Failure Behavior of Heat-Affected Zones within HSLA-100

and HY-100 Steel Weldments

D. CHAE, C.J. YOUNG, D.M. GOTO, and D.A. KOSS

The deformation and fracture behavior of simulated heat-affected zones (HAZ) within HSLA-100
and HY-100 steel weldments has been studied as a function of stress state using notched and unnotched
axisymmetric tensile specimens. For the case of the HSLA-100 steel, the results for fine-grained, as
well as coarse-grain HAZ (CGHAZ) material, show that, despite large differences in the deformation
behavior when compared to base plate or weld metal, the failure strains are only weakly dependent
on the thermal history or microstructure. Ductile microvoid fracture dominates the failure of the
HSLA-100 steel with small losses of ductility occurring in the HAZ conditions only at high stress
triaxialities. In contrast, the HY-100 steel is susceptible to a large loss of ductility over all of the
stress states when subjected to a severe, single-pass simulation of a CGHAZ. The ductility loss is
greatest at the high stress triaxiality ratio in which case failure initiation occurs by a combination of
localized cleavage and ductile microvoid fracture.

I. INTRODUCTION and unnotched axisymmetric tensile specimens.[19,20] Those

THE performance of welded structures is usually limited
by failure initiation within the heat affected zone (HAZ) of
the base plate, especially the coarse-grained HAZ (CGHAZ)
adjacent to the weld metal. In the case of high strength
steels, such as HY-100 and HSLA-100, designed for naval
applications, several studies have addressed the issue of
toughness degradation within weldments by determining
mechanical properties, such as the Charpy V-notch impact
energy at low temperatures, the dynamic tear energy transi-
tion behavior from drop-weight tests, and the elastic-plastic
fracture toughness response.[1–8] However, for structures
made with high toughness steels, such as HY-100 and HSLA-
100, and containing very small flaws, a local fracture
approach is often the preferred method to predict structural
failure.[9–13] Such a design methodology does not rely on
crack growth resistance or toughness parameters, but rather
it depends on a strain-based failure criterion that accounts
for the fact that material properties, as well as multiaxial
stress states within welded structures, vary on a local scale.
The success of such an approach relies on accurate determi-
nations of failure strains as a function of multiaxial stress
state[14–20] and for those microstructural conditions that limit
the performance of a welded structure.
In previous publications, we have examined the failure
behavior of HY-100 and HSLA-100 steels in the form of
base plate and as a function of stress state using notched
D. CHAE, formerly Graduate Research Assistant with the Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University,
is Research Engineer, Stainless Steel Research Group, Technical Research
Laboratories, Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., 1, Koedong-dong, Nam-ku,
Pohang, Kyungbuk 790-785, Republic of Korea. C.J. YOUNG, formerly
with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylva-
nia State University, is at 6701 King Court, Woodbridge, IL 60517. D.M.
GOTO, formerly Graduate Research Assistant with the Department of
Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, is
Engineer with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA
94551. D.A. KOSS, Professor, is with the Department of Materials Science
and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park,
PA 16802.
Manuscript submitted November 14, 2000.
results indicate a rapid decrease in failure strains with
increasing stress triaxiality ratio, where stress triaxiality ratio
is defined as the ratio of mean stress to equivalent stress.
Significant ductility was retained in the quenched-and-tem-
pered base plate even at the highest stress triaxiality ratio.
In the present study, we extend the previous work to include
those HAZ microstructures that are most likely to limit the
failure of a welded structure based on either HY-100 or
HSLA-100 steel: namely, a CGHAZ condition of both HY-
100 and HSLA-100 steels, as well as a fine-grained HAZ
(FGHAZ) microstructure of the HSLA-100 steel. In all cases,
we rely on a thermal simulation procedure to obtain the
representative microstructural conditions within the HAZ
using a Gleeble thermal simulator. As before,[19,20] notched
axisymmetric tensile specimens will be used to establish the
dependence of failure behavior on stress triaxiality for the
HAZ materials using the base plate failure response as a
benchmark.
Some important differences between the HY-100 and
HSLA-100 steels deserve comment. Both HY-100 and
HSLA-100 are high strength steels developed for naval
applications. While these HY-100 and HSLA-100 steels
share similar deformation behavior (the yield strengths are in
the 100 ksi range), they differ considerably in microstructural
features, such as inclusions and second-phase particles, and
in their response to the thermal conditions imposed within
a HAZ of a weldment.[5–8,21] The HY-100 steel is character-
ized by rather large (approximately 50-␮m long), elongated,
lath-shaped MnS inclusions and finely distributed carbides.
HY-100 also has sufficient alloy and carbon content (0.16
pct) to make it susceptible to a very high hardness within
the HAZ under conditions of rapid cooling to room tempera-
ture. In contrast, the HSLA-100 steel has smaller (typically
1 to 5 ␮m) spherical inclusions, a much lower carbon content
(0.06 pct) that results in comparatively few carbides in the
microstructure, and, importantly, a resistance to the forma-
tion of high hardness regions within a HAZ. In both cases,
the volume fraction of sulfides, which usually serves as the
primary site for void nucleation during fracture, is low. Given
the differences in the inclusion characteristics and in the

