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Fundamental Research On Underwater Welding: Effects of Water Environment On Metallurgical Structures of Welds
Fundamental Research On Underwater Welding: Effects of Water Environment On Metallurgical Structures of Welds
Underwater Welding
BY R. T. BROWN AND K. M A S U B U C H I
ABSTRACT. The study on which this even the best of these underwater nique. It may be that these sophis-
paper is based was conducted as part welds was still substantially less than ticated systems will solve the prob-
of a systematic research on f u n - that of similar air welds. Underwater lem of producing high quality welds
damentals of underwater welding. welds were r e p o r t e d to p r o d u c e for critical applications such as pipe-
The entire program covered various about 80% of the tensile strength and line welding. However, for structural
subjects including the heat transfer 50% of the ductility of corresponding repair, modification, and construc-
and flow during underwater welding, air welds (Ref. 1). But these low weld tion, the shielded metal-arc process
the mechanisms of metal transfer and quality properties still provided for might be preferred because of its rel-
arc bubble formation, and the effects joint integrity that was satisfactory for ative simplicity. As the job depth in-
of water environment on the metal- the t e m p o r a r y repair welds and creases, the need to use saturation
lurgical structures and the properties salvage applications for which they diving and other engineering c o m -
of underwater welds. This paper were used. plications will make it desirable to use
primarily discusses the last subject. The expansion of the offshore oil only the simplest and most versatile
An experimental investigation was drilling and production industry has welding processes and techniques
made of the welding metallurgy and led to the construction of large, per- (Refs. 18-20).
microstructure of underwater shield- manent steel platforms, tanks, and Most of the developments and im-
ed metal-arc welds. The paper dis- pipelines in the ocean. Repairs or provements in underwater welding
cusses various topics including tem- modifications requiring welded joints have come from trial and error in-
perature histories and microstruc- have been hindered by the poor qual- vestigations by those who actually
tural transformation, optimum weld- ity of underwater welds. This poor needed a more satisfactory under-
ing current and speed, optimum weld weld quality has been especially limit- water weld. But beginning in the early
bead shape, and optimum hardness ing to pipeline welding. The need for 1960's and continuing to the present
profiles. high quality underwater welds has led time, several w o r k e r s have been
to m u c h e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n and i n - studying the processes and phenom-
Introduction vestigation into both technical and ena of underwater welding on a
practical aspects of underwater weld- more fundamental scientific and e n -
Attempts to use underwater weld- ing (Ref. 2). In addition to the metal- gineering basis. Several workers in
ing for the repair and salvage of ships arc process, several approaches to Russia have r e p o r t e d on various
and other ocean engineering struc- underwater welding have been in- aspects of both shielded metal-arc
tures have been marginally success- vestigated including chamber weld- and thin wire (GMA) underwater weld-
ful since the early part of this century. ing (Refs. 3-8), gas metal-arc welding ing processes (Refs. 21-35). A l -
During the First World War period, (Refs. 9-13), gas metal-arc welding though they have laid few theoretical
bare electrodes wrapped with some enclosed in a movable, diver held foundations for the phenomena they
waterproofing material were used. chamber (Ref. 14), plasma arc weld- have observed, their observations are
Shielded metal-arc electrodes were ing (Refs. 15, 16) and explosive b o n d - many and precise. Dr. E. A. Silva has
utilized in underwater welding soon ing (Ref. 17). Although several of also done extensive work from this
after their introduction into the weld- these processes show potential for technical perspective (Refs. 36-39).
