HEAT TREATMENT OF BASE MATERIALS AND WELDED JOINT

1.1 Introduction
Heat treatment is an operation that is both time consuming and costly. It can affect the strength and
toughness of a welded joint, its corrosion resistance and the level of residual stress but is also a mandatory
operation specified in many application codes and standards. In addition it is an essential variable in
welding procedure qualification specifications.
Before discussing the range of heat treatments that a metal may be subjected to, there is a need to clearly
define what is meant by the various terms used to describe the range of heat treatments that may be
applied to a welded joint. Such terms are often used incorrectly, particularly by non-specialists; for a
metallurgist they have very precise meanings.

Fig. 1 Heat treatment of welded joints

1.2 Solution treatment
Carried out at a high temperature and designed to take into a solution elements and compounds which are
then retained in solution by cooling rapidly from the solution treatment temperature. This may be done to
reduce the strength of the joint or to improve its corrosion resistance. With certain alloys it may be
followed by a lower temperature heat treatment to reform the precipitates in a controlled manner (age or
precipitation hardening).
1.3 Annealing
This consists of heating a metal to a high temperature, where recrystallisation and/or a phase
transformation take place, and then cooling slowly, often in the heat treatment furnace. This is often
carried out to soften the metal after it has been hardened, for example by cold working; a full anneal
giving the very softest of microstructures. It also results in a reduction in both the yield and the tensile
strength and, in the case of ferritic steels, usually a reduction in toughness.

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1.4 Normalizing
This is a heat treatment that is carried out only on ferritic steels. It comprises heating the steel to some 30-
50°C above the upper transformation temperature (for a 0.20% carbon steel this would be around 910°C)
and cooling in still air. This results in a reduction in grain size and improvements in both strength and
toughness.
1.5 Quenching
This comprises a rapid cool from a high temperature. A ferritic steel would be heated to above the upper
transformation temperature and quenched in water, oil or air blast to produce a very high strength, fine
grained martensite. Steels are never used in the quenched condition, they are always tempered following
the quenching operation.
1.6 Tempering
A heat treatment carried out on ferritic steels at a relatively low temperature, below the lower
transformation temperature; in a conventional structural carbon steel this would be in the region of 600-
650°C. It reduces hardness, lowers the tensile strength and improves ductility and toughness. Most
normalized steels are tempered before welding, all quenched steels are used in the quenched and
tempered condition.
1.7 Ageing or Precipitation hardening
A low temperature heat treatment designed to produce the correct size and distribution of precipitates,
thereby increasing the yield and tensile strength. It is generally preceded by a solution heat treatment. For
steel, the temperature may be somewhere between 450-740 degree C, an aluminium alloy would be aged
at between 100-200°C. Longer times and/or higher temperatures result in an increase in size of the
precipitate and a reduction in both hardness and strength.
1.8 Stress relief
As the name suggests, this is a heat treatment designed to reduce the residual stresses produced by weld
shrinkage. It relies upon the fact that, as the temperature of the metal is raised, the yield strength
decreases, allowing the residual stresses to be redistributed by creep of the weld and parent metal.
Cooling from the stress relief temperature is controlled in order that no harmful thermal gradients can
occur.
1.9 Post heat
A low temperature heat treatment carried out immediately on completion of welding by increasing the
preheat by some 100°C and maintaining this temperature for 3 or 4 hours. This assists the diffusion of any
hydrogen in the weld or heat affected zones out of the joint and reduces the risk of hydrogen induced cold
cracking. It is used only on ferritic steels, where hydrogen cold cracking is a major concern i.e. very crack
sensitive steels, very thick joints etc.