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001—2229

 Table I. Chemical Compositions of the Steels and 100S Wire Electrode Examined in the Current Study
Wt Pct C Mn P S Si Ni Cr Mo Cu Nb Ca
HY-100 0.16 0.26 0.008 0.009 0.22 2.62 1.32 0.25 0.14 — —
HSLA-100 0.06 0.86 0.011 0.003 0.26 3.45 0.75 0.60 1.56 0.034 0.0012
Weld electrode Mil-100S-1 0.08 max 1.25–1.80 0.012 0.008 max 0.20–0.55 1.40–2.10 0.30 max 0.25–0.55 — — —

anticipated response of these two steels to the thermal cycles

imposed during welding, we contrast the stress-state depen-
dence of the failure behavior between two simulated HAZ
conditions for each of these two steels. The failure behavior
of Mil-100S weld metal used in HSLA-100 weldments will
also be reported and compared to that of the base plate and
HAZ conditions.

II. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

A. Materials
The materials studied were HY-100 and HSLA-100 steel
base plates provided by the Caderock Division, Naval Sur- (a)
face Warfare Center (NSWC, West Bethesda, Maryland).
These two steels were in the form of commercial and hot-
rolled plates that had the chemical compositions listed in
Table I. The weld metal examined in this study was deposited
by multipass (5 passes), gas-metal arc welding using com-
mercially available Mil-100S-1 wire electrodes (manufac-
tured by ESAB Corp., Florence, South Carolina); see the
chemical composition in Table I.
The HY-100 steel base plate was in the form of a 25.4-
mm-thick plate that had been austenized at 900 ⬚C and
subsequently quenched and tempered at 593 ⬚C. The HSLA-
100 steel base plate was in the form of 19-mm-thick plate
that had been calcium treated for sulfide-shape control. That
plate was austenized at 904 ⬚C for 53 minutes and quenched
and tempered at 650 ⬚C for 53 minutes. It should be noted
that there is a small chemical difference in Ni content (b)
between this HSLA-100 and that used in a previous study.[19]
This HSLA-100 has a higher Ni content (3.45 pct vs 1.68
pct) than the previous HSLA-100 for which failure limit
diagram data were previously reported.[19] As will be shown
later in this study, these two versions of the HSLA-100
steel exhibit nearly identical failure behavior in the base-
plate condition.

B. Gleeble Simulation of HAZ Materials

The HAZ of a HSLA-100 steel weldment typically con-
sists of several regions with different microstructures,
depending on the location from the fusion line. A previous
study by Spanos et al.,[21] which was based on simulating
low heat input welding with little or no preheat of 2.25-in.-
(c)
thick HSLA-100 plate, identified two HAZ conditions that
exhibited very high hardnesses. Anticipating that these two Fig. 1—Gleeble thermal histories of (a) coarse-grain HAZ of HSLA-100
conditions might be most susceptible to a loss of ductility steel, (b) fine-grain HAZ of HSLA-100, the (c) partially reaustenitized
HAZ of HY-100 steel.
compared to the base plate, we used a Gleeble thermal
simulator to simulate the following two conditions: a
CGHAZ and a FGHAZ. For the HY-100 steel, the following Gleeble-heat treatments were performed at NSWC-Card-
two HAZ conditions were examined: (a) a CGHAZ and (b) erock using a Gleeble 1500 thermal cycle simulator. A rod-
a partially reaustenitized HAZ condition (PRHAZ). shaped specimen (16 mm in diameter ⫻ 115 mm in length)