ing industry in the late 1920's. Prob- improving the quality of underwater During the last several years, a
lems of underwater visibility led to the welds, most research and investiga- series of research programs has been
adoption of a drag welding technique tion remains centered around the c o n d u c t e d at the D e p a r t m e n t of
for most underwater welding applica- shielded metal-arc process. Cham- Ocean Engineering of the Massachu-
tions in the early 1930's. Iron powder ber welding techniques are limited by setts Institute of Technology under
electrodes were developed in 1946 the high cost of a suitable chamber the direction of Professor K. Masu-
and were found to improve under- and the relatively few joint configura- buchi (Refs. 17, 40-47). The three-
water drag welding. The quality of tions which can be enclosed in a year program on "Fundamental Re-
chamber. Gas metal-arc welding pro- search on Underwater Welding" was
R. T. BROWN is Graduate Student and cesses have produced excellent u n - initiated on July 1, 1971. The objec-
K. MASUBUCHI is Professor at the De- derwater welds especially when used tive of the program is to better under-
partment of Ocean Engineering, Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology, Cam- in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h a m o v a b l e stand fundamentals of underwater
bridge, Massachusetts 02139. chamber. welding. The program covers the
Paper was presented at the 55th AWS The primary limitation of these following phases:
Annual Meeting held at Houston, Texas, processes is their increased c o m - Phase 1: Survey of fundamental in-
May fi-70, 1074 plexity, both in equipment and tech- formation on underwater
178-s i J U N E 1975
welding and cutting water welds. Because most under- appear to be significantly different for
Phase 2: A study of heat flow dur- water welding has been performed air welds. This suggests that the most
ing underwater welding under emergency conditions for sal- critical effects of the water do not
Phase 3: Mechanisms of metal vage or temporary repair to ships and begin to affect the weld until the weld
transfer in underwater offshore structures, each situation puddle has formed and begins to
arc welding has been s o m e w h a t u n i q u e and solidify.
Phase 4: Effects of water environ- therefore not easily compared with The remainder of this investigation
ment on metallurgical other underwater welding efforts or covers the microstructure and hard-
structures and prop- with air welding results. Although ness of u n d e r w a t e r S M A welds.
erties of welds some workers have provided c o m - H a r d e n i n g b e c o m e s very critical
Phase 5: Development of new, i m - parisons between air and water welds following welding. However, under-
proved underwater weld- (Refs. 16, 37, 41), the research re- water welding does not result in a
ing methods ported here attempts to provide more weld metal quench that is beyond
The program has been supported fundamental material upon which to modification and control. Larger weld
by the National Sea Grant Office of base general conclusions and in- beads, resulting from a higher heat in-
the National Oceanic and A t m o - sights into underwater welding metal- put, will give less hardening. Thus,
spheric Administration, Department lurgy. welding with a 1/8 in. electrode will
of C o m m e r c e . The W e l d i n g Re- The first useful i n f o r m a t i o n to cause more severe hardening than
search Council and Ishikajima-Hari- emerge from this investigation con- will a 3/16 in. electrode. Similarly,
ma Heavy Industries have provided a cerns the optimum welding param- higher heat inputs will decrease the
portion of matching funds for the pro- eter values during underwater SMA hardening effects. Localized marten-
gram during the second and the third (shielded metal-arc) welding with dif- site transformations appear in a l -
year.* ferent types and sizes of electrodes. A most all underwater welds i m m e d i -
comparison between these under- ately adjacent to the fusion line and
This paper presents primarily the
water optimum values and the cor- extending for less than 0.5 m m . The
work performed by R. T. Brown, and
represents a significant portion of responding optimum values in air
Phase 4. Details of the work are given indicate that underwater welding re-
in the M. S. thesis by Brown. quires a higher current for the same
A final report of the entire program arc voltage. The welding speed shows
is under preparation. no general trend between air welding
and water welding.
