Search Results (107)

In this work, electron beam welds between Cu and Al plates were formed using different power modes, namely 1800 W, 2400 W, and 3000 W. The structure, microhardness, and tensile strength of the raw materials and the weld seams were studied. The low power of the electron beam resulted in the improper penetration and insufficient depth of the weld seam. The low power resulted in high cooling rates, which hindered the nucleation of the copper and aluminum particles. A number of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) were formed, including the metastable Cu₉Al₄ one. An increase in the power of the electron beam reduced the cooling rate and increased the miscibility between the materials. This resulted in the formation of a mostly homogeneous structure comprising an αAl solid solution and dendritic eutectic CuAl₂ intermetallic compounds. A preferred crystallographic orientation of the aluminum phase was detected regarding the sample prepared using a power of 3000 W, forming a specific texture towards the {111} family of crystallographic planes, which is the closest-packed structure. This plane characterizes the highest chemical activity and the highest plasticity. As a result, this sample exhibited the best chemical bonding between the IMCs and the aluminum matrix and the best microhardness and tensile test values. Full article

High energy density technologies for welding processes provide opportune solutions to joint metal materials and repair components in several industrial applications. Their high-performance levels are related to the high penetration depth and welding speed achievable. Moreover, the localized thermal input helps in reducing distortion and residual stresses in the welds, minimizing the extension of the fusion zone and heat-affected zone. The use of these welding technologies can be decisive in the employment of sophisticated alloys such as Ni-based superalloys, which are notoriously excellent candidates for industrial components subjected to high temperatures and corrosive work conditions. Nonetheless, the peculiar crystallographic and chemical complexity of Ni-based superalloys (whether characterized by polycrystalline, directionally solidified, or single-crystal microstructure) leads to high susceptibility to welding processes and, in general, challenging issues related to the microstructural features of the welded joints. The present review highlights the advantages and drawbacks of high energy density (Laser Beam and Electron Beam) welding techniques applied to Ni-based superalloy. The effects of process parameters on cracking susceptibility have been analyzed to better understand the correlation between them and the microstructure-mechanical properties of the welds. The weldability of three different polycrystalline Ni superalloys, one solid solution-strengthened alloy, Inconel 625, and two precipitation-strengthen alloys, Nimonic 263 and Inconel 718, is reviewed in detail. In addition, a variant of the latter, the AF955 alloy, is also presented for its great potential in terms of weldability. Full article

Electron beam welding (EBW) is one of the most highly precise methods that is gaining more importance in high-strength structural steel (HSSS) thicker plate application in various vehicles, construction industries, etc. Since it offers particular advantages over arc welding processes like narrow welds, reduced heat-affected zone (HAZ), and low distortion, it inherits lower linear heat input characteristics. The main purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the effect of localized electron beam–post-weld heat treatment (LEB-PWHT) with that of an as-welded EB-welded S960QL joint of a thickness of 12 mm for various joint and HAZ properties. LEB-PWHT can be beneficial in terms of time saving, more local treatment, higher flexibility, energy saving, greater efficiency, increased productivity, etc. In this study, LEB-PWHT was applied to an autogenous EB-welded S960QL joint using a defocused beam. Microstructural characteristics were observed through light optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while mechanical properties, including microhardness, tensile strength, bending, and Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact test, are compared in as-welded and LEB-PWHT joints. The microstructural results showed that the EBW coarse-grain heat-affected zone (CGHAZ) consists of martensite, while the PWHT weld metal contains tempered martensite with carbide precipitates. The fine-grain heat-affected zone (FGHAZ) of EBW exhibits a martensitic and bainitic microstructure, whereas the FGHAZ of the PWHT joint exhibits equiaxed grain with finely dispersed carbides. The hardness decrease after LEB-PWHT in the weld metal and HAZ was approximately 23% and 21%, respectively. An increase in tensile strength (3%) was observed in the LEB-PWHT joints (1082 MPa) compared to the EBW joint (1051 MPa). Both tensile and bending tests demonstrated improved ductility behavior after PWHT. However, the impact test at −40 °C indicated a reduction in toughness in the weld metal of LEB-PWHT (27 J) compared to EBW (63 J). Full article