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 2. Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT)
So what does the term 'post weld heat treatment' mean? To some engineers it is a rather vague term that is
used to describe any heat treatment that is carried out when welding is complete. To others however,
particularly those working in accordance with the pressure vessel codes such as BS PD 5500, EN 13445
or ASME VIII, it has a very precise meaning. When an engineer talks of post weld heat treatment,
annealing, tempering or stress relief it is therefore advisable.
Heat treatment following welding may be carried out for one or more of three fundamental reasons:
 to achieve dimensional stability in order to maintain tolerances during machining operations or during
shake-down in service
 to produce specific metallurgical structures in order to achieve the required mechanical properties
 to reduce the risk of in-service problems such as stress corrosion or brittle fracture by reducing the
residual stress in the welded component
The range of heat treatments to achieve one or more of these three objectives in the range of ferrous and
non-ferrous metals and alloys that may be welded is obviously far too extensive to cover in great detail
within these brief Job Knowledge articles. The emphasis in the following section will be on the PWHT of
carbon and low alloy steels as required by the application standards although brief mention will be made
of other forms of heat treatment that the welding engineer may encounter in the ferrous alloys. There are
two basic mechanisms that are involved, firstly stress relief and secondly micro-structural modifications
or tempering.
2.1 Stress Relief
Why is it necessary to perform stress relief? It is an expensive operation requiring part or all of the
welded item to be heated to a high temperature and it may cause undesirable metallurgical changes in
some alloys. As mentioned above there may be one or more reasons. The high residual stresses locked
into a welded joint may cause deformation outside acceptable dimensions to occur when the item is
machined or when it enters service. High residual stresses in carbon and low alloy steels can increase the
risk of brittle fracture by providing a driving force for crack propagation. Residual stresses will cause
stress corrosion cracking to occur in the correct environment eg carbon and low alloy steels in caustic
service or stainless steel exposed to chlorides.
What causes these high residual stresses? Welding involves the deposition of molten metal between two
essentially cold parent metal faces. As the joint cools the weld metal contracts but is restrained by the
cold metal on either side; the residual stress in the joint therefore increases as the temperature falls. When
the stress has reached a sufficiently high value (the yield point or proof strength at that temperature) the
metal plastically deforms by means of a creep mechanism so that the stress in the joint matches the yield

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strength. As the temperature continues to fall the yield strength increases, impeding deformation, so that
at ambient temperature the residual stress is often equal to the proof strength (Fig 1).
To reduce this high level of residual stress, the component is reheated to a sufficiently high temperature.
As the temperature is increased the proof strength falls, allowing deformation to occur and residual stress
to decrease until an acceptable level is reached. The component would be held at this temperature
(soaked) for a period of time until a stable condition is reached and then cooled back to room temperature.
The residual stress remaining in the joint is equal to the proof strength at the soak temperature.
Figure 1 shows that residual stress in a carbon manganese steel falls reasonably steadily from ambient to
around 600 degree C but that the high strength creep resistant steels need to be above 400 degree C before
the residual stress begins to fall. Stainless steel is hardly affected until the temperature exceeds 500
degree C. There is therefore a range of soak temperatures for the various alloys to achieve an acceptable
reduction in residual stress without adversely affecting the mechanical properties of the joint. In carbon
manganese steels this temperature will be between 550-620 degree C, in creep resistant steels somewhere
between 650-750 degree C and for stainless steels between 800-850 degree C.
2.2 Tempering
Tempering is a heat treatment that is only relevant to steels and is carried out to soften any hard micro-
structures that may have formed during previous heat treatments, improving ductility and toughness.
Tempering also enables precipitates to form and for the size of these to be controlled to provide the
required mechanical properties. This is particularly important for the creep resistant chromium-
molybdenum steels. Tempering comprises heating the steel to a temperature below the lower critical
temperature; this temperature being affected by any alloying elements that have been added to the steel so
that for a carbon-manganese steel, the temperature is around 650°C, for a 2¼CrMo steel, 760°C .
Quenched steels are always tempered. Normalised steels are also usually supplied in the tempered
condition although occasionally low carbon carbon-manganese steel may be welded in the normalised
condition only, the tempering being achieved during PWHT. Annealed steels are not supplied in the
tempered condition.
Tempering of tool steels may be performed at temperatures as low as 150 degrees C, but with the
constructional steels that are the concern of the welding engineer the tempering temperature is generally
somewhere between 550- 760°C, depending on the composition of the steel.

3. Preheat
Preheating involves heating the base metal, either in its entirety or just the region surrounding the joint, to
a specific desired temperature, called the preheat temperature, prior to welding. Heating may be continued
during the welding process, but frequently the heat from welding is sufficient to maintain the desired
temperature without a continuation of the external heat source. The interpass temperature, defined as the
base metal temperature between the first and last welding passes, cannot fall below the preheat
temperature. Interpass temperature will not be discussed further here. Preheating can produce many

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beneficial effects; however, without a working knowledge of the fundamentals involved, one risks
wasting money, or even worse, degrading the integrity of the weldment.