Another portion of the investiga-
Comparing Air and tion involves the weld bead shape
Water Welds characteristics of underwater welds
Although the basic mechanisms of compared with air welds. The largest
structural change are known and u n - variation in weld bead shape is
derstood, the highly transient and caused by changing the welding cur-
nonuniform nature of welding makes rent from nonoptimum to optimum
accurate microstructural prediction values. Penetration remains a func-
extremely difficult. Even if the weld tion of the welding current and is not
microstructure were completely de- strictly dependent on the electrode
termined, it is doubtful that the re- size or the welding medium. Under-
sulting mechanical properties could cutting is a problem for many of the
be accurately predicted. Thus, experi- underwater welds. The weld bead size
mental investigation and verification is quite similar for corresponding air
would be necessary. Similar uncer- and water welds, a l t h o u g h water
tainties in the physical manipulation welds tend to be narrower with a Fig. 1 — Correlation of the maximum
of the welding arc make a precise es- higher reinforcement. The general temperature with regions in the heat-af-
timation of the welding heat input shape of underwater welds does not fected zone
from specified welding conditions not
possible. The specific nature of the
links from the optimum welding c o n - 3000
ditions to the heat input and temper-
ature histories to the microstructural
formations to the mechanical joint 2500-
properties are not fully understood.
The approach to determining how
the heat transfer phenomena and
- 2000
microstructural transformations are
affected by underwater welding —
and thereby influence joint prop-
erties — has been to study the differ- I 500-
ences between air welding and under-
water welding. Since the basic weld-
ing metallurgy in air has been well I 000-
studied (Refs. 48-53), much under-
s t a n d i n g of u n d e r w a t e r w e l d i n g
metallurgy can be gained by examin-
ing the dissimilarity between air and 500
200-
sets of optimum welding condi-
tions and obtain conclusions or
make observations about the ef-
-a- \ \ fect of underwater welding on
\
Cooling rate a i 2 5mm from the fusion Una these conditions;
400- .
X
^ ^ V Underwaler welding conditions
j - ^ " ^ \ (E60I3 5/32")
3. C o m p a r e the g e o m e t r i c a l and
\ ^—-Air welding conditions microstructural properties of the
\ \ resulting weld beads and de-
T I M E I Seconds)
100 IOOO IOO0O IOO0O0
termine those characteristics
_1_ which are changed or modified as
* (B) Continuous Cool.ng Trgnsformotio
tr
- A j
properties of the underwater weld
\ Ro id Cooling Rotes —
beads with fundamental mechan-
= 500 - / /(2>
sX isms of underwater welding.
I i i
20 25 Optimum Welding Current
A 300 A ac-dc drooping charac-
Fig. 3 — Temperature histories of air welds Fig. 4 — Relationship between T and CCT teristic welding machine was used
compared to those of underwater welds diagrams for 0.2% C steel along with a strip-chart recorder to
AIR ISP)
S m i . l G I X AMPS SETT inn MO AVS
jjjjjjf^l nvfrt*'
\ ff^taff
20 jm/fj. 5SBS.
$
Mre
~ II)
TIME ISECMIDS)
Fig. 5 — Voltage and current recordings during air and underwater welding. (A) E7014 (1/8 in.) electrode: (B) E6027 (3/16 in.) electrode
180-s I J U N E 1975
