Materials

& Design
Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906
www.elsevier.com/locate/matdes

Effects of welding processes on the mechanical properties

of HY 80 steel weldments
P. Yayla *, E. Kaluc, K. Ural
Mechanical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Kocaeli University, 41040 Kocaeli, Turkey

Received 25 July 2005; accepted 31 March 2006

Available online 23 June 2006

Abstract

Different welding techniques are used in this study to evaluate the mechanical performance of weldments of HY-80 steel. Weldments
are prepared using different welding processes such as shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, and submerged metal arc. The
objective is to determine the optimum welding method for the steel. After welding, the effects of welding methods on weld metal micro-
structure and mechanical properties including weld metal tensile strength and Charpy V-notch impact toughness over the temperature
range 20 to 20 C are investigated. Charpy impact and tensile tests are performed on standard notched specimens obtained from the
welded and main sections of the material. The hardness distribution measurements on the differently welded specimens are conducted in
order to gain a deep insight of different welding methods.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: High strength low alloy steel; HY 80 Steel; Heat affected zone; Weld toughness; Mechanical properties; Weldability

1. Introduction achieved. In such cases, a suitable welding method with a

A group of low alloy steels designed to provide better
mechanical properties and greater resistance to atmo-
spheric corrosion than conventional carbon steels are
known as ‘‘high strength low alloy’’ steels, or HSLA steels
in short. This steel is also named as ‘‘Fine grained struc-
tural steels’’ in the European literature.
Traditional welding design practices require the use of
weld metal with higher yield strength than the base metal.
For the steels with yield stress up to 350 N/mm2 the desired
weld metal strength overmatch can be obtained without
any special precautions. In the case of high strength steels
with yield strength over 550 N/mm2, this high yield
strength of weld metal often restricts the welding process
by which an adequate weld metal toughness can be
* controlled, has often posed problems, particularly in
Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 262 335 1148; fax: +90 262 335 2812.
E-mail address: pyayla@kou.edu.tr (P. Yayla).
optimised welding procedure is likely to result in a weld-
ment maintaining the structural integrity of welded
structures.
The HY-80 steel, getting its name from its minimum
yield strength of 80 ksi or 550 N/mm2, is a high-strength
low-alloy (HSLA) steel or fine grained structural steel
used in quenched and tempered condition, with a com-
bined tempered bainite an tempered martensite micro-
structure. Its many attractive properties, like good
formability, weldability, and corrosion resistance, have
made this steel a good selection for applications in many
engineering and marine constructions, including submar-
ine pressure hulls. Furthermore these steels are enticing:
higher strength/weight ratio than conventional structural
steels; and with modern mill processing, simplified less-
costly fabricating operations [1,2]. Despite these useful
properties, the welding of this steel, when not critically
the shop floor conditions. According to their metallurgic

0261-3069/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2006.03.028
 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906 1899

Table 1
Steel composition used in this study
Chemical composition C Ni Cr Mo Si Mn Al W P Cu V S
(%) 0.163 2.933 1.427 0.342 0.257 0.227 0.031 0.014 0.014 0.011 0.005 0.002

700 30
636 658
Table 2 623
Welding parameter utilised in the preparation of the test samples 600 577
25
Weld groove : X-type
V-type (the root distance 10 mm) 20,7
500
Weld voltage 10–130 Amp 20

Yield Strain [%]

Yield Stress [MPa]
Filler material MIL-E-10018 (Böhler Fox U80N)
Filler mat. diam. 2.5/3.25 mm 400 Yield stress
Transition temp. 150 C (Max) Yield strain 15
Number of pass For X-type; 12 pass on the first, 15 pass on the second 300
12,3
side
For V-type 18 pass with a 4 mm thick backing plate 10
Heat input 21,700 J/cm (Max) 200
5,3
Gas metal arc welding 5
Weld groove X-type 100 2,7
V-type (the root distance 10 mm)
Weld voltage 180 –220 Amp 0 0
Filler material AWS E 90 T5-G BASE METAL SMAW SAW GMAW
Filler mat. diam. 1.2/1.6 mm
Transition temp. 150 C (Max) Fig. 2. Yield stress and yield strain values for base metal and different
Weld speed 20–30 cm/min weld types.
Shielding gas M 21 12–15 L/min
Number of pass For X-type; 6 pass on the first, 6 pass on the second 300
side
For V-type; 18 pass with a 4 mm thick backing plate
250
Heat input 21,700 J/cm (max)
Impact energy [Joule]