3.1 Why Preheat?

There are four primary reasons to utilize preheat: (1) it lowers the cooling rate in the weld metal and base
metal, producing a more ductile metallurgical structure with greater resistant to cracking (2) the slower
cooling rate provides an opportunity for any hydrogen that may be present to diffuse out harmlessly
without causing cracking (3) it reduces the shrinkage stresses in the weld and adjacent base metal, which
is especially important in highly restrained joints and (4) it raises some steels above the temperature at
which brittle fracture would occur in fabrication. Additionally, preheat can be used to help ensure specific
mechanical properties, such as notch toughness.
3.2 When Should Preheat be Used?
In determining whether or not to preheat, the following array of factors should be considered: code
requirements, section thickness, base metal chemistry, restraint, ambient temperature, filler metal
hydrogen content and previous cracking problems. If a welding code must be followed, then the code
generally will specify the minimum preheat temperature for a given base metal, welding process and
section thickness. This minimum value must be attained regardless of the restraint or variation in base
metal chemistry; however, the minimum value may be increased if necessary. An example is illustrated in
the next section.
When there are no codes governing the welding, one must determine whether preheat is required, and if
so, what preheat temperature will be appropriate. In general, preheat usually is not required on low carbon
steels less than 1 in, (25 mm) thick. However, as the chemistry, diffusible hydrogen level of the weld
metal, restraint or section thickness increases, the demand for preheat also increases. There are several
methods to determine the required preheat temperature for a given base metal and section thickness that
will be discussed in the next section.
3.3 Preheat Temperature Requirement
Welding codes generally specify minimum values for the preheat temperature, which may or may not be
adequate to prohibit cracking in every application. For example, if a beam-to-column connection is to be
fabricated with a low-hydrogen electrode made of ASTM A572-Gr50 and A36 jumbo sections (thickness
ranging from 4 to 5 in.), then a minimum prequalified preheat of 225°F (107°C) is required (AWS D1.1-
96, Table 3.2). However, for making butt splices in jumbo sections, it is advisable to increase the preheat
temperate beyond the minimum prequalified level to that required by AISC for making butt splices in
jumbo sections, namely 350°F (175°C) (AISC LRFD J2.8). This conservative recommendation
acknowledges that the minimum preheat requirements prescribed by AWS D1.1 may not be adequate for
these highly restrained connections.
When no welding codes are specified, and the need for preheat has been established, how does one
determine an appropriate preheat temperature? As a basis for discussion, consider AWS D1.1-96, Annex

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XI: "Guideline on Alternative Methods for Determining Preheat'' which presents two procedures for
establishing a preheat temperature developed primarily from laboratory cracking tests. These techniques
are beneficial when the risk of cracking is increased due to composition, restraint, hydrogen level or
lower welding heat input.
The two methods outlined in Annex XI of AWS D1.1-96 are: (1) heat affected zone (HAZ) hardness
control and (2) hydrogen control. The HAZ hardness control method, which is restricted to fillet welds, is
based on the assumption that cracking will not occur if the hardness of the HAZ is kept below some
critical value. This is achieved by controlling the cooling rate. The critical cooling rate for a given
hardness can be related to the carbon equivalent of the steel, which is defined as:
CE = C + ((Mn + Si)/6) + ((Cr + Mo + V)/5) + ((Ni + Cu)/15)
From the critical cooling rate, a minimum preheat temperature can then be calculated. (Blodgett's paper
entitled "Calculating Cooling Rates by Computer Programming'' outlines a calculation procedure based
on cooling rate, heat input, plate thickness, temperature at which cooling rate is critical, preheat
temperature, thermal conductivity and specific heat.) It should be pointed out, however, that "although the
method can be used to determine a preheat level, its main value is in determining the minimum heat input
(and hence minimum weld size) that prevents excessive hardening'' (Annex XI, paragraph 3.4,AWS D1.1-
96.)
The hydrogen control method is based on the assumption that cracking will not occur if the amount of
hydrogen remaining in the joint after it has cooled down to about 120°F (50°C) does not exceed a critical
value dependent on the composition of the steel and the restraint. This procedure is extremely useful for
high strength, low-alloy steels that have high hardenability. However, the calculated preheat may be too
conservative for carbon steels.
The three basic steps of the hydrogen control method are: (1) Calculate a composition parameter similar
to the carbon equivalent; (2) Calculate a susceptibility index as a function of the composition parameter
and the filler metal diffusible hydrogen content; and (3) Determine the minimum preheat temperature
from the restraint level, material thickness, and susceptibility index.
3.4 Application of Preheat
The material thickness, size of the weldment and available heating equipment should be considered when
choosing a method for applying preheat. For example, small production assemblies may be heated most
effectively in a furnace. However, large structural components often require banks of heating torches,
electrical strip heaters, or induction or radiant heaters.
A high level of accuracy generally is not required for preheating carbon steels. Although it is important
that the work be heated to a minimum temperate, it is acceptable to exceed that temperature by
approximately 100°F (40°C). However, this is not the case for quenched and tempered (Q&T) steels,
since welding on overheated Q&T steels may be detrimental in the heat affected zone. Therefore, Q&T
steels require that maximum and minimum preheat temperatures be established and closely followed.