measure and record the voltage and TABLE I
the current during welding. The cur- SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED WELDING PARAMETERS
rent ranges for the air weld spec- Air Welding Underwoter Welding
imens were approximated by c o n - Current Speed Current Speed
( amps) (ipm] (amps) (ipm)
sulting the manufacturer's suggested
I/8" E60II 1 60 ( B u r k e s , 1950)
values. The current ranges for the u n - E60I3 50-120 { Airco)
derwater welds were assumed to be 95-125 ( R.T. Brown , 1974 ) I I - 1 6 , p m 1 15-150 ( R. T B r o w n , 1974 ) 1 7 -24 .pm
E70I4 1 15-150 (Westinghouse)
10-20% higher based on previous 150-170 ( R.T B r o w n , 1974) 1 3 - 1 5 i p m 1 5 0 - 170 ( R.T. B r o w n , 1974) 11-15 ipm
published information. These E7024 140-180 (Westinghouse)
130-170 ( R.T. B r o w n , 1974 ) 1 2 - 1 4 ipm 170 + (R.T. Brown, 1974) 15 - 1 6 + ipm
previously suggested current values General I/8 140-150 (Levin , K i r l e y , 1972)
are summarized and compared with 8/32" E60I I 200 (Burkes, 1950)
the values obtained from this study in E60I3 1 2 0 - 190 ( W e s t i n g house) 170-190 ( N a v y , 1968) 13-16 ipm
200-260 (Silva, 1971)
Table 1. The optimum welding cur- 2 0 0 - 250 (Brown, 1973)
rent was obtained for each electrode 190-210 (Meloney , 1973) 1 2 - 1 5 ipm
150-170 ( R.T B r o w n , 1974 ) 1 5 - 1 9 ipm 160-190 ( R. T B r o w n , 1 9 7 4 ) 1 4 - 2 3 ipm
by examining the weld beads as they E70I4 120-190 (Airco ) 200-250 ( Brown, 1973)
appeared on the plate and by examin- 170-190 ( R.T B r o w n , 1974) 12 - 1 3 I pm 170-210 ( R.T. B r o w n , 1 9 7 4 ) 1 1 - 1 7 ipm
E7024 1 8 0 - 2 5 0 ( Westinghouse)
ing the geometrical characteristics of 240-280 ( S i l v a , 1971)
200-260 ( S i l v a , 1971 )
170 + ( R.T. B r o w n , 1974) II - 13+ipm
the cross sections. Visual inspection 1 70-210 ( R.T B r o w n , 1 9 7 4 ) 1 1 - 1 5 ipm
E6027 180-250 ( West mg house ) 2 4 0 - 280 ( S i l v a , 1971 )
of the welded plates involved examin- 250-300 ( S i I V O , 197 1) 140 + ( R. T, B r o w n , 1 9 7 4 )
ing the regularity and consistency of 1 30 + (R, T B r o w n , 1 9 7 4 ) 1 0 - 11+ipm 180-200 ( Levin, Kirley, 1972)
General 5 / 3 2 " 200-220 ( A v i l o v , 1955)
the weld beads. The cross-section '
analysis involved m a x i m i z i n g the 5/16" E60I3 100-210 ( W e s t i n g house ) 220-260 ( N a v y , 1968) 12-14 ipm
180-200 ( R.T B r o w n , 1 9 7 4 ) 1 5 - 1 7 ipm 200-240 ( R.T. B r o w n , 1974) 15-16 ipm
p e n e t r a t i o n to w i d t h ratio and E70I4 190-260 ( Westing house )
220 + ( R.T. Brown, 1 974) 7 - 8-Hpm
minimizing undercut and reinforce- 220-260 ( R.T B r o w n , 1 9 7 4 ) I I - 13 ipm
ment. E6027 250-325 (Westinghouse) 180 + ( R.T Brown , 1974) 8 —1 0+ipm
190-210 + (R.T Brown,1974) 1 0 - 1 3 ipm 220-270 ( A v i l o v , 1955)
The welding current ranges for air General 3/16 225-280 (Craf tweld)
welds recommended in this study
' = ----^
tend to be in the manufacturer's sug-
gested ranges. The underwater cur-
rent ranges are in all cases higher TABLE 2
than the air welding ranges. For the rlLLD BEAU WIDTH VARIATIONS FROM THE OPTIMUM OR 3EST CONDITIONS
E6013 ( 1 / 8 , 5 / 3 2 , 3/16 in.) elec-
trodes, this increase is 10-20 A. For
WATER (S?) WATER (RP) ! %
the E7014 (1/8, 5/32, 3/16 in.) elec-
trodes, the increase is 20-30 A. For
ELECTRODE AIR (S?)