Submerged metal arc welding 200

Weld groove X-type
V-type (the root distance 10 mm)
150
Weld voltage 450–500 Amp
Filler material S3 Ni Mo 1 (UP-L 80Y)
100
Filler mat. diam. 3 mm
Transition temp. 150 C (Max) SMAW
Weld speed 60–70 cm/min 50 GMAW
SAW
Shielding powder LW 330 Flux BASE METAL
Number of pass For X-type; 6 pass on the first, 5 pass on the second 0
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
side
For V-type; 9 pass (first 2 SMAW) with 4 mm thick Temperature [˚C]
backing plate
Fig. 3. Variation of Charpy impact test energy of the HAZ region with
Heat input 21,700 J/cm (Max)
test temperature for the test samples taken 5 mm from the top surface.

Fig. 1. Extraction of Charpy impact samples from the weldments.

1900 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906

300 characteristics, heat input of welding process significantly

affects the heat affected zone (HAZ) mechanical
250
properties.
Impact Energy [Joule]

200

150 2. Specimen preparation and welding applications

100 In this study, HY-80 steel is used as a main test

SMAW material. The chemical composition of HY 80 steel used
50 GMAW
SAW
in this study is listed in Table 1. The steel has low
0
BASE META L carbon content to improve weldability and toughness
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 properties.
o
Temperature [ C]
The test plate considered of 700 · 150 mm and 22 mm
Fig. 4. Variation of Charpy impact test energy of the weld metal with test thickness, having X and V-type weld grooves are prepared
temperature for the test samples taken 3 mm from the top surface. for each conditions. These plates having the same type
grooves are welded together using shielded metal arc weld-
ing (SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), and sub-
merged metal arc (SAW) methods at flat position. Six
samples are prepared and these samples are welded
300 together with the aforementioned welding methods. As
the effects of the welding parameters significantly affect
250 weld mechanical properties [3], optimum welding parame-
ters are used which are derived from industrial experience
Impact Energy [Joule]

200
and the literature. These parameters are given in Table 2.
150
Furthermore, for the preparation of the weld joints and
welding procedure the MIL-STD-1688 [4] was taken as a
100 reference.
SMAW
50 GMAW
SAW
BASE META L 2.1. Tensile test samples
0
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
Temperature [ C]
o
The tensile test samples having three rectangular dimen-
sions of 5.0 · 12.5 mm are cut from the weldments. A spe-
Fig. 5. Variation of Charpy impact test energy of the weld metal with test
temperature for the test samples taken 6 mm from the top surface. cial care is taken to have the weld zone at the middle of the
tensile test samples and the weld section is kept vertical to
longitudinal axis of the specimen. The samples are pre-
pared and tested according to AWS B4.0 and ASTM
E8M [5] standards. From at least three specimens for each
test series, the average values for yield stress, rys, yield
300
strain, ey, were deduced.

250

2.2. Charpy impact test samples

200
Impact Energy [Joule]

Test samples for Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact

toughness evaluation are prepared according to the
150
ASTM E 23 [6] standard. The samples were cut trans-
versely to the weld, and 5 mm of the weld surface, with
100 the notch normal to the weld surface. The extraction of
the CVN tests samples from the weldments is done as
50
SMAW
GMAW
indicated in Fig. 1. For one series of the tests, the notch
SAW was at the HAZ, and for the other the notch was at the
BASE META L
middle of the weld metal. Carbon dioxide ice is used to
0
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 obtain the minus temperatures for the impact tests. The
o
Temperature [ C] CVN tests on base metal, weld metal and heat affected
Fig. 6. Variation of Charpy impact test energy of the weld metal with test zone (HAZ) region are carried out at test temperatures
temperature for the test samples taken 9 mm from the top surface. of 20 C, 0 C and 20 C.
 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906 1901

