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Theses and Dissertations

1-1-1980 Grain boundary separations in electroslag welds. James A. Davenport

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Recommended Citation Davenport, James A., "Grain boundary separations in electroslag welds." (1980). Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1835.

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Lehigh Preserve. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Lehigh Preserve. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GRAIN BOUNDARY SEPARATIONS IN ELECTROSLAG WELDS

By James A. Davenport

A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Committee of Lehigh University in Candidacy for the Degree of

Master of Science in and Materials Engineering

Lehigh University 1980 ProQuest Number: EP76107

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ProQuest EP76107

Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.

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ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 This thesis is accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.

(date)

Professor in Charge

Chairman of Department

11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Appreciation is extended to the following persons and organizations for.their assistance in conducting this research work: r\ The Research Council for making this project possible with their financial support Dean Robert D. Stout and Prof. Alan W. Pense for their guidance and suggestions through- out the project Bethlehem Steel Corporation for providing material and numerous lab analyses

C. H. McGogney (Federal Highway Administration) and J. R. Mitchell (Dunegan/Endevco) for equipment and operational assistance with the acoustic emission monitoring

and lastly

Paul Davenport/ my father, without whose guidance and encouragement the task of discovering the truth, through education, would seem much more difficult.

111 TABLE OF CONTENTS k

Page Title Page ...... i Certificate of Approval ii Acknowledgement. iii Table of Contents. iv-v List of Tables vi List of Figures...... '".-. . . vii-viii Abstract 1 Introduction . 3 Chapter I Experimental Procedure 6 A. Weldment Configuration and Welding Procedure 6 B. Consumables 9 C. Acoustic Emission Monitoring. ... 9 D. Thermal Monitoring and Postweld Heat Treatment 11 E. Mechanical Tests 12 F. Microscopic Inspection 13 Chapter II Results and Discussion 15 A. Moisture 15 B. Restraint 18 C. Crack Morphology 19 D. Acoustic Emission 20 E. Initiation of Cracking '22 F. Base Metal. . 26 G. Flux 27 H. Depth 30 I. Wire 31 J. Mechanical Tests 33 K. Weldment Thermal Cycle 34 Chapter III Conclusion 36

IV Page Tables 40

Figures . r 54 References 73 Vita 75

v LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Parameters Controlled for Each Weld 4 0-41 2. Welding Conditions and Resultant Cracking ..-..« 42-43-44

3. Baseplate Chemistry. 45 4. Flux Compositions 46 J 5. Undiluted Filler Wire Chemistry. . 47 6. Acoustic Emission Monitoring Parameters . . 48-49 7. Transverse Weldment Contraction. . 50 8. Wire Hydrogen Analysis 51 9. Charpy V-Notch Tests . 52 10. Tensile Tests 53

VI /

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page 1 General Electroslag Welding Configuration 54 2. Standard Weldment Size. . 55 3. Laboratory Weldment ...... 56 4. Weld Metal Microcracks...... 57 5. Postweld Emission Rate, Welds 2A28 and 2A29 58 6. Cumulative Postweld Emissions, Welds 2A28 and 2A29 59 7. Postweld Emission Rate, Welds 2A30 and 2A31 60 8. Cumulative Postweld Emissions, Welds 2A3 0 and 2A31 61 ^ 9. Count Rate during Welding, Welds 2A28 and 2A29 62 10. Cumulative Counts during Welding, Welds 2A28 and 2A29 63 11. Count Rate During Welding, Welds 2A30 and 2A31 ...... 64 12. Cumulative Counts During Welding, Welds 2A30 and 2A31 65 13. Thermal History, Weld- 2A32 66 14. Thermal History, Weld 2A33 67 15. Thermal History, Weld 2A34 68

V.ll Figure Page

16. Weld Metal Porosity ...... 69 17. Charpy V-Notch Fracture Surfaces. 70 18. Wide and Normal-Plate Thermal Histories - Midheight 71 19. Wide and Normal Plate Thermal Histories - Top 72