WIDTH
VARIATION
tll.H 7
MAX
W i DTK
VARIATION
WIN % WIDTH m
the E7024 (1/8, 5/32 in.) electrodes,
the increase was not determined be- 3,2-4 80 1,6-4,8 33 3.2-6.4 53
E60I3 1/8"
cause actual welding currents above 4-6,4 62 5,5-8 70
E6013 5/32" 6,3-3 80
the air welding current range of 170- 5.6-8,6 64
6,3-8 80 6.4-9.6 65
220 A were not obtainable due to the E5013 3/16"
limiting effect of the elongated arc
length which occurred. Similarly, it
3-9.6 83 6.4-8 80 6.4-3 80
was impossible to specify the o p - E7014 1/8"
timum underwater welding current for 8-9,6 83 4.8-8 60 6.4-9,6 67
E7014 5/32"
the E6027 (5/32, 3/16 in.) electrodes. 11,2-14.4 78 9,6-12,8(0) 75 6,4-12,8 50
E7014 3/16"
The effect of an elongated arc
length on the actual welding current
can be demonstrated by noticing that, 12,8-14.4 89 4.8-12.8 37 6,4-9.6 £7
E7024 1/8"
for air w e l d i n g with E6013 elec- 9.5-12,8 85 8-11.2(0) 72 6.4-11.2 57
E7Q24 5/32"
trodes, there is no difference be-
tween the machine setting and the
9.6-12.8 75 6.4-9,6(0) 67 9,6-14.4 65
m e a s u r e d current values. Under- E6027 5/32"
water welding with E6013 produces 12,8-17.6 73 3.2-11,2(0) 29 6.4-11.2 57
E6027 3/16"
only slightly elongated arc lengths
and the differences between the ma-
chine settings and the m e a s u r e d
values are 10-20 A. For E7014 air Figure 5a is the strip chart record- unsatisfactory weld deposits when
welds, the actual current is identical to ing for E7014 (1/8 in.) electrodes and underwater welding with either E7024
the machine setting values. For u n - shows the initial underwater current (5/32 in.) or E6027 (5/32 in. and 3/16
derwater E7014 welds, the decrease readings equal to the machine setting in.) electrodes.
in observed current is 10-30 A, with but the s u b s e q u e n t decrease to The variability in arc length in-
larger current lags for the larger elec- values limited by the long arc lengths duces inconsistencies in the weld
trode (3/16 in). This effect becomes (due to the elongated flux barrel). bead deposit. The weld bead size and
more noticeable for E7024 and E6027 Figure 5b further illustrates this ef- penetration become irregular. This ef-
electrodes which both have a much fect with E6027 (3/16 in.) electrodes. fect is easily observable by compar-
thicker flux covering. For E7024 (1/8 Even in air, the elongated arc column ing various 5/32 in. electrode weld
in.) electrodes welded in air at a ma- results in a significant current differ- deposit widths. The minimum weld
chine setting of 190 A, the observed ence of 130 A at a machine setting of bead width for the best E6013 (5/32
current was 170 A, a decrease of 20 A. 300 A. Underwater welding intensifies in.) air weld is 80% of the maximum
For the same electrode welded u n - this effect and the chart recordings width. But for underwater welds, this
derwater at 200 A machine settings, show the accompanying variability in width variability increases so that the
the observed currents are only 150 the arc length. This difficulty in main- minimum width is only 64% of the
and 100 A for straight polarity and re- taining a constant arc length at a suf- maximum width. Values for E7014
verse polarity, respectively. ficiently high current results in very width variations increase from 83% in
182-s I J U N E 1 9 7 5
derwater speeds were 22 ipm (SP) factor of 3.9. The underwater SP weld gave a shape factor very similar to the
and 19 ipm (RP). Thus, the under- was narrower (5.5 mm) and gave a air weld of 3.3 The % reinforcement
water speed was slightly increased. shape factor of 2.4. The underwater values for these weld beads were
The air weld had a width of 8.5 mm, RP weld was not as narrow as the un- 35%, 42%, and 49%, respectively.
and thus a width/penetration shape derwater SP weld (7.5 mm), and thus This indicates that the air weld was
\(2024)
2
Curvent i ^ ^
HeatVnput;
2 2 mm
^ ^ I 9 5 \ a r r * s \ .
