep.edu (R.D.K. Misra).
material [11]. Previous studies [2,12] indicated the structure of
M–A constituent and its effects on strength and toughness of high
strength steel that was welded using various heat inputs. It was
postulated that M–A constituent was the main factor that led to
deterioration of HAZ toughness. Mohseni et al. [11] studied the
X80 pipeline steel and proposed a mechanism by which M–A
constituent leads to deterioration of IC CGHAZ toughness. How-
ever, some authors have an opposite view point. Li et al. [13]
proposed that small grain size and reduced M–A constituent in
CGHAZs enhanced toughness. Thus, the effect of M–A constituent
on HAZ toughness continues to be unclear.
In the present study, the effect of size of M–A constituent in a
novel high strength steel is explored by conducting studies on
simulated CGHAZ specimens with four different cooling rates. The
toughness of the simulated specimens was measured by Charpy
impact test, while the influence of welding thermal cycles on
microstructural evolution and impact toughness are also studied.
2. Experimental procedure
The novel high strength low carbon steel used in this study was
a 13-mm thick plate that was thermo-mechanically processed. The
processing parameters are summarized in Table 1. The specimens
were machined to dimensions of 11 mm
11 mm
55 mm and

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2015.05.033
0921-5093/& 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 H. Xie et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 639 (2015) 482–488 483

Table 1
Chemical composition and mechanical properties of base metal.

Chemical composition (wt%) Mechanical properties

C Si Mn Nb þV þ Ti Cr þMo B Ceq Pcm Rp0.2 (MPa) Rm (MPa) A (%) Toughness (J)

0.08–0.11 0.4 1.0–1.9 0.12 1.08 0.0013 0.72 0.28 1058 1192 10.1 24

Note: Ceq ¼C þ (Mn þSi)/6 þ (Niþ Cu)/15 þ(Cr þ Moþ V)/5; Pcm ¼C þ Si/30þ (Mn þCu þCr)/20 þ Ni/60 þMo/15 þ5B; Impact toughness of 1/4-Charpy size specimen.

1400 1400
10s 10s
1200 30s 1200 30s
60s 60s
1000 150s 1000 150s

800 800

600 600

400 400

200 200

0 0

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Time(s) Time(s)

Fig. 1. Welding thermal cycle of the simulated CGHAZ specimens. (a) Actual welding thermal cycle of the simulated specimens and (b) the modeled plots of the simulated
specimens.

Block AF

M LB

Packet

LB GB

GB

LB

GB

Fig. 2. Optical micrographs of simulated CGHAZ with different t8/5, 1000
. (a) 10 s, (b) 30 s, (c) 60 s, and (d) 150 s.
484 H. Xie et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 639 (2015) 482–488
welding thermal simulation was carried out using a thermo-me-
chanical simulator. The specimens were heated to a peak tem-
perature of 1350 °C at a rate of 100 °C/min and then held there for
1 s, after which they were cooled to 150 °C using different t8/5 time
(time to cool from 800 to 500 °C), and then air cooled to room
temperature. The selected t8/5 times were 10, 30, 60 and 150 s, to
simulate different welding inputs, which were 16.2, 28.0, 39.6 and
62.7 kJ/cm, respectively, that were calculated using the Rykalin
mathematical model [14].
The welding simulations were repeated three times for each
t8/5 time condition, from which the average impact toughness was
obtained. After simulation, the specimens were machined to
standard Charpy v-notch specimens and the test was performed at
20 °C using Instron Dynatup 9200 Series drop weight impact
tester, consistent with ASTM E23 specification. The fracture sur-
faces were observed using a FEI Quanta 600 scanning electron
microscope (SEM).
The simulated specimens were cut near the monitoring ther-
mocouple, metallographically polished, and etched with a 4% nital
solution for observing using a Leica DMIRM 2500M optical mi-
croscope and Zeiss Ultra 55 SEM. For EBSD studies, the samples
were electrolytically polished in a solution of 8% perchloric acid–
alcohol solution. EBSD maps were obtained at a step size of 0.1 μm,
and analyzed using HKL-Channel 5 software.
M
Block
Packet 3μm
LB
3μm
Fig. 3. SEM micrographs of the simulated CGHAZ with different t8/5, 2000
. (a) 10 s, (b) 30 s, (c) 60 s, and (d) 150 s.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. The actual temperature of the simulated CGHAZ specimens
Plot of temperature vs. time for the CGHAZ simulation is pre-
sented in Fig. 1. The sample temperature was controlled until it
dropped to 150 °C at which no phase transformation occurs based
on the Rykalin mathematical model. As shown in Fig. 1a and b, the
actual temperature agrees with the modeled plots. Variation in
cooling times is because of different t8/5 time used to simulate
microstructural changes at different cooling rates.
3.2. The microstructure of simulated CGHAZ specimens
Fig. 2 shows optical micrographs of simulated CGHAZ speci-
mens at different cooling rates. The figure indicates that micro-
structural changes dramatically occur with increasing t8/5 cooling
time. The microstructure of the specimens subjected to t8/5 of 10 s
was characterized by refined martensite (Fig. 2a). The prior aus-
tenite grains comprised of large structural units, i.e. packets and
blocks [15], having a diameter of  25–40 μm. The average packet
width was 10–15 μm, and the block width was  3–5 μm. This is
because of growth of austenitic grains at high peak temperature
and subsequent fast cooling during simulated welding with a low
heat input of 16.2 kJ/cm. The CGHAZ microstructure was observed
LB
M
AF
3μm
GB
3μm
 H. Xie et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 639 (2015) 482–488 485