2230—VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

was electrically heated with a rate of ⬃130 ⬚C/s to the peak
temperature. As depicted in Figures 1(a) and (b) for the
HSLA-100 steel, the peak temperatures for simulating a
CGHAZ and a FGHAZ were 1250 ⬚C and 900 ⬚C, respec-
tively. These temperatures were based on those required for
the initiation of austenization on heating (Ac1 ⬵ 720 ⬚C) and
to complete austenization upon heating (Ac3 ⬵ 810 ⬚C) as
determined from the dilatometry at the heating rate of
⬃130 ⬚C/s. The peak temperatures (1250 ⬚C and 900 ⬚C)
employed in the current HAZ simulations were all above
the temperature for complete austenization of the HSLA
steel (Ac3 ⬇ 810 ⬚C, as determined from dilatometry). In
addition, producing the CGHAZ requires that the peak tem-
perature be high enough to induce the abnormal grain
growth. The temperature at which the abnormal grain growth
occurs has been reported to be approximately 1100 ⬚C.[22]
Therefore, the peak temperature, 1250 ⬚C, which is well
above 1100 ⬚C, was chosen for simulating a CGHAZ in the
HSLA-100. Based on the Spanos et al. study,[21] a fast cool-
ing rate of approximately 60 ⬚C/s was chosen; no preheat
was employed.
In the case of the HY-100 steel, a peak temperature of
1250 ⬚C was chosen for the CGHAZ case after previous
experience showed that a peak temperature of ⬇1300 ⬚C
resulted in local melting within the microstructure.[23] As
with the HSLA-100 case, a “severe,” single-cycle heat treat-
ment was chosen for the CGHAZ based on a heating rate
of ⬇130 ⬚C/s followed by a rapid cool at a rate of ⬇60
⬚C/s. Examples of the single-cycle thermal profiles measured
during the Gleeble heat treatments are shown in Figure 1(a).
The PRHAZ condition was produced using the two cycles
shown in Figure 1(c). It was heated at ⬇130 ⬚C/s to 760 ⬚C
(Ac1 ⬍ Tpeak ⬍ Ac3), cooled to 180 ⬚C, and then subjected
to a second cycle to 650 ⬚C (Tpeak ⬍ Ac1) followed by a
cooling rate of about 20 ⬚C/s.
The uniformity of the microstructures of the Gleeble-
treated materials was probed using microhardness measure-
ments on the sectioned work-zone material. For both the
HSLA-100 and the HY-100 steels, these hardness data indi-
cate that the microstructures transverse to the specimen
diameter were fairly uniform after the Gleeble treatments,
and the lengthwise microstructure starts to change only near
the copper jaws, well removed from the failure location
within a test specimen.
Microstructural characterization using light microscopy
was performed on specimens etched with either 2 pct nital
solution to reveal the lath microstructure of the martensite
in particular, or with Marshall’s reagent to reveal the prior
austenite grain size. In the latter case, in order to reveal
the prior austenite grain boundaries, the specimens were
tempered at 500 ⬚C for 48 hours.[22]
C. Mechanical Test Procedure
To determine the influence of stress states on the failure
initiation behavior, circumferentially-notched tensile speci-
mens were tested using four different notch acuities, each
having a different radius of curvature, ␳, but the same initial
minimum notch diameter constant (2R ⫽ 7.62 mm). The
outer diameter of the notched specimens was equal to 15.24
mm, while the smooth bar specimens had a diameter of 7.62
mm and a gage length of 25 mm. The notch geometry, as
characterized by an R/␳ ratio, had the following range of
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
values: R/␳ ⫽ 2 (“D-notch specimen”), 1 (“A-notch speci-
men”), 0.5 (“B-notch specimen”), and 0.25 (“E-notch speci-
men”). In the case of the Gleeble-treated material, the
minimum cross-sectional area of the notch was located at
the middle of the work-zone material. The tensile bars were
tested with the stress axis oriented in the long transverse
direction of the plate; this is an orientation known to result
in the minimum ductility of the HY-100.[20] The tensile speci-
mens were tested at an initial strain rate of 10⫺3/s to deter-
mine the failure behavior. We used the experimental
procedure developed earlier[20] in which the onset of failure
is determined using a criterion in which the loss of stress-
carrying capacity of the material due to internal damage is
separated from that due to specimen necking by careful
examination of the characteristics of the load-displace-
ment slope.
In the case of the weld metal, tensile testing was performed
with the circumferentially-notched specimens directly ma-
chined from the weldment in the as-deposited condition.
Subsized circumferentially-notched tensile specimens (2R ⫽
4.47 mm) were used in the E-notch and D-notch specimen
configurations. The notch center in the subsized specimen
was located in the middle of the deposited weld metal to
focus the deformation in a small material volume of the as-
deposited weld metal. It is important to recognize that a
separate study of specimen size effects on failure of HY-
100 steel indicates no specimen size effect between speci-
mens with minimum diameters of 4.47 and 7.62 mm, which
are the two conditions in question here.[24]
Compression testing was also performed to obtain the
stress-strain behavior using cylindrical specimens with a
height and diameter equal to 6.35 mm. Prior to placing the
specimens on the platens, molybdenum disulfide lubricant
was applied on the specimen end-faces to decrease frictional
effects. In order to obtain a total strain value of ⬃0.5, the
test was performed in two increments to decrease frictional
effects. Following the first strain increment to a strain value
of ⬃0.25, the test was interrupted, the samples were relubri-
cated, and the second increment started until a total strain
value of ⬃0.5 was achieved on the specimens.
Having measured the specimen diameter contraction at
failure initiation and knowing the stress-strain response of
the material, we subsequently used finite element analysis
to determine the local stress-strain conditions at the center
of the minimum cross-sectional area of the notch where
failure initiated. Using procedures described previously,[19,20]