19 V j / i n ^
23 mm2
'
y /
/£05amp4
1 9 Kj/n o_
Penetration • 1 9/r\m 2.7 m A ">
Width.\ SJS m\n 8 . 7 ohm -,
Reinforcement / l m i 2. 1 / n m -
Shape f a c t o * /5.0 \ 3.2/ «
WM a r e a : \ / 39 mmn 4 0 mm2
Max. h a r d n e s s / 221 KHN\ 20pKHN
J20I3)
7 mm . 1 2rrm2
Current Current- \ \jrf0 aVp s 1 80 a m p s a.
H e a t inp Heat input - \ . S2y*> KJyjn Ao KJ/m*
Penetra Penet ration^ ^"*-» .9 mm\. JS 1. 6 mm or
Wid th' Width • 7.8 mm \*^ 8.2 mm UJ
Reinforcement • 2.4 Rein f o r c e m e n t ; 1 .5 mm 2.4 mm t
Shape factor- 3 3 Shape factor • 8.7 5 1 §
WM a r e a ; 30 WM a r e a : 1 7 mm2 2 7 mm2
Max. h a r d n e s s 590 KHN Max. hardness : 500 KHN 435 KHN
Fig. 6 — Weld bead shape characteristics for E6013 (5/32 in.) Fig. 7 — Weld bead shape characteristics for E7014 (5/32 in.)
electrodes. X 7.5, reduced 51% electrodes x 7.5, reduced 51%
p
I4 mm2 15 m m '
CuXrent ; — I 9 5n• m p s I95 amps
Hea K i n p u t : zY KJ/in 27 K J / m Q_
PenetYation • j^-fiLO mm I.7 mm y
Width \ < 9.5 mm I 1.6 mm or
Remforcernpnt 2.0 mm 2.1 mm
Shape factoNc 4.7 4.3
WM a rea : 30 mm2 3 8 mm2
Max. hard ness' 230KHN I80 KHN
Fig. 8 — Weld bead shape characteristics for E7024 (5/32 in.) Fig. 9 — Weld bead shape characteristics for E6027 (5/32 in.)
electrodes. X 7.5, reduced 51% electrodes. X 7.5, reduced 51%
184-s I J U N E 1 975
Of all the air weld samples, E6013 5/32 in. electrode series. Underwater welding.
(1/8 in.) welds produced the highest (SP) welds, with heat inputs of 13-18 1. The most basic observation is
hardness values over the largest kJ/in. gave only moderate hardening that larger heat inputs normally pro-
region. This is because the heat input in the weld metal of 200-300 Hk duce larger weld beads and that to-
to the weld beads was the smallest (100g). Although the characteristic gether they produce less hardening in
(6-10 kJ/in.), giving the most rapid "martensite spike" adjacent to the f u - the weld metal and the HAZ. The ef-
cooling rates and hardening that was sion line was present with a hardness fect remains unchanged between air
at least 275 Hk (100g). This indicates of 600 Hk (100g), this hardening de- and underwater welds.
that transformation products other creases to 250 Hk (100g) within 0.5 2. The HAZ widths in air welds are
than pearlite are present. The hard- m m . Underwater (RP) welds had 20-50% wider than the correspond-
ened HAZ extends for about 1.5 m m . slightly higher heat inputs of 11-24 ing water weld HAZ. This shows that
The underwater (SP) welds were kJ/in., and gave even less hardening the temperature gradients across the
extremely hardened to values above than the SP series. The martensite underwater HAZ are steeper, which
400 Hk (100g). The grains adjacent to spike region was hardened to only results from the more rapid heat dis-
the fusion line are very large and 400-500 Hk (100g). The HAZ widths of sipation rates.