vm ABSTRACT

The electroslag welding process is a rapid deposition, high heat input process in which the weld is made vertically. The metal is deposited under a blanket of molten slag which is maintained throughout the time of welding. The intimate contact of the weld deposit with the slag pool for a relatively long period of time affords an opportunity to obtain clean, well refined weld metal. The Electroslag Refining process conducted under similar conditions is used in the steel industry for the sole purpose of obtaining clean metal, ingots in that case rather than weld metal. Despite the potential for excellent weld deposits, problems have been encountered in electro- slag welds. One such problem has been the occurrence of microcracks up to 4 mm (0.160") long in the weld metal. The-cracks are usually located in the pro- eutectoid ferrite following the prior austenite grain boundaries. The present research was directed toward finding out what is the cause of the micro- cracking and how it might be controlled. The research has indicated that the micro- cracking is a low temperature hydrogen induced phenomenon which begins at w-125 C (257 F) during postweld cooling. Sources of hydrogen were found to include moist flux, atmospheric moisture and the filler wire. A saturated 53 C (128 F) atmosphere consistently produced micro- cracking. Welding wire containing ;r20 ppm hydrogen caused cracking while wire containing <-15 ppm hydrogen did not cause cracking when welded under similar conditions. The amount of external restraint on the weldment was a determining factor in how much cracking was obtained at a given hydrogen potential. High basicity flux was found to produce larger amounts of weld metal hydrogen than a neutral flux. The hydrogen sometimes manifested itself as weld metal porosity (wormholes.) The possibility that more highly alloyed and/or finer austenite grained weld metal would exhibit less detrimental cracking has been raised by this research. Mechanical tests made on electroslag weld metal indicate that the microcracks do not cause a loss in Charpy V-notch or tensile ultimate and yield strength test values. The microcracks were found to cause a drop in tensile test elongation from 28% to 22%. Although there are many questions still left unanswered regarding the cracking phenomenon,• the results of this research suggest possible solutions to the microcracking in a production environment. The most obvious remedy is more careful control of the hydrogen supplied to the weld metal by the filler wire, the flux and the atmospehre. Also, the desirability of using retarded cooling, possibly with preheat or postheat, is readily apparent. Comparisons have been made with the apparently similar micro- cracking obtained in shielded metal . Introduction

During the 1950's the electroslag welding process was developed in the Soviet Union for the joining of heavy section (> 25 mm) steel plates, castings and forgings. Electroslag welding, particularly with a consumable guide, was used in the United States beginning in the late 1960's. Two of the primary applications in the United States were for making the longitudinal seams of steel ship plates and for the joining of bridge I-beam and box beam structural members. The high heat input single pass feature of electroslag welding presented an economic advantage over competing multi-pass welding processes, being the main competing process. Shown as Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of how the consumable guide electroslag process is normally used to join plates 25 - 51 mm thick. Plates over 51 mm thick can be welded using a • variation of this basic layout. Multiple and/or oscillating can be employed for welding thicknesses up to several hundred millimeters thick. Since 1974 problems with electroslag welded structures have become evident. The problems have included lack of. fusion, slag inclusions and micro- cracking in addition to limited impact toughness in apparently defect-free weldments. The limitations of conventional NDT methods (e.g. ultrasonics)' in locating defects has hindered the analysis of fabrication problems. In the spring of 1977 the Federal Highway Administration banned the use of federal funds for any bridge which utilized electroslag welds in main tension members because of continuing uncertainty regarding the integrity of the welds. This ban remains in effect today. Concurrent with the ban came various inspection programs for checking the integrity of bridge electro- slag welds which were already made. The ban also brought attention to the necessity for a more in- depth look at the electroslag welding process and the effect of specific welding parameters and their relationship to defects. Several research programs have begun in the United States with this aim in mind. The work done under one such research program, spon- sored by the American Iron and Steel Institute through the Welding Research Council, forms the basis for this thesis. The objective of the AISI-WRC Research Project was to investigate the cause of weld metal micro- cracking in consumable guide electroslag welds. Such cracking had inadvertently been obtained in other research work4 as well as in production weldments. The cracks were often found to be 2-3 mm long and oriented through the proeutectoid ferrite along the prior austenite grain boundaries in the weld metal. The first objective of the present research was to reproduce the microcracking type of defect in laboratory electroslag weldments. The influence of various base plates, filler wire and flux combinations was included in a probe of which welding parameters' influenced the cracking phenomenon. A greater under- standing of the phenomenon itself was concurrently sought. Lastly, it was hoped that methods could be developed to alleviate the microcracking defect in production. CHAPTER I EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