axisymmetric finite element analyses were performed for
each specimen geometry to determine the stress and strain
states at failure initiation at the center of the minimum cross-
sectional area of the notch. The finite element analysis code,
ABAQUS, was used to determine the mean stress, ␴m , equiv-
alent stress, ␴eq , and equivalent plastic strain, ␧eq , in order
to identify the failure initiation condition in terms of the
stress triaxiality ratio, ␴m/␴eq , and the equivalent plastic
failure strain, ␧f,eq at the failure initiation site. Fractography
was performed after tensile testing using scanning electron
microscopy (SEM).
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Microstructural Response
The rationale for the heat treatments imposed on the
HSLA-100 originated from a study by Spanos et al., who
VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001—2231
used dilatometry to investigate the microstructural changes
in a HSLA-100 steel that was thermally cycled to simulate
the HAZ of a thick, 57-mm base plate.[21] These investigators
imposed single-pass thermal histories in which two cooling
rates, 5 ⬚C/s and 60 ⬚C/s (between 800 ⬚C and 500 ⬚C) were
employed to simulate the microstructures induced by high
heat input and low heat input welding, respectively. For
each cooling rate, four typical HAZ microstructures were
produced by changing the peak temperatures. Microhardness
measurements that were performed on each microstructural
condition showed that the highest hardness region occurs in
the FGHAZ rather than in the CGHAZ if the heat input is
low (corresponding to the cooling rate of 60 ⬚C/s). The
presence of untempered martensite with a very small packet
size was suggested as the reason for the high hardness in
the FGHAZ. Spanos et al. suggest that, among the low heat
input microstructures, the FGHAZ may be the region of the
highest susceptibility to hydrogen-induced cracking.[21] We
also speculated that this high hardness condition might show
inferior fracture resistance, despite its fine grain size.
Assuming that the low heat input condition is most likely
to produce those HSLA-100 microstructures (both coarse-
grained and fine-grained) least resistant to fracture, the pres-
ent study examines the failure resistance of the low heat input
(rapid cooling rate) microstructures. Therefore, CGHAZ, as
well as FGHAZ conditions with low heat input (the cooling
rate of 60 ⬚C/sec), were chosen as the model HAZ conditions.
In short, the current study examines the extreme case where
the simulated HSLA-100 HAZ is likely to show the highest
susceptibility to fracture.
In the subsequent discussion, we also present limited Fig. 2—Microhardness profile along the “arrow path” across 100S weld
microstructure and hardness observations based on a metal and the HAZ within a HSLA-100 multipass (five passes) weldment.
multipass weldment of a HSLA-100 steel plate that is smaller
in thickness (19 mm) than that used in the Spanos et al.
study (57 mm). These observations are presented to compare
weldments of the HSLA-100 and HY-100 steels, respec-
our simulated, single-pass HAZ (the so-called worst case
tively. For the HSLA-100, the grain sizes and the appear-
condition) with an actual multipass HAZ and to show that
ances of the microstructures of the simulated HAZ materials
the microstructures and hardness are, in fact, fairly similar and the weldment HAZ regions are similar despite the antici-
in these two cases. pated slowing cooling rates in the weldment (Figure 3).
As is well known, the hardness values for weldments of Furthermore, while the as-received base plate (quenched and
these two steels depends on the proximity to the fusion line, aged) has a predominantly lathlike microstructure with the
an example of which is shown in Figure 2 for the HSLA- average prior austenite grain size of 16 ␮m, the simulated
100 steel. For this particular case, the 19-mm-thick steel HAZ materials consist of untempered martensites. Although
plate was welded with no preheat at 4.7 to 5.8 KJ/mm, which the grain sizes varied somewhat with location within the
correponds to levels of heat input such that cooling rates particular region of the HAZ, the average prior austenite
should be slower than the 60 ⬚C/s used in the Gleeble simula- grain size of 67 ␮m within the CGHAZ was much larger
tions. Nevertheless, hardnesses of ⬇350 to 360 Hv are than that (8 ␮m) of the FGHAZ.
observed in the CGHAZ region, and ⬇330 to 350 Hv are Figure 4 shows that the microstructure obtained in the
measured in the FGHAZ material. That CGHAZ value is Gleeble-treated HY-100 is fairly similar to that within the
greater than the 315 Hv for the Gleeble-simulated CGHAZ; coarse-grain region of the multipass weldment, again despite
the simulated FGHAZ has a similar hardness (330 Hv) to the somewhat slower cooling rate and tempering anticipated
that of the FGHAZ within the weldment. In the HY-100 in the multipass case. The prior austenite grain sizes do
steel with a base-plate hardness of 260 Hv, the simulated differ somewhat (92 ␮m for the Gleeble simulated structure
CGHAZ material had very high hardnesses of ⬇440 Hv, and 112 ␮m for the weldment CGHAZ). The simulated
which compare to a hardness of 420 Hv within the CGHAZ CGHAZ HY-100 is essentially untempered martensite, and
region of a preheated multipass (26 passes) weldment of a as such, it has a higher hardness (⬇440 Hv) when compared
25-mm-thick HY-100 steel plate. The increased hardness of to the slightly tempered weldment CGHAZ (⬇420 Hv).
the CGHAZ simulated HY-100 is a result of the severe, Light micrographs, as well as SEM fractographs taken from
single-pass heat treatment imposed with a high cooling rate the simulated HAZ materials, showed no sign of local melt-
(Figure 1(a)). ing of the inclusions. This result also suggests that the short
Figures 3 and 4 compare the microstructures of the simu- times encountered during the Gleeble heat-treatment should
lated HAZ materials with those of the HAZ regions in the not significantly change the inclusion characteristics.