hardened to 600 Hk (100 g). Harden- the underwater welds were 1-1.5 m m , 3. L o c a l i z e d m a r t e n s i t e t r a n s -
ing occurs in the weld metal itself giv- again showing the narrower HAZ due formations appear in almost all un-
ing an entire weld bead that is ex- to the rapid dissipation of heat u n - derwater welds immediately adja-
tremely hard and brittle. The under- derwater. cent to the fusion line, but extending
water (RP) welds appear less severe- Emerging from these specific for less than 0.5 m m .
ly hardened than the SP welds with a E6013 profiles, and also from those of 4. The primary mechanism of heat
hardness of 300-400 Hk (100g). The the other weld series, are several gen- dissipation from the weld bead ap-
m a x i m u m hardness in the grain eral trends providing insight into the pears to be conduction through the
coarsened region is less than 500 Hk hardening process in u n d e r w a t e r base plate rather than heat transfer
(100g). The heat input values for the
air and underwater welds were very
similar, being 5-10 k J / i n . The under-
water quench environment explains
the hardened underwater welds, but
does not account for any differences VICKERS E60I3-5/32
between SP and RP welds. However, MICROHARDNESS
the RP welds were in this case larger, (IOO grams) 200 600 200 600 200
indicating more of a heat input than
was perhaps measured. The larger
weld beads will cause a slightly slower
cooling rate and thus, give lower
hardness readings.
Figure 11 shows the E6013 (5/32
in.) series of microhardness profiles.
In the air welds, the size of the weld
b e a d s a n d the c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y
higher heat inputs are large enough to
reduce the hardening to below a value
of 250 Hk (100g). Underwater (SP)
welds resulted in weld metal harden-
ing of 400 Hk (100g). The HAZ region
adjacent to the fusion line reached a
hardness of 500 Hk (100g) and is pre-
dicted to contain martensite grains.
The hardness drops to base metal
hardness values within 0.5-1 m m , in-
dicating the extremely localized de-
posits of martensite. The entire HAZ
widths are more narrow than the air
welds because of the steepness of the
isothermal field lines in underwater
welding. Although the heat inputs to
both the air and underwater welds
were 10-13 kJ/in., the extent of heat
spreading in the water welds was only
50-70% of the spatial extent in air. The
underwater (RP) welds were slightly
more hardened than the SP welds,
due again to a slightly lower heat in-
put and smaller weld bead size.
The air hardness profiles of the
E6013 (3/16 in.) welds are very similar
to the 5/32 in. welds except that the
extent of the HAZ is larger, cor-
responding to the higher heat inputs
of 14-17 kJ/in. The HAZ widths were
1.5-2 m m . The underwater weld pro-
files show a striking decrease in
hardening from the previous 1/8 and Fig. 11 — Hardness profiles of welds made with E6013 (5/32 in.) electrodes
E60I3-3/I6 Ve r t i c a I
VICKERS Traverse
MICROHARDNESS
(IOO g r a m s ) 200 600 200 600 200 600 200
Ai r I
SP dendrite dendrite dendrite
I I I I I I I
Fusion
1031 ,_£32_ 1033
I I I -t-
I
coarsening coarsening coarsening
D istance refine refine r e f i ne
From
Fusion
Line base metal base metal base metal
(mm)
14.7 K J / i n 16 KJ/in 14 K J / i n
Water dendri t e
SP
Fusion
• mart.
D istance
From
Fu s i o n
Line
( mm)
18 K J / i n
Fig. 13 — Heat-affected zone microstruc-
ture of E7014 (5/32 in.) underwater weld
made at 150 A, reverse polarity, 21 kJ/in.