The incorporation of additive manufactured (AM) metal parts to real assemblies is a crucial issue for the increasing of their industrial utilization. The presented research is devoted to the electron beam welding (EBW) of dissimilar steel joints. Dissimilarity is defined by the various types of steel and manufacturing processes used for the creation of specimens. Conventional AISI 316 stainless steel, selective laser melted (SLM) SS 316L stainless steel, and SLM M300 maraging steel were welded at variable parameters in the form of a welding current and a welding velocity. EBW joints were evaluated considering the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, as well as a reached microhardness. The obtained preliminary results represent important input data for the follow-up experiments focused on the setting of optimal EBW parameters of welding the dissimilar joints including SLM products, with the consideration of their basic macroscopical and microscopical characteristics, mechanical properties, and residual stresses. Full article

An investigation was conducted on electron beam-welded and additively manufactured joints on a thick-walled titanium alloy utilizing in situ laser beam deposition and electron beam welding techniques. The surface morphology, microstructural characteristics, and mechanical properties of both joint types were comprehensively analyzed using stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microhardness and tensile strength testing, and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques. The electron-beam-welded joint exhibited distinct fusion and heat-affected zones, whereas the laser-beam-deposited joint exhibited a smoother surface that was free from excess spatter. Both joints featured a sharp microstructural boundary with a pronounced hardness gradient across the interface, lacking a gradual transition area. During tensile testing, both joint types demonstrated a mixed brittle-ductile fracture mode; however, the electron beam-welded joints surpassed the laser-beam-deposited joints in terms of tensile strength, achieving over 1183 MPa with an elongation of more than 7.3%, compared to 1123 MPa and 5.9% elongation, respectively. Full article

Super duplex stainless steel UNS S32750 is widely used in marine industries, pulp and paper industries, and the offshore oil and gas industry. Welding manufacturing is one of the main manufacturing processes to make material into products in the above fields. It is of great importance to obtain high-quality welded UNS S32750 joints. The austenite content and ferrite content in UNS S32750 play an important role in determining UNS S32750 properties such as mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, the phase proportion between the ferrite phase and austenite phase in the welded joint will be changed during welding. Lots of research has been done on how to weld UNS S32750 and how to obtain welded joints with good quality. In this work, the recent studies on welding UNS S32750 are categorized based on the welding process. The welding process for UNS S32750 will be classified as gas tungsten arc welding, submerged arc welding, plasma arc welding, laser beam welding, electron beam welding, friction stir welding, and laser-MIG hybrid welding, and each will be reviewed in turn. The microstructure and properties of the joints welded using different welding processes will also be discussed. The critical challenge of balancing the two phases of austenite and ferrite in UNS S32750 welded joints will be discussed. This review about the welding process for UNS S32750 will provide people in the welding field with some advice on welding UNS S32750 super duplex stainless steel. Full article

In this work, the results from the electron beam welding of copper and Al6082T6 aluminum alloy with a titanium filler are presented. The influence of the filler on the structure and mechanical properties of the welded joint is studied in comparison with one without filler. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) method was used to obtain the phase composition of the welded joints. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for the study of the microstructure of the welds. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was applied to investigate the chemical composition. The mechanical properties were studied by means of microhardness measurements and tensile tests. A three-phase structure was obtained in the fusion zone consisting of an aluminum matrix, an intermetallic compound CuAl₂, and pure copper. The application of Ti filler significantly decreased the amount of molten copper introduced in the molten pool and the number of intermetallic compounds (IMCs). This improved the strength of the joint; however, some quantity of IMCs was still present in the zone of fusion (FZ), which reflected the microhardness of the samples. The application of a titanium filler resulted in refining the electron beam weld’s structure. The finer structure and the reduced amount of the brittle intermetallic phases has led to an increase in the strength of the joint. Full article

This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing the finite element method (FEM)-based conductive heat transfer (CHT) analysis simulation to determine temperature gradients and solidification rates at the solid–liquid interface during laser beam oscillation welding. By comparing experimental observations with FEM-based CHT analysis, the underlying microstructural evolution and grain formation during welding were examined. FEM-based CHT enables the calculation of temperature gradients (G) and solidification rates (R), offering insights into the formation of equiaxed structures, which are crucial for suppressing hot cracking. Columnar-to-equiaxed structure transition thresholds, such as G/R and G³/R, accurately predict the emergence of fully equiaxed grain structures, validated by electron backscatter diffraction. This research provides valuable insights into temperature gradients and solidification rates in oscillation welding, guiding process design for achieving refined equiaxed structures and minimizing hot cracks. Full article