2232—VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001 METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

Fig. 3—Light micrographs of HSLA-100 steel showing (a) the as-simulated CGHAZ, (b) the CGHAZ from the weldment, (c) the as-simulated FGHAZ,
and (d ) the FGHAZ from the weldment.
The Mil-100S weld metal microstructure in the as-depos-
ited multipass weld of a HSLA-100 base plate consists pri-
marily of acicular ferrites with an inclusion volume fraction
of the weld metal (Vf ⬇0.00072 ⫾ 0.00010). Although this
inclusion content is similar to that of the HSLA base plate
(Vf ⬇0.00065 ⫾ 0.00010), the size distribution of the inclu-
sions was quite different between the weld metal and the
base plate. In the case of the base plate, while most of the
inclusions have an average size of ⬇1 ␮m in diameter, the
volume fraction of these small inclusions (⬇1 ␮m) is less
than 10 pct of the total volume fraction. In fact, the dominant
contribution to the volume fraction of inclusions in the base
plate is from inclusions greater than 10 ␮m in size. In the
case of the weld metal, the small inclusions (⬇1 ␮m) domi-
nate the total volume fraction such that a large population
of small inclusions (⬇1 ␮m) constitute 70 pct of the total
volume fraction. Inclusions greater than 5 ␮m in size were
not detected on either the metallographic sections or the
fracture surfaces of failed 100S weld metal specimens.
There is also a significant difference in inclusion micro-
structures in the two base-plate materials. The inclusion
volume fraction of the HSLA-100 base plate was ⬵0.00065
and consisted of predominantly spherical inclusions with a
“bull’s-eye” type[25] microstructure due to the presence of
elements, such as Ca. In contrast, despite its higher level of
sulfur, the HY-100 steel has a lower volume fraction of
inclusions (⬵0.00015), but these were dominated by large,
lath-shaped MnS elongated in the rolling direction. We note
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
that the HY-100 steel is chemically banded such that the
inclusions are concentrated in bands roughly 26 ␮m wide
and spaced 54 ␮m apart.[26] A detailed description of the
density and size/spatial distributions of MnS inclusions
within the HY-100 steel used in this study may also be
found elsewhere.[27]
B. Deformation Response
Given the significant differences in the thermal treatments
imposed on these two steels, we compare in Figures 5 and
6 the stress-strain responses of the HSLA-100 and HY-100
steels over the range of microstructural conditions induced
by the simulated HAZ treatments. For the case of the HSLA-
100, Figure 5 indicates that the undermatched 100S weld
metal is much softer than the base metal (about 30 pct lower
yield strength), while the HAZ materials have significantly
higher yield and flow stresses. As expected from previous
research[21] (and also as indicated by the hardness measure-
ments), the FGHAZ condition of the HSLA-100 shows the
highest yield strength. For example, the FGHAZ condition
has a yield stress 30 pct greater than that of the base plate
and 85 pct greater than that of the weld metal. While the
100S weld metal has the lowest yield stress, it also exhibits
the highest strain-hardening exponent (n ⫽ d ln ␴/d ln ␧ ⫽
0.12), which compares to n ⫽ 0.077 for the base plate and
the low value of n ⫽ 0.035 for the FGHAZ. Thus, based
VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001—2233