to coarsen on increasing cooling time. At t8/5 time of 30 s (Fig. 2b),
the microstructure consisted of acicular ferrite, lath bainite, and
martensite. The martensite fraction decreased with increase in
heat input, whereas formation of lath bainite and the increase in
local C-concentration led to the formation of acicular ferrite within
prior austenite. At t8/5 time of 60 s (Fig. 2c), the microstructure was
predominantly comprised of lath bainite, with width greater than
martensite. Hence, grain size was also increased with increase in
heat input [16]. At t8/5 time of 150 s (Fig. 2d), granular bainite and
lath bainite microstructure was observed, which was different
from other three steels, with proeutectoid ferrite present at the
prior austenite grain boundaries, because of low cooling rate used.
The M–A constituent is appreciably larger and was  2 μm long
and 1 μm wide.
As described above, the microstructure was significantly influ-
enced by different heat inputs. Further study of the resulting fine
microstructure was performed using SEM and is presented in Fig. 3.
At t8/5 of 10 s, it was possible to easily identify a packet in the
martensite microstructure containing various blocks (Fig. 3a) and a
block consisting of several laths with straight boundaries. At t8/5 of
30 s, the microstructure comprised of martensite, lath bainite, and
acicular ferrite, as shown in Fig. 3b. Because of low cooling rate, the
small phase inside the microstructure exhibited slight coarsening
and M–A constituent appeared. At t8/5 of 60 s, (Fig. 3c), the micro-
structure entirely comprised of lath bainite, which was coarser than
the martensitic structure, although laths had a crystallographic re-
lationship similar to martensite. At t8/5 of 150 s, the microstructure
exhibited necklace-like structure of block M–A constituent present
at the grain boundaries. The M–A constituent and typical granular
bainite were present inside the prior austenite grain (Fig. 3d). It was
also noted that the microstructure was significantly coarse, and the
spacing between different phases was appreciably large.
3.3. The crystallographic characteristics of the simulated CGHAZ
specimens
The crystallographic characteristics of the simulated CGHAZ
specimens were analyzed by EBSD and are presented in Fig. 4. The

Selected grain A Selected grain B

25μm 25μm

25μm 25 μm

{100} {100}

0 0

Fig. 4. Crystallographic characteristics of the simulated CGHAZ specimens analyzed by EBSD: (a) the orientation image map with t8/5 of 30 s, (b) the orientation image map
with t8/5 of 60 s, (c) grain boundary misorientation distribution with t8/5 of 30 s, (d) grain boundary misorientation distribution with t8/5 of 60 s, (e) experimental 〈100〉 pole
figure containing martensitic variants within the selected austenite grain A, and (f) experimental 〈100〉 pole figure containing bainitic variants within the selected austenite
grain B. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
486 H. Xie et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 639 (2015) 482–488

5μm 5μm

5μm

Fig. 5. The image quality maps with the austenite distribution of the simulated CGHAZ specimens with different t8/5. (a) 10 s, (b) 60 s, and (c) 150 s.

with t8/5 of 30 s was not as significant as that in specimens with

60
Total impact energy t8/5 of 60 s. Analysis of 〈110〉 pole figures obtained from the se-
Crack initiation energy lected initial austenite A and B in specimens with t8/5 of 30 and
60 s (Fig. 4e and f), indicated that the orientation relationship of
50 the microstructures was close to Nishiyama–Wassermann than
Kurdjumov–Sachs [17,18]. The selected prior austenite A in spe-
cimens with t8/5 of 30 s contained nine variants (Fig. 4e), while
40 there are twelve variants in one prior austenite grain B in speci-
Energy(J)