i A. Weldment Configuration and Welding Procedure The determination of the welding parameters critical to the microcracking phenomenon entailed a series of thirty-eight electroslag weldments. The welding parameters were held constant for each of the weldments. Variations were introduced in the atmosphere, flux, base material, wire and restraint for different welds. Shown in Figure 2 is a "standard" size weldment which was utilized for most of the welds. The plate fusion edges were saw cut and scale was ground off the face of the plate where fusion would occur. The only major change from the configuration in Figure 2 was the use of smaller (13 mm thick) strongbacks for the low restraint weldments. Table 1 is a listing of the parameters which were controlled for each of the welds. Table 2 lists the specific welding parameters for each of the welds and the resultant cracking obtained. Early attempts at developing a weldment con- figuration, before that shown in Figure 2 was decided upon, included a hole cavity. Two 51 mm (2") thick plates had 19 mm (3/4") deep, 38 mm (IV) wide grooves milled in them. The grooves were approximately 280 mm (11") long. When the two plates were clamped together, matching their grooves, a square hole 38 mm x 38 mm (IV x IV) was obtained. Cooling shoes were utilized on two opposing vertical faces to provide cooling even though they were not necessary to contain molten metal. This weldment configuration was dropped after three welds were made, since it offered no greater restraint than the more realistic low restraint butt-welded configuration. On many of the butt welded plates contraction due to welding was measured by locating punch marks spaced 127-133 mm (5-5V). apart on the front and back faces. The punch marks were located c13mm (V) from the top and bottom.of the plate edges. A vernier caliper was used to measure the spacing be- fore and after welding so as to calculate the con- traction. For a typical weld the flux stored at 150°C (302 F) was removed from the oven not more than 10 minutes before welding was to begin. Not more than 8 minutes or less than 3 minutes before welding the artificial atmosphere injection tube was strapped to the guide tube. The injection tube was a partially flattened 4.8 mm (3/16") I.D. copper tube initially located 165-178 mm (6%-7") below the top of the runoff blocks. The injection tube was gradually raised as the weld proceeded so that is was always >25 mm (1") above the molten slag. The saturated atmosphere which the •injection tube often carried was made by bubbling air through a flask of water heated to a selected tempera- ture on a hot plate. The atmosphere temperature was measured at the top of the flask as the saturated air exited into a 6 mm (V) I.D. plastic tube which connected with the injection tube. The plastic tube had a second, larger diameter plastic tube around it to retard condensation. Shown in Figure 3 is a weld- ment with the injection tube assembly attached. The 7 " ' same basic arrangement was used for injecting an argon or hydrogen atmosphere from compressed gas cylinders. Water to the copper shoes was turned-on 1-4 minutes before welding. The inlet cooling water temperature was 5-21°C (40-70°F) and the exit water never exceeded 50 C (122 F) during welding. The cooling water was left on for 1-2 hours after the weld was completed. The weldment temperature was always < 75 C (167°F) when the cooling water was turned off. The welds were typically aged for at least three days, at ambient conditions, unless there was a postweld heat treat- ment, before sectioning. Flux was added 3-4 times during the welding process. The amount of flux used to maintain a normal 25-51 mm (1-2") slag depth was 290-375 grams (0.64-0.83 pounds). All flux of the same grade was •f — from the same manufacturing ba£ch. The wire feed rate was 305-333 cm/min (120-130"/ min) and the total welding time 21-25 minutes for most of the welds. The high CaF~ fluxes resulted in 35% slower feed rate and longer welding times. Approximately 4.3 kg (9.5 pounds) of was used for each weld. All wire of the same grade was from one manufacturing heat. B. Consumables Three different steel grades of 51 mm (2") i thick plates were utilized for the experiments. They were A36, A588-B and A572-50. ' Table 3 lists the manufacturer's chemical analysis for each of them. All the plate of each grade was from the same heat. Three different commercial fluxes were utilized. Listed in Table 4 is the compositon of each flux. A basicity calculation indicates that flux "A" (basicity 1.2) is neutral, "B" (basicity 2.7) is basic and "C" (basicity 4.1) is strongly basic. CaF_ was treated the same as CaO in the basicity calculations. "A" was originally developed as a submerged arc flux but is widely used as an > electroslag flux. "B" is commercially sold as mainly an electroslag starting flux. Listed in Table 5 are manufacturer's data on the composition of the undiluted weld deposit for each of the three 2.5 mm (3/32") dia wires utilized. Wire "A" is a cored wire specifically developed for electroslag welding and is intended to give high impact toughness ( note 1.80% Mn). Wire "B" is a solid wire while "C" is a cored wire specifically made to closely match the alloying of A588 plate. None of the wires was copper coated.

C. Acoustic Emission Monitoring Four weldments were acoustically monitored during welding and for 36 hours after the welds were completed. All of the welds utilized the standard weldment configuration shown as Figure 2. Two of the welds were monitored in the same manner with the only difference being ,the atmosphere maintained above the molten slag. A second pair of welds was monitored different than the first pair (e.g. different transducers, continuous postweld monitoring) The second two welds differed from each other only in the atmosphere maintained; one was welded with a moist atmosphere and the other in a dry atmosphere. Listed in Table 6 are the details of the acoustic emission monitoring scheme utilized. For all four of the welds two transducers were "C" clamped to the face of one 305 mm x 152 mm plate. The plate was surface ground where the trans- ducers were located. The centerlines of the trans- ducers were located 18-25 mm (3/4-1") from the top and bottom edge of the plate immediately next to the 102 mm (4") wide cooling shoe (i.e. ~76 mm from the weld centerline). As noted in Table 6, the first pair of welds (2A28 and 2A29) utilized 100-300 KHZ transducers without couplant and unprocessed (i.e. spatially non-selective) count rate collection. Additionally, the solidified slag was manually chipped from the weld metal immediately after welding was finished. Postweld monitoring began after the cooling shoes were reinstalled (9-11 minutes postweld time). The amount of the slag on the top of all four a.e. monitored welds was kept to a very minimum by over- flowing the slag during the final stages of welding.

10 The second pair of welds (2A3 0 and 2A31) differed from the first pair in that they used 400-600 KHZ transducers with high temperature couplant and count rate data from between the transducers only (i.e. processed data). Additionally, monitoring was not interrupted after welding since the cooling shoes were left in place and the solidified slag was not removed.