Fig. 4—Light micrographs of HY-100 steel showing (a) CGHAZ region
from the weldment and (b) the as-simulated CGHAZ.
Fig. 5—Compressive stress-strain responses of HSLA-100 steel base plate,
simulated CGHAZ and FGHAZ materials, and 100S weld metal.
on these simulated heat treatments, a wide range of stress-
strain responses are anticipated within a HSLA-100 steel
weldment.
As shown in Figure 6, the simulated CGHAZ of the HY-
100 steel has a much higher yield stress than the base plate,
approximately 1250 MPa as opposed to the 700 MPa yield
2234—VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001
Fig. 6—Compressive stress-strain responses of HY-100 steel base plate,
the simulated CGHAZ material, and the PRHAZ material.
strength for the base plate. In contrast, the PRHAZ condition
shows a stress-strain response similar to that of the base
plate except for slightly higher strain hardening. It should
be recalled that the single cycle/rapid cool heat treatment
imposed on the HY-100 is likely to simulate the most severe
heat treatment a HY-100 HAZ might experience within a
multipass weldment. Thus, the difference in flow stresses
between the HY-100 base plate and the simulated CGHAZ
condition in Figure 6 is expected to represent the extreme
of the range of deformation responses expected within a
HY-100 weldment.
C. Failure Behavior
Material failure in this study is defined as that condition
in which the material damage is sufficiently severe such that
the stress-carrying capacity is measurably degraded. Thus,
using the procedure described elsewhere,[19,20,26] failure initi-
ation was determined experimentally as that point at which
the load-diametric contraction curve showed an abrupt drop
during the tensile test. This test procedure had the sensitivity
to detect roughly a 2 pct load loss due to damage accumula-
tion, which is consistent with a 3 pct area fraction of micro-
voids present on the fracture surfaces of specimens that were
strained to failure and subsequently fractured by cleavage
at liquid nitrogen temperatures.[20] In addition to the above
determination of failure strains, specimen fracture strains,
␧f , were also calculated for the HY-100 steel using initial
d0, and final diameter, df , measurements taken from the
broken tensile specimens and using the expression: ␧f ⫽ 2
ln (d0/df).
The failure limit diagrams of base-plate materials, as well
as simulated HAZ materials (a CGHAZ and a FGHAZ), are
presented in Figure 7 for HSLA-100 and in Figure 8 for
HY-100. The base-plate data are a combination of results
from both high Ni and low Ni base-plate materials; within
experimental error, these two versions of HSLA-100 have
identical failure limits, which is consistent with their similar
inclusion contents. As shown in Figure 7, both HSLA-100
HAZ materials exhibit failure behavior comparable to each
other over the entire range of imposed stress triaxialities
investigated. Furthermore, both HAZ materials exhibit
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

