RELEASING THE WELDED PARTS THROUGH THERMAL

TREATMENTS

Lecturer PhD Eng. Alin STĂNCIOIU, Constantin Brâncuși '' University of Tg -Jiu,
ROMANIA, stancioiualin09@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: Heat treatments before welding are applied to steels in order to bring them to the state in which
they can best support the welding operation (normalization, stress relief or recrystallization). Thermal
treatments during welding include pre-heating, post-heating and the combination of pre-heating and post-
heating. Thermal treatments after welding that are applied to remove the unwanted effects caused by the
welding operation.

KEYWORDS: treatment, thermal, welding, stresses

1.General considerations
Welding is the technological operation of joining two materials at the intimate level of the
atoms by local melting of the edges of the parts, it can be with or without the addition of
material. during welding, the parts suffer a strong shock that leads to obtaining an
inadequate structure in the thermally influenced area, i.e. in the immediate vicinity of the
seam.
In low-alloy steels and with low C content, the transition zone is not highlighted; instead,
it appears very well outlined in cast iron welded with steel electrodes. In the transition
zone, diffusion of carbon and alloying elements takes place from and towards the seam. In
ZIT, depending on the heating temperature (during welding) and cooling speed, different
transformations appear.
Thus, in the superheated subzone 2 figure 1, the appearance of a coarse granulation is
favored.

Figure 1. Thermal field and Figure 2. Seam of welded joints

metallography of welded joints S235JR MOx100.

This technological operation is similar to a heat treatment, because during the process
heating and cooling of the parts take place. There is a problem and that is to find a thermal
cycle that overlaps the
thermal cycle of welding and finally obtain a corresponding thermal cycle that realizes a
suitable structure. The heat treatments applied to the welded parts are divided into 3
categories: previous, concurrent, subsequent.
The cooling speed is the most important parameter of a thermal treatment, and in this case
it depends or not on the parameters of the technological welding process:
- depending on the technological factors of welding: intensity, voltage, speed of electron
movement, preheating of the parts.
- depending on the factors independent of the welding regime: the thickness of the parts,
the geometric shape, physical-thermal characteristics of the material.
Figure 3 shows the influence of overlapping layers in the welding process on the material
structure of the part.

Fig.3 The influence of overlapping layers in the welding process

on the material structure of the part.

2.Pre-welding heat treatments

Regeneration and normalization annealing is applied to cast parts. It is made for the
finishing of the coarse granulation obtained following the processes of casting, welding,
plastic deformation, etc. At the same time, it also removes structural defects such as
lamellar, acicular constituents, etc. out of balance.
In cast parts, the Widmannstatten structure often appears, figure 4, positioned on the
thicker walls of the parts, which lead to cracking of the material. This structure is repaired
by a regeneration annealing consisting of heating 30-50 o C above the AC3 transformation
point and slow cooling with up to 600 o C, and if the equalization of the remaining internal
stresses is also aimed at up to 400 o C .

Fig.4 Widmannstatten structure (1000:1)

Cast parts with internal stresses are easy to handle to avoid cracking and are annealed in
an oven with a movable hearth and a heating rate of 100 o C/hour.
The welded constructions that present in the areas of the disposed metal but also in the
areas of the thermally influenced base metal the Widmannstatten structure of annealing as
in the previous case.
Normalizing annealing, unlike regeneration annealing, is performed at a higher cooling
rate.
Normalizing annealing is especially applied to hypoeotectoid steels, to finish the pearlite
and ferrite structure.
Normalizing annealing is preferred over regeneration annealing for hypoeotectoid steels
and due to the fact that in the case of applying the last treatment, tertiary cementite can
crystallize at the edges of the ferrite grains, leading to embrittlement.

3. Heat treatments concurrent with welding

They are divided into two ways:
- with preheating figures 5 a,b;
- with afterheating figure 5 c.

a. b.

c. d.

e
Fig.5 Simultaneous thermal treatments
As a result of this semi-complex treatment, a high hardness is obtained in the welding
seam and the absence of cracks in the seam is noticeable.

4. Final welding heat treatments

Stress relief annealing is applied to forged and molded parts. Inside the material there are
3 types of stresses:
- thermals appear due to the expansion and contraction of the material during heating or
cooling;
- structural appear due to phase transformations;
- work that is due to the process of processing the material.
The stress relief temperature must meet the following criteria:
- it must not exceed the recovery time if the material is hardened;
- if the aim is to preserve a certain degree of ecruisation, it must exceed the
recrystallization time;
- if the aim is to preserve the existing structure, it must not exceed the temperature of the
transformation points.
The internal stresses are measured with the help of tensiometric marks and are remedied
by stress relief annealing.

5. Conclusions
Thermal treatments before welding are applied to steels with the aim of bringing them to
the state in which they can best support the welding operation (normalization, stress relief
or recrystallization).
Thermal treatments during welding include pre-heating, post -heating and the combination
of pre-heating and post-heating. Thermal treatments after welding that are applied to
remove the unwanted effects caused by the welding operation.
The residual stresses, regardless of their origin, overlap the operational stresses and,
having a spatial distribution, create an advanced state of fragility of the welded materials.
For these reasons, their removal is useful, both through the appropriate design of the
constructive form of the welded parts, and through the use of appropriate technologies and
materials.
Avoiding residual stresses can be achieved by favorably intervening on the metallurgical,
technological and constructive factors.

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