2.3. Hardness measurements and microstructural
examination
For hardness measurements and microstructural exam-
inations six samples of 10 · 20 · 80 mm dimensions are
taken from the weldments. The sample preparation and
hardness measurements were done according to the ASTM
E92-82 [7] standard. The micro-hardness tests are con-
ducted on cross-sections along a line 3 mm from the both
surfaces of the plates at 0.5 mm intervals and at 9.81 N
weight. Zwick 3212001 hardness testing machine was used.
The hardness measurements are done in order to measure
the degree of hardening along the base metal, HAZ and
weld metal.
For the microstructural examination, the surfaces of
the samples are polished until the scratches on the

Fig. 7. Hardness profile across main material, HAZ and weld material regions for SMAW V test sample.
1902 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906

cross-sections are eliminated well enough for the exami-
nation. The polished surfaces are then etched by 5%
nital. The micrographs of the etched surfaces are utilised
for the study of HAZ and the heat-treated zones between
the weld passes.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Tensile test
The tensile tests are carried out on the samples using
DARTEC Servo-hydraulic tensile testing machine. The
tests are performed according to ASTM E8M [5]
standard at ambient temperature. The yield stress and yield
strain values obtained from these tests are given in Fig. 2.
One of the significant outcomes of these tests is that in
all the tests the rupture occurred at the main material. As
a result, the strength of both HAZ and weld material is
not lower than that of the main material. The average yield
stress and yield strain obtained from these welded samples
are at the range of about 639 MPa and 6.8%, respectively.
Regarding the measured yield strength and yield strain of
the base HY 80 steel, 577 MPa and 20.7% values were
obtained, respectively, which are compatible with the val-
ues given as 565–650 MPa (82.0–94.3 ksi) and %20 in
MIL-STD-16216G [8].
3.2. Charpy impact test
At least three tests were carried out and the average val-
ues of tests were considered. The Charpy impact test con-
sist of a pendulum, raised to a standard height, and

Fig. 8. Hardness profile across main material, HAZ and weld material regions for GMAW V test sample.
 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906 1903

released to strike a standard specimen. The energy required
to fracture the specimen is a measure of energy lost by the
pendulum and named as Charpy impact energy. The
Charpy impact tests results obtained from the main mate-
rial showed rather good repeatability.
In order to find out the Charpy impact energy of the
HAZ, a number of tests samples for which the notch is
on the HAZ, were carried out. These samples were taken
5 mm from the top surface. These results are given in
Fig. 3, showing minimum impact energy for the GMAW
and maximum for the SAW samples. These results are
comparable with the results of Rittler and Dixon [1]
who studied the Impact energy variation with a
temperature ranging between 50 and 0 C for HY-80
steel and observed almost a linearly increasing impact
energy variation with temperature between 55 J and
125 J.
The variations of Charpy impact energy with the test
temperature for the samples extracted from the different
sections of the weld plate are given Figs. 4–6. For all these
tests, the Charpy notch is on the weld material. From these
results it could be seen that the impact energy of weld metal
varies significantly with the weld method, giving the mini-
mum Charpy impact energy for the whole temperature
range at the GMAW test samples. This is attributed to
the elements reduction due to the oxidation effects of the
gasses used in the GMAW welding. The highest Impact
energy is observed on the SAW weld sections, mainly for

Fig. 9. Hardness profile across main material, HAZ and weld material regions for SAW V-type test sample.
1904 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906
Fig. 10. Hardness profile across main material, HAZ and weld material regions for SMAW X-type test sample.
samples taken from 3 mm and 6 mm from the top surface
of the weldments. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 6, higher
impact energy is encountered in the SMAW joints taken
from samples 9 mm from the top surface. This is attributed
to the fact that every poses has a tempering affect in
improving the mechanical properties of the previous passes
[9,10].
3.3. Hardness examination
The hardness profiles across the welds and HAZ for
different samples are shown in Figs. 7–12. Of all the test
samples, the highest value of hardness was observed in
the HAZ region. The main material had a hardness value
of 235 HV. Regarding the hardness in weld region, in all
the samples the region had hardness values higher than
275 HV. By contrast, the hardness values of the HAZ
and weld regions were different for all the test samples.
The maximum hardness up to a value of 425 HV was
measured for SMAW and SAW weldments. The HAZ
hardness of the GMAW sample was about %10 lover
than the other two samples. These results are comparable
with the results of Rittler and Dixon [1] who observed
350–400 HV hardness at the HAZ of SMAW of HY
80 steel. However, it has been known that for HAZ
the same material can give the hardness values as high
as 400 HV for GMAW and SAW weldments and this
could still be acceptable.
4. Conclusions
In this research, HY 80 steel of 22 mm thickness is used.
X and V-type grooves are prepared for each condition.
These plates are welded by using shielded metal arc welding
(SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), and submerged
metal arc welding (SAW) processes at flat position. Opti-
mum welding parameters are used which derived from
industrial experiences and the literature. Following weld-
ing, for each condition, tensile test specimens are extracted
from the welded joint, Charpy-V test specimens and hard-
ness test specimens are also prepared from the weld metal
and base metal and also heat affected zone (HAZ) of the
weldments.
The present work has revealed that with the optimum
welding parameters the HY80 steel could be welded effec-
tively with the utilised welding methods without any
post-weld heat treatment. However, the welding methods
have remarkable effects on the fracture resistance and
 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906 1905