Surface tension is an important characteristic of materials. In particular at high temperatures, surface tension values are often unknown. However, for metals, these values are highly relevant in order to enable efficient industrial processing or simulation of material behavior. Plasma, electron or laser beam processes can induce such high energy inputs, which increase the metal temperatures to, and even above, boiling temperatures, e.g., during deep penetration welding or remote cutting. Unfortunately, both theoretical and experimental methods experience challenges in deriving surface tension values at high temperatures. Material models of metals have limitations in explaining complex ion interactions, and experimentally measuring temperature and surface tension at high temperatures is a challenge for methods and equipment. Therefore, surface wave analysis was conducted in this work to derive surface tension values around the boiling temperature of steel and identify trends. In addition, a simple ion interaction calculation was used to simulate the impacting parameters that define the surface tension. Since both the experimental values and simulation results indicate an increasing trend in surface tension above the boiling temperature, it is concluded that the dominating attractive forces above this temperature should increase with increasing temperature and lead to increasing surface tension forces in the surface layers of liquid metal. Full article

The current work is based on investigating the influence of different technological conditions of electron-beam welding on the microstructure and mechanical properties of joints between Ti6Al4V and Al6082-T6 dissimilar alloys. The plates were in all cases preheated to 300 °C. Different strategies of welding were investigated such as varying the electron-beam current/welding speed ratio (I_b/v_w) and applying a beam offset towards the aluminum side. The heat input during the experiments was varied in order to guarantee full penetration of the electron beam. The macrostructure of the samples was studied, and the results indicated that using a high beam power and a high welding speed leads to an increased formation of defects within the structure of the weld seam. Utilizing a lower beam current along with a lower welding speed leads to the stabilization of the electron-beam welding process and thus to the formation of an even weld seam with next to no defects and high ductility. Using this approach gave the highest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 165 MPa along with a yield strength (YS) of 80 MPa and an elongation (ε) figure of 18.4%. During the investigation, improved technological conditions of electron-beam welding of Ti6Al4V and Al6082-T6 dissimilar alloys were obtained, and the results were discussed regarding possible practical applications of the suggested approach along with its scientific contribution to developing further strategies for electron-beam welding of other dissimilar alloys. The downsides and the economic effect of the presented method for welding Ti6Al4V and Al6082-T6 were also discussed. Full article

Austenitic stainless steels are very popular due to their high strength properties, ductility, excellent corrosion resistance and work hardening. This paper presents the test results for joining AISI 316Ti austenitic steel. The technologies used for joining were the most popular welding techniques such as TIG (welding with a non-consumable electrode in the shield of inert gases), MIG (welding with a consumable electrode in the shield of inert gases) as well as high-energy EBW welding (Electron Beam Welding) and plasma PAW (plasma welding). Microstructural examinations in the face, center and root areas of the weld revealed different contents of delta ferrite with skeletal or lathy ferrite morphology. Additionally, the presence of columnar grains at the fusion line and equiaxed grains in the center of the welds was found. Microstructural, X-ray and ferroscope tests showed the presence of different delta ferrite contents depending on the technology used. The highest content of delta ferrite was found in the TIG and PAW connectors, approximately 5%, and the lowest in the EBW connector, approximately 2%. Based on the tests carried out on the mechanical properties, it was found that the highest properties were achieved by the MIG joint (R_m, 616, R_p0.2 = 335 MPa), while the lowest were achieved by the PAW joint (R_m = 576, R_p0.2 = 315 MPa). Full article

To enhance welding quality and performance, preheating and post-heating are usually employed on high-temperature materials, concurrently with welding. This is a novel technique in vacuum chamber electron beam welding (EBW). TC17 and Ti₂AlNb alloys are the hot topics in aero-engine parts, and the welding of dissimilar materials is also a broad prospect. To settle welding cracks of Ti₂AlNb, EBW with preheating and post-heating was investigated on TC17 and Ti₂AlNb dissimilar alloy, which improved the manufacturing technology on high-temperature materials. The dissimilar joint no longer had cracks after preheating, which exhibited excellent welding stability and metallurgical homogeneity, and preheating and annealing had an important effect on mechanical properties. The joint strength after 630 °C annealing is higher than that of TC17 alloy base metal (BM) and other annealing temperatures, reaching 1169 MPa at room temperature and 894 MPa at 450 °C tensile condition. The joint plasticity after 740 °C annealing is equivalent to TC17 BM. EBW with preheating improved the microstructure characteristics and enhanced the plasticity of Ti₂AlNb alloy weld and dissimilar joint, which would contribute to the application of Ti₂AlNb alloy and Ti₂AlNb dissimilar parts. Full article