D. Thermal Monitoring and Postweld Heat Treatment Several welds (2A32, 2A33, 2A34, 2A35 and 2A36) were made with thermocouples installed for temperature monitoring. Two chromel-alumel thermo- couples were used, each ^located 25 mm (1") from the inside of the plate edge at mid-thickness, 13-16 mm (1/2-5/8") from the fusion line. One thermocouple was located at mid-height and the second 25 mm (1") from the top edge. A 1.5 mm (1/16") dia hole was drilled from the surface of the plate, 51 mm (2") from the inside edge, at a 45 degree angle toward the fusion line. A 36 mm (1.4") long hole placed the end of the hole at the desired location. The hole was counterbored to 4.8 mm (3/16") dia. The chromel-alumel thermo- couples were held in contact with the metal at the bottom of the hole by packing asbestos in the counter- bored section of the hole.' Weld 2A04 was also temperature monitored using a slightly different thermocouple placement. Thermo- couples were located at mid-height and mid-thickness

11 25 mm (1") and 51 mm (2") from the inside plate edge. A third thermocouple was located 51 mm (2") from the top of the plate, also at mid-thickness and 25 mm (1") from the inside plate edge. Welds 2A32, 2A33 and 2A34 were postweld heat treated and temperature monitored. Each weldment was left with the cooling shoe water on until it had cooled to a temperature 10-15 C above the desired minimum postweld temperature (e.g. 115 C). The cooling shoes were then removed and the temperature monitoring interrupted for less than 3 minutes while the weldment was transported to the postweld heat treatment furnace. The same monitoring instrumen- tation was reconnected for temperature measurement at the furnace.

E. Mechanical Tests Charpy V-notch tests were made on the weld metal from one weld which had a major amount of microcracking and a second weld which was crack-free (2A04 and 2A09 respectively). Both welds utilized A572-50 plate, wire "A" and flux "A". Welding with a hydrogen gas atmosphere above the slag pool was used to induce the microcracking in the cracked weldment. Standard 10 mm x 10 mm x 55 mm Charpy specimens were utilized. The specimens were located at the quarter thickness location with the V-notch on the bottom. Ten specimens were taken from the lower section of the weldment (two quarter-thickness specimens at each of five vertical levels). Five

12 specimens were tested at -18 C (0 F) and five at 5 C (40 F). Ten specimens were made and tested in> the same manner from the upper portion of the weldments. Additional Charpy V-notch tests were also , conducted at -18 C (OF) on crack-free A588-B weldments 8A08 and 8A11. Five quarter-thickness specimens were made from the top and bottom of each weld. Tensile tests (12.8 mm diam.) were also con- ducted on weld 8A08. A partially cracked A588-B weld, 8A07, similarly was tensile tested. All tensile specimens were taken in pairs.from the quarter-thickness location at the extreme upper and lower ends of the weldments. For weld 8A08, from which both Charpy and tensile specimens were made, the impact test specimens were taken inboard of the tensile specimens.

F. Microscopic Inspection The initial weldments were sectioned in numerous orientations to ascertain the section orientation which would reveal cracking most readily. Surfaces were examined which were located approximately at mid-height and parallel to the plane of the plates at the quarter and mid-thickness locations and perpendicular to the plane of the plates at a centerline and 9.5 mm (3/8") off centerline location. Additionally, horizontal section specimens were taken at several locations along the weld length.

13 There was a nonsystematic variation in the amount of cracking observed in the different specimens of a single weldment. A series of three horizontal specimens seemed to adequately reflect the overall weldment cracking. These specimens, ' taken at mid-height and 76 mm (3") from the top and bottom of the plate, were exclusively used for analyzing the last twelve weldments. i - Each of the specimens was polished with 1 ^m alumina as a final step prior to etching with 1-2% nital. Examination for cracks was done at 50x using a light microscope. The number of cracks observed per 6.45 'cm 2 (in 2 ) were qualitatively described as: Very slight >0, *1 Slight 1-5 Moderate 6-10 Major 11-20

Severe > 20 " t ( Cracks longer than 0.8 mm (0.030") were counted as if they were several cracks each 0.8 mm long.