Fig. 7—Failure limit diagrams for the simulated CGHAZ and FGHAZ
conditions of a HSLA-100 steel weldment. The base-plate and weld-metal
behaviors are shown for comparison.
Fig. 8—Failure limit diagrams for the base plate and two simulated HAZ
conditions within a HY-100 steel weldment. Note that, for the base plate,
(⫹) denotes failure initiation due to equiaxed void growth and coalescence,
while (⫻) denotes failure initiation due to the void-sheet process.[19,20]
somewhat smaller equivalent plastic strains to initiate failure
at high stress triaxialities. In short, the HAZ conditions of
HSLA 100 remain ductile but with a somewhat reduced
level of ductility at high stress triaxialities. However, the
failure limit data between HAZ materials and the base-plate
overlap at lower stress triaxialites (␴m/␴eq ⬍ 1) and are
within the experimental scatter.
As is also shown in Figure 7, the failure curve for Mil-
100S weld metal is nearly identical with that of the base
plate. The similar failure behavior occurs despite the fact
that the 100S alloy is significantly softer than the base plate
and contains smaller inclusions. All inclusions in the 100S
are less than 5 ␮m in size, while those inclusions that domi-
nate the volume fraction values in the HSLA-100 have sizes
greater than 10 ␮m. Recalling that the inclusion content of
the weld metal (Vf ⬇0.00078 ⫾ 0.00010) is comparable to
that of the HSLA-100 steel base plate (Vf ⬇0.00065 ⫾
0.00010) and assuming similarly small void nucleation
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
strains, the previous results are consistent with the hypothesis
that the ductile fracture resistance of these two steels is
controlled by the inclusion content. Matrix microstructure
and the associated deformation behavior appear to play only
minor roles in determining the tensile ductility over a range
of stress states.
The magnitude of the failure strains within the simulated
HAZ materials (Figure 7) suggests failure of the HSLA-100
by a ductile microvoid fracture process. As shown in Figure
9, the dimpled fracture surface features confirm ductile frac-
ture as a result of the coalescence of equiaxed microvoids.
Dimples having a wide range of size distribution but includ-
ing those up to 50 ␮m in diameter were found on the fracture
surfaces of both the HSLA base plate and the HAZ materials.
In contrast, the dimples on the fracture surface of the weld
metal were quite small (ⱕ10 ␮m in diameter), and they
have a relatively uniform size distribution. Such behavior
is also consistent with the role of the inclusions in controlling
fracture. Only small inclusion (⬍5 ␮m) are present in the
weld metal microstrucre, while the base plate and HAZ
conditions contain inclusions with a range of sizes up to 20
␮m in diameter; these differences in inclusion sizes are
readily evident in the sizes of the particles at the bases of
the dimples in Figure 9. Finally, it is significant that we did
not find any evidence of cleavage in the central region of
the HSLA-100 specimens where failure initiates. The only
instance of cleavage being detected occurred near the shear
lip on the fracture surface of the D-notch of the CGHAZ
material, and such a location would be associated with frac-
ture propagation, not failure initiation.
Taken as a whole, the HSLA-100 steel failure limit data
and fracture surface observations indicate that, although
there are differences in the stress-strain response between
the base plate and HAZ conditions due to the thermal history
(Figure 5), a ductile fracture process persists, and the
resulting failure strains are only weakly dependent on the
microstructures. Such an inference is consistent with the
premise that, barring any change in fracture mechanism
and given the observed small void nucleation strain,[28] the
ductile fracture process in this steel is controlled primarily
by inclusion content, which remains similar among these
heat-treat conditions. It should also be recognized that in
alloys where void nucleation is difficult and requires a sig-
nificant strain, increasing the material yield strength, such
as within a HAZ, should enhance void nucleation. Unlike our
situation, microstructure changes that increase yield strength
should contribute to a decreased ductility in this latter case.
In contrast, as shown in Figure 8, the Gleeble-simulated,
CGHAZ HY-100 steel shows a definite loss of failure strains
(i.e., the strain at the onset of material failure) for all stress
triaxialities. These data are confirmed by measurements of
the fracture strains based on the measurements of the speci-
men diameter after fracture. In this case, the CGHAZ mate-
rial exhibits fracture strains roughly 40 pct of those of the
base plate. At low stress triaxialities (␴m/␴eq ⱕ 1), the failure
remained ductile and was characterized by dimpled fracture
surfaces. As in previous observations,[19,20,26] the fracture
surface of the low stress triaxiality specimens was dominated
by the coalescence of equiaxed voids (Figure 10(a)), while
the void-sheet mode of void coalescence was evident in the
higher triaxiality (␴m/␴eq ⬇ 1) specimens (Figure 10(b)).
Such behavior is consistent with the failure behavior of
VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001—2235
Fig. 9—SEM images of the fracture surfaces of high stress triaxiality ratio D-notch specimens (␴m/␴eq ⫽ 1.4) for (a) HSLA-100 base plate, (b) simulated
CGHAZ of HSLA-100, (c) simulated FGHAZ HSLA-100, and (d ) 100S weld metal.
HY-100 steel in which two ductile failure mechanisms are
present: a void coalescence process in which relatively equi-
axed voids grow to impingement and a void-sheet process
that links elongated inclusion-initiated voids by a shear
instability.[19,20,26]
At the highest stress triaxiality ratio (␴m/␴eq ⬇ 1.2), failure
of the CGHAZ HY-100 steel shows a pronounced departure
from the fracture mechanism observed in the lower stress
triaxiality conditions. As shown in Figure 10(c), along with
microvoid coalscence, cleavage fracture is now clearly visi-
ble in regions spanning several grain diameters. Thus, frac-
ture initiation in this case occurs as a result of a mixture of
cleavage and ductile fracture with the fraction of cleavage
fracture in the failure initiation region being approximately
13 pct. This level of cleavage appears to be large enough
to interfere with the void-sheet process normally seen in
HY-100 at high stress triaxialities; rather, the ductile fracture
present occurs by coalescence of equiaxed voids, similar to
that in low stress triaxiality conditions. Since a significant
level of cleavage occurs in the failure initiation region,
clearly perturbing the fracture process, we conclude that
localized cleavage is responsible for the low ductility exhib-
ited by the CGHAZ HY-100 steel at the highest stress
triaxiality.
Finally, a comparison of the failure limit diagrams
between the simulated HAZ conditions of these two steels
(Figures 7 and 8), as well as the associated fractography
(Figures 9 and 10), indicates the the HSLA-100 steel weld-
ment should exhibit a superior fracture resistance when com-
pared to a HY-100 weldment. Such a result is consistent
with the Charpy V-notch transition curves of the CGHAZs
2236—VOLUME 32A, SEPTEMBER 2001
of HSLA-100 and HY-100 steels that show significantly
higher notch toughnesses at elevated temperatures in the
HSLA-100.[3,4] Also, previous results indicate improved
resistance to hydrogen cracking of HSLA-100 weldments
compared to HY-100.[5,6,8] Thus, while a principal objective
in developing HSLA-100 steel was a reduction in hull fabri-
cation costs,[5,6,8] HSLA-100 weldments should also perform
better than their HY-100 counterparts under conditions lim-
ited by tensile failure under multiaxial stress states.
IV. SUMMARY
For the case of the HSLA-100 steel, when the failure
behavior of the two simulated HAZ conditions is contrasted
with those of the base plate, as well as the Mil-100s weld
metal, our results indicate small losses of failure strains in
the simulated HAZ conditions only at high stress triaxialities.
The similarity in ductility behavior occurs despite the pres-
ence of pronounced differences in deformation behavior
(yield stresses ranging from 585 to 1080 MPa), as well as
microstructures (untempered martensite to acicular ferrite)
among these four conditions. Importantly, fractography con-
firms that failure always occurs by a ductile fracture process
involving the coalescence of equiaxed microvoids. These
results are thus consistent with the ductile failure of this
type of steel being dominated by the volume fraction of
inclusions, at least for the present case where void nucleation
is easy. Thus, given the similar inclusion shape and content,
the HAZ materials, as well as the weld metal, exhibit failure
strains comparable to those of the base plate, despite the
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