mens with t8/5 of 60 s (Fig. 4f). Thus, the crystallographic or-

ientation of specimens with t8/5 of 60 s was similar to specimens
30 with t8/5 of 30 s.
Fig. 5 is EBSD image quality maps with distribution of M–A
constituent within the simulated CGHAZ specimens. As previously
20 mentioned, the volume and the size of M–A constituents were
observed to increase with increasing t8/5 time. However, the aus-
tenitic fraction in M–A constituent inside the prior austenite was
10 dominant, whereas the martensitic fraction in M–A constituent
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 dispersed at the rim of prior austenite was considerably large, as
t8/5(s) shown in Fig. 5b and c. It can be said that the retained austenite
relaxes the local stress concentration [19,20]. However, significant
Fig. 6. Total impact energy and crack initiation energy of the simulated CGHAZ
fraction of M–A constituent consisted of martensite that was
specimens.
present at the grain boundaries of the prior austenite. The mar-
tensite in the M–A constituent contained a high density of dis-
specimens with t8/5 of 30 s exhibited typical lath martensitic mi-
locations [21], which would severely influence impact toughness.
crostructure with various variants, as shown in Fig. 4a. The width
of the variants in specimens with t8/5 of 60 s was larger because of
3.4. The mechanical properties of the simulated CGHAZ specimens
lower degree of supercooling. Fig. 4c and d are grain boundary
images of the simulated CGHAZ specimens. Large-angle grain Fig. 6 shows the total impact energy and the crack initiation
boundaries are indicated by black lines, and low-angle grain energy of the simulated CGHAZ specimens and indicates that
boundaries are indicated in blue. Because of the high cooling rate, toughness first increases and then decreases with increasing t8/5
the homogeneity of the large angle grain boundaries in specimens time. This is due to the reduction of the brittle martensitic phase at
 H. Xie et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 639 (2015) 482–488
Small dimples
Fig. 7. SEM micrographs of fracture surfaces of the simulated CGHAZ specimens. (a) 10 s, (b) 30 s, (c) 60 s, and (d) 150 s.
t8/5 times less than and up to 60 s, whereas the reduced toughness
observed on exceeding 60 s is due to the formation of blocky M–A
constituents composed of martensitic proportions. It is believed
that the appearance of coarse M–A constituents in specimens with
cooling time of 150 s was the main reason for the dramatic de-
creasing in impact toughness of the simulated CGHAZ specimens.
The fracture surface of specimens with different t8/5 time is
presented in Fig. 7, and the fractographs correspond to the radial
regions of specimens. Only highly misoriented boundaries can be
transformed to cleavage facet boundaries [3], and it is observed
that the cleavage facet size on the specimen fracture surface was
relatively large for samples with a cooling time of 10 s. The facet
size was also equal to the packet size, as shown in Fig 7a. On in-
creasing t8/5 time, the microstructure of the simulated CGHAZ
specimens transformed to lath bainite. Thus, the cleavage facet
size was decreased and was separated by boundaries of bainitic
lath, as shown in Fig. 7b. It is well known that the formation of fine
retained austenitic structure distributed at the grain boundaries of
prior austenite grain can effectively release stress concentration
[19]. Examination of fractograph of specimen with t8/5 of 60 s in-
dicated that there was some ductile fracture with large number of
small dimples (indicated by white arrows in Fig. 7c), which is in
good agreement with the study of Lan [3]. Increasing t8/5 time led
to the appearance of coarse M–A constituent in the sample, which
was detrimental to toughness, as evinced by cleavage planes on
the fractograph of the specimen with t8/5 of 150 s (Fig. 7d).
487
4. Conclusions
The change in morphology and mechanical properties of the
simulated CGHAZ specimens with different t8/5 time were studied.
The major conclusions are summarized as follows:
(1) The microstructure of the simulated CGHAZ specimen changed
from lath martensite to lath bainite and then to coarse gran-
ular bainite with increase in t8/5 time. This led to an increase
and then slight decrease in impact energy.
(2) The EBSD analysis indicated that lath bainite retains crystal-
lographic orientations similar to lath martensite. The orienta-
tions of variants transformed from prior austenite were close
to Nishiyama–Wassermann orientation relationship rather
than the Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship. Orienta-
tion relationship analysis indicated that there was a relation-
ship between the transformed phase and the old phase. The
homogeneity of large-angle grain boundaries of lath bainite
was better than lath martensite, which benefited the impact
toughness of the simulated CGHAZ specimens.
(3) The formation of coarse M–A constituent because of low
cooling rate is the main reason for the decrease in impact
toughness of the simulated CGHAZ specimens. The coarse M–A
constituent was nearly fully martensitic, which raises the
stress concentration at the rim of the prior austenite and
leading to cleavage crack.
488 H. Xie et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 639 (2015) 482–488
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the support from the National High
Technology Research and Development Program of China (863
Program 2015AA03A501), and the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant no. 50527402). RDKM gratefully ac-
knowledges support from the Department of Metallurgical and
Materials Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, USA.
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