In this work, the results of an investigation of electron-beam-welded samples of commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti) and the titanium alloy Ti6Al4V (Ti64) using fillers of various beta-stabilizing elements (Nb, V, Cu) are presented. The fillers were in the form of deposited layers on each of the two specimens via DC magnetron sputtering. The specimens were then subjected to electron-beam welding (EBW) under the same technological conditions. The structure of the obtained welded joints was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the phase composition of the fusion zone (FZ). The study of the mechanical properties of the samples was carried out via tensile tests and microhardness measurements. The results showed a different influence of the used fillers on the structure and properties of the obtained joints, and in all cases, the yield strength increased compared to the samples welded using the same technological conditions without the use of filler material. In the case of using Nb and V as a filler, the typical transformation of titanium welds into elongated αTi particles along with α’-Ti martensitic structures was observed. The addition of a Cu filler into the structure of the welds resulted in a unification and refining of the structure of the last, which resulted in the improvement of the mechanical properties of the weld, particularly its ductility, which is a known issue where electron-beam welding is concerned. Full article

Vacuum electron-beam welding (EBW) was used to join the precipitation-strengthened GH4169 superalloy and a new nickel-based superalloy IC10 to fabricate the turbine blade discs. In this study, a solid solution (1050 °C/2 h for GH4169 and 1150 °C/2 h for IC10) and different heat-exposure temperatures (650 °C, 750 °C, 950 °C and 1050 °C/200 h, respectively) were used to study the high-temperature tensile properties and microstructure evolution of welded joints; meanwhile, the formation and evolution of the second phases of the joints were analyzed. After EBW, the welded joint exhibited a typical nail morphology, and the fusion zone (FZ) consisted of columnar and cellular structures. During the solidification process of the molten pool, Mo elements are enriched in the dendrites and inter-dendrites, and that of Nb and Ti elements was enriched in the dendrites, which lead to forming a non-uniform distribution of Laves eutectic and MC carbides in the FZ. The microhardness of the FZ gradually increased during thermal exposure at 650 °C and reached 300–320 HV, and the γ′ and γ″ phases were gradually precipitated with size of about 50 nm. Meanwhile, the microhardness of the FZ decreased to 260–280 HV at 750 °C, and the higher temperature resulted in the coarsening of the γ″ phase (with a final size of about 100 nm) and the formation of the acicular δ-phase. At 950 °C and 1050 °C, the microhardness of FZ decreased sharply, reaching up to 170~190 HV and 160~180 HV, respectively. Moreover, the Laves eutectic and MC carbides are dissolved to a greater extent without the formation of γ″ and δ phases; as a result, the absent of γ″ and δ phases are attributed to the significant improvement of segregation at higher temperatures. Full article

In this work, Zr-Sn-Nb alloy was joined by electron beam welding (EBW). A defect-free Zr-Sn-Nb joint with sound appearance was obtained. The grains in the weld zone (WZ) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) are significantly coarsened. The columnar grains with a maximum grain size of 0.5 mm are distributed in the upper region of the WZ, while the equiaxed grains are almost located in the bottom region of the WZ. The WZ is mainly composed of the dominant α-Zr, α′-Zr and a few β phases. The grain orientation of WZ and HAZ is uniform, indicating that no obvious preferred orientation existed. Coarse grains and fine acicular α′ phases increase the strength of the joint, but reduce the plasticity and toughness of the joint. The tensile strengths of the joints at room temperature (RT) and 375 °C were 438 MPa and 313 MPa, respectively. The RT impact energy of the joint is 18.5 J, which is only 58.3% of the BM. The high purity of the EBW process and unsignificant grain orientation minimizes damage to the corrosion resistance of Zr-Sn-Nb alloy joints. The corrosion weight gain of the joint specimen and the BM specimen were 12.91 mg/dm² and 12.64 mg/dm², respectively, and the thicknesses of the cross-section corrosion layer were 12–15 μm and 9–12 μm, respectively. Full article