Fig. 10—SEM images of the fracture surfaces of HY-100 in the simulated
CGHAZ condition failed at (a)␴m/␴eq ⫽ 0.70, (b) ␴m/␴eq ⫽ 1.05, and (c)
␴m/␴eq ⫽ 1.25.
significant differences in inclusion sizes, microstructures,
and hardnesses.
In contrast to the HSLA steel, the failure of HY-100
steel is quite sensitive to a severe, single-pass coarse-grain
simulated HAZ condition in which a hard (1250 MPa yield
strength), untempered martensite is present. While ductile
fracture is retained at low to intermediate stress triaxialities,
the failure strains decrease significantly in the CGHAZ con-
dition. Moreover, at the highest stress triaxiality ratio, this
condition induces localized cleavage fracture in the HY-100.
Although the associated fracture remains primarily ductile,
the presence of this alternate mode of fracture accelerates
the fracture process such that there is a pronounced decrease
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
in failure strains in the CGHAZ HY-100 under conditions
of high stress triaxiality.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are very grateful to J. Blackburn, D. Meldrom,
and R. DeNale in performing the Gleeble heat treatments.
Comments and discussions with E. Czyryca and J. McKirgan
are very much appreciated. We also appreciate very much
the encouragement of George Yoder and financial support
of the Office of Naval Research. One of the authors (DC)
acknowledges the support of the POSCO Scholarship So-
ciety.
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