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When heating the joint to be welded, the AWS D1.1 code requires that the minimum preheat temperature
be established at a distance that is at least equal to the thickness of the thickest member, but not less than
3 in. (75 mm) in all directions from the point of welding. To ensure that the full material volume
surrounding the joint is heated, it is recommended practice to heat the side opposite of that which is to be
welded and to measure the surface temperature adjacent to the joint. Finally, the steel temperature should
be checked to verify that the minimum preheat temperature has been established just prior to initiating the
arc for each pass.
3.5 Summary
Preheat can prevent cracking and/or ensure specific mechanical properties such as notch toughness.
Preheat must be used whenever applicable codes so specify; when no codes apply to a given situation, the
welding engineer must determine whether or not preheat is needed, and what temperature will be required
for a given base metal and section thickness.
Annex XI of AWS D1.1-96 provides guidelines for alternative methods of determining proper amounts of
preheat: the HAZ hardness control method, or the hydrogen control method.
Preheat may be applied in a furnace, or by using heating torches, electrical strip heaters, or induction or
radiant heaters. Carbon steels do not require precise temperature accuracy, but induction or radium
heaters, maximum and minimum preheat temperatures must be followed closely for quenched and
tempered steels.
4. Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT)
As mentioned in Part 1, PWHT is a specific term that encompasses both stress relief and tempering and is
not to be confused with heat treatments after welding. Such treatments may comprise ageing of aluminum
alloys, solution treatment of austenitic stainless steel, hydrogen release etc. PWHT is a mandatory
requirement in many codes and specifications when certain criteria are met. It reduces the risk of brittle
fracture by reducing the residual stress and improving toughness and reduces the risk of stress corrosion
cracking. It has, however, little beneficial effect on fatigue performance unless the stresses are mostly
compressive.
It is an essential variable in all of the welding procedure qualification specifications such as ISO 15614
Part 1 and ASME IX. Addition or deletion of PWHT or heat treatment outside the qualified time and/or
temperature ranges require a requalification of the welding procedures. PWHT temperatures for welds
made in accordance with the requirements of EN 13445, ASME VIII and BS PD 5500 are given below in
Table 1.

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Table 1: PWHT Temperatures from Pressure Vessel Specifications
Steel Grade BS EN 13445 ASME VIII BS PD 5500

Temp range Normal holding temp Temp range

°
°C C °C
C Steel 550-600 593 580-620
C 1/2 Mo 550-620 593 630-670
1Cr 1/2 Mo 630-680 593 630-700
2 1/4 Cr/Mo 670-720 677 630-750
5CrMo 700-750 677 710-750
3 1/2 Ni 530-580 593 580-620