14 CHAPTER II RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Moisture Hot centerline cracking has previously been produced in electroslag weld metals by welding a medium carbon steel with a high wire feed rate. The microcracking of interest in this research however, was of a different morphology. It tends to follow the proeutectoid ferrite which has pre- cipitated along the prior austenite grain boundaries. Work by Shackleton in 1977 had in-, dicated that the microcracking was not associated with the delta ferrite solidification structure i.e. not microalloy solidification segregation. 2 Hydrogen remained as a possible cause despite the high diffusion rate which it would have during the relatively slow cooling of an electroslag weldment. The use of hydrogen or moisture containing atmospheres above the molten slag during welding induced the microcracking sought. Microcracking could also be induced by utilizing a wet flux (10% water by weight). Another obvious source of moisture, which was not investigated, is the asbestos-water mixture sometimes used as a cooling shoe sealant. No flux leakage was experienced in any of the welds even though sealant was not used. Comparison of cracking obtained in numerous welds (8A16, 2A18, 8A19, 2A26, 2A27, 2A28, 2A29, 2A30, 2A31),

15 all of which utilized the high restraint configuration, neutral flux ("A") and the high Mn cored wire ("A"), allow the following generalizations: Welding Conditions Cracking Saturated air @ 53 C (128 F), dry flux lYbderate, major or severe Ambient atmosphere, flux 10% water Moderate or major Saturated air @ 40°C (104°F), dry flux Slight Ambient atmosphere, dry flux Very slight or slight Argon atmosphere, baked wire, dry flux None

A listing of the cracking obtained in each weld- ment, from which these generalizations were obtained, is shown in Table 2. The results are appropriate for either A572-50 or A588-B base material. The limited number of A36 welds indicates that it also follows these same cracking trends. A hydrogen atmosphere was utilized for a low re- straint weldment during the early stages of the research. A "major" amount of cracking was obtained (weld 2A04). Since saturated air or wet flux cracked no more than "slight" under the same low restraint conditions, the pure hydrogen atmosphere is considered a much more severe condition. The hydrogen atmosphere weld was made to verify the ability to obtain hydrogen induced cracks and to com- pare their crack morphology with those induced by moisture. The 40°C (104°F) saturated air and ambient atmosphere (30-40% relative humidity at 21-26 C) welds gave similar cracking. The "threshold" of a saturated air

16 atmosphere causing additional cracking beyond that caused by other hydrogen sources (e.g. welding wire) was apparently >40°C (104°F) and <53°C (128°F). This result is generally consistent with recent work by U.S. Steel which indicated a 59. C saturated air threshold using the same flux as our "A" with A588-A 3 plate. Earlier Japanese work had indicated a lower 1 temperature of * 32 o C (90 o F) using a neutral, but not 4 identical, flux. It is important to note that the saturated atmosphere threshold can be expected to vary as a function of other welding parameters. Two of the most important were subsequently found to be the type of flux and the weldment restraint. The discrepency with the U.S. Steel work is remarkably small despite the difference in the weldment restraints. The discrepency with the Japanese work is more difficult to explain since both the restraint and flux basicity seem roughly comparable to both the present work and the U.S. Steel work. It is significant that only the present work included a "baseline" cracking which was not eliminated by solely controlling the atmosphere or flux moisture. The welding wire was apparently also contributing hydrogen, as discussed later in this report. The moisture (i.e. hydrogen) induced cracking obtained bears a strong resemblance to that obtained by A. E. Flanigan and coworkers ' ' ' in the shielded metal arc welding process. Their work confirmed the ability to obtain low temperature hydrogen-induced microcracking by simply wetting low-hydrogen electrodes,

17 analogous to a moisture-laden flux in the present work. A detailed investigation of what percentage of water in the flux constituted a "threshold" amount of moisture was not undertaken. Because of the non-uniform addition of flux to the slag pool, a saturated air atmosphere was used as a more standard way of inducing cracking. The use of 10 wt% water in the neutral flux verified the ability to obtain cracking from this moisture source.

B. Restraint The amount of restraint imposed on the weld- ment to retard the plates pulling together was varied by using different strongback arrangements. Shown in Table 7 is the variation in contraction obtained. The contraction is quantitatively very similar to that recently reported by Kpnkol and Domis of U.S. Steel in their research. The restraint was found to be a major parameter determining the amount of microcracking. Comparison of welds 8A07 and 8A19 (Table 2) shows an increase in cracking. The increase in cracking from "slight" to "major" was caused by the variation in restraint. This is consistent with work reported by others. 3 ' 9

18 C. Crack Morphology Shown in Figure 4 are photographs of typical hydrogen-induced cracks. With rare exception the cracks completely followed the proeutectoid ferrite along the prior austenite grain boundaries. All of the cracks apparently initiated in the ferrite with <5% running out into the pqarlite matrix. Cracks departing from the proeutectoid ferrite were more common with the fine grained (prior austenite) A588-B than with A572-50 or A36. The crack length varied from 0.13mm to 3.8 mm (0.005" to 0.150"). The cracks were always located in the weld metal at least 4.8 mm (3/16") inside of the fusion lines and cooling shoe surfaces. This is where a residual tensile stress would be anticipated. Flanagan's work with hydrogen microcracking in shielded metal arc welding yielded a similar result with respect 5 to crack location. The many different specimen orientations taken indicated that the cracking is not normally and consistently more prevalent in one plane than another. The distribution of cracks from the top to the bottom of the weld was also approximately uniform despite a report that there is more diffusible 9 hydrogen at the up'per end. In a marginal cracking situation in A572-50 material, the cracks occurred in the coarse austenite grain boundaries rather than the fine grain boundaries which were also present. This trend was evident in all of the A572-50 welds which had "slight" or "very slight" cracking. The minimal amount of coarse grains in A588-B did not allow observation of this same preference.