Water x 100, reduced 48%
RP
dendrite
1134 ture of an E7014 (5/32 in.) under-
Fu s ion
mart. water weld with a slightly lower heat
D istance refine input of 18 k J / i n . The martensitic
From
Fu s ion
grains are clearly seen adjacent to the
Line fusion line and also dispersed in a
(mm) portion of the grain refinement region
grouping
of the HAZ. Underwater welds show
I I striking changes in structure across
No Data the HAZ, unlike air welds which tend
to be much more homogeneous. The
hardness reading of 610 Hk (100g)
Fig. 12 — Hardness profiles of welds made with E6013 (3/16 in.) electrodes indicates the severe hardening that
does occur, while the lower readings
of 390 and 380 Hk (100g) on either
side show the very localized extent of
directly into the surrounding water. that underwater welding requires this hardening. Figure 15 provides yet
This can be further deduced by ex- more heat to extend the maximum another example of an underwater
amining the dendritic structure of u n - temperature profiles a given dis- weld HAZ. This E6013 (5/32 in.) weld
derwater weld beads which clearly tance. (This type of quantitative infor- has a heat input of only 11 k J / i n . and
show that the primary direction of m a t i o n is v a l u a b l e for c h e c k i n g the extent of the HAZ is much smaller.
heat flow was through the HAZ into n u m e r i c a l models of underwater But the martensite grains are still
the base plate. welding.) observable adjacent to the fusion line.
5. The best comparative measure Several microphotographs of un- Although not explicitly shown in
for predicting cooling rates comes derwater weld microstructures are in- these photographs, a complete anal-
from measuring the heat input by the cluded as representative examples of ysis of all underwater weld bead cross
weld size. This is because the aver- the peculiar structures found in un- sections made in this study have re-
age heat input value calculated from derwater welds, and are not primarily vealed no porosity problems. Porosity
the average current, voltage, and intended for quantitative analysis. has been reported to be a major dif-
speed may be less indicative of the Figure 13 shows the HAZ of micro- ficulty with underwater welds, but this
actual instantaneous heat input than structure (100x) of an E7014 (5/32 in.) was not experienced in the present
the weld bead size. underwater (RP) weld. The heat input work. The other c o m m o n underwater
6. The critical heat input that re- to this weld was 21 k J / i n . The very weld defect, underbead cracking, was
sults in an HAZ that extends to the coarse grains near the fusion line and not observed either, in spite of the
bottom of the 1/4 in. plate for an air the directional segregation in the den- martensite grains that were p r o -
weld is 25 k J / i n . For a water weld, it dritic weld metal are evidence of the duced directly under the weld beads.
takes 40 k J / i n . to extend the HAZ to rapid cooling rates. This may be explained in part by the
the bottom of the plate. This shows Figure 14 shows the microstruc- lack of restraint during bead-on-plate
186-S I J U N E 1975
testing.
:%••
Summary and Conclusion f- '
Ke • a i t. . J
Continuing with research at M.I.T. ... • f% %'
*.Ms-j-
on the basic processes and m e c h a n -
J*' ^ '"• [ .
AWS D10.10-75
Local Heat Treatment of Welds in Piping
and Tubing
In the manufacture of welded articles or structures in the shop or in
the field, it m a y be desirable, for a variety of reasons, to h e a t the weld
regions before welding (preheating), between passes (interpass heating),
or after welding (postheating). This document presents in detail the
various m e a n s commercially available for h e a t i n g pipe welds locally,
either before or after welding, or between passes. The relative a d v a n t a g e s
and d i s a d v a n t a g e s of each method are also discussed. Although the
document is oriented principally toward the h e a t i n g of welds in piping
and tubing, the discussion of the various h e a t i n g methods is applicable
to a n y type of welded fabrication.
Topics covered include the following:
• Measurement of Temperature
• Induction H e a t i n g
• Electric Resistance H e a t i n g
• Flame Heating
• Exothermic H e a t i n g
• Gas-Flame Generated Infrared H e a t i n g
• R a d i a n t H e a t i n g by Quartz L a m p s .
The price of AWS D10.10-75, Local H e a t T r e a t m e n t of Welds in
Piping a n d Tubing, is $3.50. Discounts: 25% to A a n d B members; 20% to
bookstores, public libraries a n d schools; 15% to C a n d D members. Send
your orders to the American Welding Society, 2501 N.W. 7th Street,
Miami, F L 33125. Florida residents add 4% sales tax.