Note from Table 1 that ASME VIII specifies a minimum holding temperature and not a temperature range
as in the BS and EN specifications.
As mentioned above, PWHT is a mandatory requirement when certain criteria are met, the main one
being the thickness. BS EN 13445 and BSPD 5500 require that joints over 35mm thick are PWHT’d,
ASME VII above 19mm. If, however, the vessel is to enter service where stress corrosion is a possibility,
PWHT is mandatory, irrespective of thickness. The soak time is also dependant on thickness. As a very
general rule this is one hour per 25mm of thickness; for accuracy, reference must be made to the relevant
specification.
These different requirements within the specifications mean that great care needs to be taken if a
procedure qualification test is to be carried out that is intended to comply with more than one
specification. A further important point is that the PWHT temperature should not be above that of the
original tempering temperature as there is a risk of reducing the strength below the specified minimum for
the steel. It is possible to PWHT above the tempering temperature only if mechanical testing is carried out
to show that the steel has adequate mechanical properties. The testing should, obviously, be on the actual
material in the new heat treatment condition.
Maximum and minimum heating and cooling rates above 350-400°C are also specified in the application
codes. Too fast a heating or cooling rate can result in unacceptable distortion due to unequal heating or
cooling and, in very highly restrained components, may cause stress cracks to form during heating.

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4.1 Application of PWHT
The method of PWHT depends on a number of factors; what equipment is available, what is the size and
configuration of the component, what soaking temperature needs to be achieved, can the equipment
provide uniform heating at the required heating rate? The best method is by using a furnace. This could be
a permanent fixed furnace or a temporary furnace erected around the component, this latter being
particularly useful for large unwieldy structures or to PWHT a large component on site. Permanent
furnaces may be bogie loaded with a wheeled furnace bed on to which the component is placed or a top
hat furnace that uses a fixed hearth and a removable cover. Typically, a furnace capable of heat treating a
150tonne pressure vessel would have dimensions of around 20m long, a door 5x5m and would consume
around 900cu/metres of gas per hour.
Furnaces can be heated using electricity, either resistance or induction heating, natural gas or oil. If using
fossil fuels care should be taken to ensure that the fuel does not contain elements such as sulphur that may
cause cracking problems with some alloys, particularly if these are austenitic steels or are nickel based –
corrosion resistant cladding for example. Whichever fuel is used the furnace atmosphere should be
closely controlled such that there is not excessive oxidation and scaling or carburisation due to unburnt
carbon in the furnace atmosphere. If the furnace is gas or oil fired the flame must not be allowed to touch
the component or the temperature monitoring thermocouples; this will result in either local overheating or
a failure to reach PWHT temperature.
Monitoring the temperature of the component during PWHT is essential. Most modern furnaces use zone
control with thermocouples measuring and controlling the temperature of regions within the furnace,
control being exercised automatically via computer software. Zone control is particularly useful to control
the heating rates when PWHT’ing a component with different thicknesses of steel. It is not, however,
recommended to use monitoring of the furnace temperature as proving the correct temperatures have been
achieved in the component. Thermocouples are therefore generally attached to the surface of the
component at specified intervals and it is these that are used to control the heating and cooling rates and
the soak temperature automatically so that a uniform temperature is reached. There are no hard and fast
rules concerning the number and disposition of thermocouples, each item needs to be separately assessed.
As mentioned earlier, the yield strength reduces as the temperature rises and the component may be
unable to support its own weight at the PWHT temperature. Excessive distortion is therefore a real
possibility. It is essential that the component is adequately supported during heat treatment and trestles
shaped to fit the component should be placed at regular intervals. The spacing of these will depend on the
shape, diameter and thickness of the item. Internal supports may be required inside a cylinder such as a
pressure vessel; if so, the supports should be of a similar material so that the coefficients of thermal
expansion are matched.

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Whilst heat treating a pressure vessel in one operation in a furnace large enough to accommodate the
entire vessel is the preferred method this is not always possible. In this case the pressure vessel
application codes permit a completed vessel to be heat treated in sections in the furnace. It is necessary to
overlap the heated regions – the width of the overlap is generally related to the vessel thickness. BS EN
13445 for instance specifies an overlap of 5√Re where R = inside diameter and e = thickness; ASME VIII
specifies an overlap of 1.5 meters. It should be remembered that if this is done there will be a region in
the vessel (which may contain welds) that will have experienced two cycles of PWHT and this needs to
be taken into account in welding procedure qualification testing. There is also an area of concern, this
being the region between the heated area within the furnace and the cold section outside the furnace. The
temperature gradient must be controlled by adequately lagging the vessel with thermally insulating
blankets and the requirements are given in the application codes.
It is, of course, possible to assemble and PWHT a vessel in sections and then to carry out a local PWHT
on the final closure seam.
Local PWHT will be discussed in the next part of this series on heat treatment.

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