19 The marginal condition cracks, again mostly in A572-50, also tended to lie parallel to the fusion lines, as viewed in a horizontal section. This is as might be expected if the major residual tensile stress is in the plane of the butt-welded plates, as is quite possible.

D. Acoustic Emission The purpose of the acoustic emission monitoring was.to determine when cracking occurs as the weldment cools during the postweld period. Although monitoring was done during the welding period, determining whether extreme slag levels could be identified acoustically was not an objective as it was in work by E. B. Schwenk et. al. The flux level was kept within a normal 25-51 mm (l"-2") level during the welding period. Shown in Figures 5 and 6 are the postweld results of the first pair of monitored welds (2A28 and 2A29). The "severely" cracked weld showed a higher emission rate than the "good" (very slightly cracked) weld only in the first 20 minutes after the weld was completed but a lower rate thereafter. Figures 7 and 8 show the postweld results of the second pair of welds (2A30 and 2A31). They were equipped with higher frequency transducers (400-600 KHZ vs. 100-300 KHZ) than the first pair and the slag was not removed. They also used transducer couplant and processed (i.e. spatially selective) data, which the first pair did not. The second pair did not show a significantly higher emission rate for the "cracked"

20 vs. "good" weldment at any time. The "good" weld had 45% more total counts than the "cracked" weld after 36 hours postweld time, as shown in Figure 8. The results, which are consistent for both pairs of welds, were apparently indicative of a noise source other than weld metal cracking. Slag cracking is the most likely candidate even for the first pair of welds in which the majority of slag was manually removed with a chipping hammer. If slag is actually the noise source, the use of higher frequency trans- ducers did not eliminate pickup of the slag noise. Others have suggested that high frequency trans- ducers ( -»"500 KHZ) would be more capable of excluding slag noise than lower frequency • transducers (-*-200 KHZ). ' A possible explanation of the unexpected results is that the slag brittleness or its adhesion to the weldment is influenced by the atmospheric moisture which was used to induce cracking. The location distribution plots periodically made during the postweld period were qualitatively similar. The plots (number of events vs. location) indicated a tendency for the bulk of the emissions to shift from the top to the bottom of the weldment over a two hour postweld period. After several hours the emissions were more evenly distributed along the entire weld-length. There is no apparent explanation for these results. Figures 9 through 12 show the emission rate and cummulative emissions during welding. The emission rate did not vary as a function of when flux was added as

21 Schwenk found in his work using extreme slag levels. The "cracked" welds showed more emissions than the "good" welds. The reason for this is unknown. Subsequent work, discussed in the Initiation of Cracking section, showed that the microcracking is a low temperature phenomenon which would not be active during welding.

E. Initiation of Cracking The inability of the acoustic emission work to provide weld metal cracking information led to post- heating a series of three welds. The welds (2A32, 33 and 34) were made under identical conditions which had previously been shown to crack from "moderately" to "severe" (welds 2A18, 28 and 31). Earlier work by others had shown that it was possible to eliminate cracking by immediately heating to 300 C after welding. 3 ' 9 Each weld in the series was allowed to cool to a lower postweld temperature than the previous weld (<.300°C) before it was placed in a furnace for at least 12 hours to reheat or to maintain the minimum temperature. The last weld of the series was the one which was allowed to cool to a low enough temperature to allow cracking to take place. It is assumed that maintaining an elevated postweld temperature allows the hydrogen to diffuse out of the weld metal and thereby prevents cracking.

22 Figures 13, 14 and 15 show the weldment temperatures both during and.after welding. Weldment 2A32 reheated to 300 C from a minimum of 195 C did not crack (Figure 13). Maintaining a minimum weldment temperature of 145 C by holding in a furnace for 60 hours also eliminated cracking (weld 2A33, Figure 14). Making a similar test at 105 C minimum gave "slight" cracking (2A34, Figure 15). The results indicate that cracking did not occur until the weld cooled below 145°C. The threshold of cracking for this weldment configuration (i.e. restraint), hydrogen level and cooling rate is in the vicinity of 125 C, approximately 25 minutes after welding is finished. Since the hydrogen diffusion rate is both time and temperature dependent, a different cooling cycle would change the threshold temperature. An increase in hydrogen and/or restraint would be expected to shift the temperature to a higher value. A difference in one or more of these parameters may account for Kunihiro and Nakajima's reported threshold of <100 C in their electroslag weldments. 12 The time dependence of the hydrogen diffusion and its effect on the cracking has been demonstrated in shielded metal arc welds. Cracking was prevented by either delaying cooling so that the hydrogen could diffuse out of the weld metal as we have done, or by immediate water quenching to ambient temperature after 6 7 8 welding so as to prevent hydrogen concentration. ' '