Fig. 11. Hardness profile across main material, HAZ and weld material regions for GMAW X-type test sample.

hardness of HAZ. In all the tensile tests carried out on the
samples extracted from the weldments, the rupture
occurred at the main material. These critical results were
rather important, since the traditional welding design prac-
tices require the use of weld metal with higher yield
strength than the base metal. The Charpy V-notch impact
test results have shown that, due to higher heat input, the
SAW and the SMAW specimens have given better HAZ
toughness than the GMAW process. Moreover, the hard-
ness test results have shown that the SMAW and SAW
welding methods have given slightly higher hardness pro-
file across welds metal and HAZ than the GMAW method
on the section 3 mm below the top surface of the weld-
ments. Particularly, the HAZ is transition zone on the
welded joints and there is the risk of cracking along these
zones. The micro-hardness examination of the HAZ
regions in all weldments reviled that The HAZ readings
(390–430 HV) were consistently higher than both the base
and weld metal readings. Although the hardness gradient
varies from one method to another, the maximum hard-
ness reaches up to the maximum values of 425 HV at the
HAZ in all the methods. Regarding the weld metal, the
similar trend is observed in the hardness profile, that is
the hardness gradient varies from one method to another,
the maximum hardness reaches up to the maximum values
of 275 HV in the weld metal; which is well below than the
HAZ hardness of 425 HV. In the roots of the weldments,
the hardness distribution is lower than the upper surface
of the weldments, which is mainly due to tempering effects
of the filler passes.
1906 P. Yayla et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 1898–1906
Fig. 12. Hardness profile across main material, HAZ and weld material regions for SAW X-type test sample.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mr. O.N. Gungor and Mr. B. Cakici
for their contributions to the experiments. Also the contri-
butions of Dr. N. Sari and Dr. A. Arici on the sample prep-
aration and hardness measurements have also influenced
this work. The comments and critics of Dr. E. Engindeniz
from Drahtwarenfabrik Drahtzug Stein GmbH & Co. of
Germany is well appreciated.
References
[1] Ritter JC, Dixon BF. Improved properties in welded HY-80 steel for
Australian warship. Weld J 1987;66(3):33–44.
[2] Brosilow R. High-strength steels: a progress report. Weld Design Met
Fabr 1991;64(11):40–4.
[3] Sampath K, Civis DA, Kleinosky MJ. Effects of GMA welding
conditions on high strength steel weld metal properties for ship
structures. In: Proceedings of international symposium on low-carbon
steels for the 90’s. Warrendale (PA, USA): Minerals, Metals &
Materials Soc (TMS); 18–21 October 1993. p. 539–48.
[4] MIL-STD-1688 fabrication, welding and inspection of HY 80/100
submarine application.
[5] ASTM E8M-90a standard test methods for tension testing of metallic
materials.
[6] ASTM E 23 standard test methods for notched bar impact testing of
metallic materials.
[7] ASTM E92-82 standard test methods for vickers hardness of metallic
materials.
[8] MIL-STD-16216G ship’s steel late, alloy, structural HY strength.
[9] Cakici B. Investigation of mechanical properties of HY 80 steel
joints, welded by using arc welding methods, MSc Thesis.
Kocaeli University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied
Sciences; May 2002.
[10] Gungor ON. The effects of welding processes on the mechanical
properties of the welded joint and HAZ for the quenched and
tempered HY 80 high strength low alloy steel. MSc Thesis, Kocaeli
University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences;
October 1996.