23 A viable way of minimizing cracking in production electroslag welds may be to decrease the cooling rate. Since the cooling rate at temperatures below 150 C is of interest, it will be influenced by even minor amounts of preheating. Preheating or postheating may be of assistance in the production of weldments which are moderate in size i.e. not large heat sinks. Some mixed success has been obtained by other investigators in decreasing the cooling rate by decreasing the cooling shoe effect. Use of graphite or solid copper cooling shoes, which allow slower cooling, have decreased the cracking in some 3 12 13 cases. ' ' These results are consistent with the present research work. However, use of 60 C (140 F) cooling water in a.conventional cooling shoe was not 3 effective xn retarding cracking. The results of the postweld heat treatments indicates that cracking initiated at about 125 C, 25 minutes after welding was completed. How quickly the cracking proceeds after initiation is not indicated. Welds 8A16 and 8A37 possibly give an indication of this missing information. Both welds were made under identical conditions. The cooling water was left on both welds for 2 hours after welding was finished and they had reached»30 C (86 F). The strongbacks of weld 8A16 were removed at that time and sectioning begun. Weld 8A37 was left for an additional three days before any work was done to it. The cracking observed in both of the welds was "moderate".. This result could mean one of two things, j

24 First, welds subjected to a thermal history such as used here undergo a significant percentage (>25%) of their cracking within a few hours of the weld finish. Or, secondly, the effectiveness of the high restraint bars becomes less important after the weldment is at room temperature i.e.. the weld which was undisturbed for two hours continued to crack after the external restraint was removed until it was examined' several days later. It is known that the external restraint plays a major role in inducing cracking when a temperature of <150 C is reached. The role of the restraint at 30 C is less certain although it would seemingly be of some major significance. The contraction measurements discussed earlier (Table 7) unfortunately did not^include an elastic contraction when the strongbacks were removed. Such a contraction would indicate a direct effect of the strongbacks. U.S. Steel did report such a contraction of 0.51 mm (0.020") in their very similar 3 work. If there had been such a contraction > 0.13 mm (0.005") in the present work it would have certainly been detected, but it was not. Although the evidence is far from conclusive, there is certainly some merit in the first alternative suggested above i.e. a significant portion of the cracking occurs within a few hours of welding, with the weldment by then at ambient temperature. This possibility is not necessarily inconsistent with 14 work on thick plate shielded metal arc welds or other electroslag weldments 9 whxch indicated that

25 some microcracking may continue for several days after the weld is completed.

F. Base Material The base material melted in electroslag welding normally comprises 40-50% of the weld deposit. 15 The balance is made up of the guide tube (^v-10%) and the filler wire. With this high base metal dilution it is not surprising that the microstructure is influenced by the base metal composition. The A588-B was found to have a much finer austenite grain structure than the A36 or A572-50 material. This is consistent 1 6 with Paton's work in the 1950 's. The prior austenite grains were less clearly outlined by ferrite in the A588-B than in the A572-50 or A36 plate. This was due to there being more ferrite internal to the austenite grain partially obscuring where the grain boundary had been formed. The A588-B also tended to form intermittent solidification line oriented, ferrite "bands" when welded with flux "B". This banding occurred less with flux "C" and not at all with flux "A". The base material influence on microcracking is less well defined than the difference in austenite grain size. There is a variation in cracking of A572-50 welds from "moderate" to "severe" (2A18, 2A28, 2A31) even when welded under the same conditions (see Table 2). The "moderate" cracking of A588-B weld 8A37 falls within the range of the A572-50 results. Hence the A588-B cracking must be regarded as roughly comparable to that obtained in the A572-50 if the total number of cracks is the criterion for judging crack severity. Since the A58 8-B cracks are often shorter, the A572-50 tends to have a greater total crack length.

26 A36 base material shows "moderate" cracking (weld 6A22) when welded under similar conditions as the A572-50 and A588-B welds compared above. Since the A36 and A572 grain sizes are roughly comparable, their cracking by either a total crack length or number of cracks criteria is roughly equivalent. Hence, A36 as well as A572-50 is possibly more sus- ceptible than A588-B utilizing a total crack length criteria. Without a significantly larger number of weld- ments, and many specimens from each weldment, it is difficult to make a definitive comparison of the cracking propensities of the three base materials. It is particularly difficult because of the variation in cracking among supposedly identical welds. None- theless, a trend of equivalent cracking is apparent if judged on a number of cracks criteria, and a greater resistance for A588-B if judged on a total crack length criteria.

G. Flux The operating characteristics of the three fluxes were quite different as well as their influence on hydrogen. Both flux "B" and "C" had significantly more CaF„ than "A" (see Table 4). The resultant 2 ■ • increased conductivity and lower viscosity of "B" and "C" caused distinctly different operating characteristics from that of flux A. First, the amperage fluctuated from 500 to 700 amps during welding rather than re- maining 575 - 25 amps as with "A". " This was caused by the slag alternately losing contact with the guide tube and then reestablishing it. This was visibly observed. Second, the wire feed rate was much slower with "B" and "C" than with "A" when the same average amperage was 27 maintained for each of them. Welding times for "B" and "C" fluxes were typically 31-35 minutes vs. 22-25 minutes for comparable "A" flux welds. A high basicity flux would normally be ex- pected to result in a lower weld metal oxygen content and higher hydrogen content. This has been shown to be true with several electroslag fluxes even when CaF„ is a significant constituent and is treated as fully basic. 3 ' 4 ' 17 The use of the higher basicity fluxes in this work resulted in wormhole porosity in the weld metal rather than a major increase in cracking (welds 8B12, 8C14, 8B23 and 8C24). The porosity occurred only when wet flux or an artifical saturated air atmosphere was used. Figure 16 shows the porosity which was obtained, apparently by hydrogen, despite Paton's comments that hydrogen can usually escape from the weld metal. Flux "C" was found to cause both "slight" crack- ing and wormholing in the same weldment when a 40 C (104 F) saturated atmosphere and high restraint was used ( 2C24). In weld 8C15 dried flux "C" with an ambient atmosphere and low restraint was verified as producing a crack-free weld. Flux "B" was also found to produce wormholing and cracking in the same weld- ment (8B23) if high restraint and a 53 C saturated atmosphere was utilized. The j tendency for greater cracking as a direct function of basicity was not shown in these experiments 4 as was recently done by others. There was apparently much more hydrogen available than in similar" "A" flux

28 weldments but it manifested itself quite often as porosity rather than as cracking. An investigation was not made into the precise conditions for inducing porosity because of the limited incidence of this type of defect' in production welds. However, it was shown that 10% wet flux always induced porosity with either II13B" II or "C" flux. Flux "B" produced significant crack- ing with or without porosity with a 53°C saturated atmosphere and flux, "C" caused cracking, with some porosity, using a 40 C saturated atmosphere. During the initial few minutes of welding there were often some droplets of liquid water coming from the injection tube because of condensation. This condition was eliminated after a few minutes of welding when the guide tube heated up. It is possible, although uncertain, that the porosity was caused by the liquid. The porosity was usually predominant in the lower part of the welds except for 8B23, in which case the single wormhole was exclusively in the upper half of the weldment. For all of the cracked welds without wormholes, there was no preferential cracking in the lower section as might be expected if the liquid water was a factor. The conclusion is that the liquid water must be considered an unlikely, although possible explanation for the wormholes. Flux B caused the formation of a unique structure in A588-B base material weldments. Ferrite bands formed' intermittently along the weldment length following isothermals of solidification. Cracking in the "B" flux weldment in A588-B often followed a ferrite band. Flux "C" tended much less to form these same

29 bands in A58 8-B and the cracking did not tend to follow it. Flux "A" did not cause the ferrite bands at all.

H. Slag Depth It is uncertain whether the depth of the slag pool appreciably changes the hydrogen shielding capability of the molten slag. A588-B weldments 8A17 and 8A37 have different cracking coincident with a large difference in slag depth (12 mm vs. 40 mm) which implies the slag does act as a shield. However, the cracking difference is within the range of variation which was obtained for "identical" A572-50 welds. Hence, a definite indication of the slag's shielding capabilities was not obtained. The 12 mm ih") slag depth did result in many more inclusions in the weid metal than a more normal 25-51 mm (l"-2") slag depth. Paton's comments indicate that the slag is an ineffective shield against moisture induced hydrogen. He says the need for argon gas above the molten slag when electroslag welding titanium is a direct con- 16 sequence of this. In contrast, work by Kunihiro and Nakajima in 1974 indicated that a variation in slag depth can influence the weld metal hydrogen content. 12 A normal 25-51 mm (l"-2") slag depth was used for all of the weldments in the present work except the control weldment 8A17 noted above.

30 I. Wire The three wires utilized in this work have the compositions noted in Table 5. The use of wire "B" with A36 plate and wire "C" with A588-B plate (welds 6A20 and 8A21) under a 53 C saturated atmosphere gave no cracking. If microalloying were a factor in the microcracking, these two welds should show different cracking propensities because of widely different base plate and filler wire microalloying. vChanging to wire "A" resulted in "moderate" cracking in two additional welds (8A37, 6A22) which were otherwise the same. The possibility of the welding wire contributing to the weld metal hydrogen was suspected from these results. Shown as Table 8 are the results of hydrogen analyses on several sections of each welding wire (^50 mm length of wire per analysis). Wire "A" contains more hydrogen than either "B" or "C". Table 8 also shows that the non-metallic coatings on the wires contribute 0-4 ppm hydrogen while the hydrogen, presumably in the form of moisture and eliminated upon baking, is about 15 ppm for wire "A". For wire "B", the other cored wire, it is about 10 ppm. Weld 2A25 was made with wire "A" which had been held in a 50-60 C (120-140 F) saturated atmosphere for 2 days prior to welding. No additional cracking was obtained beyond that which a normal wire "A" had induced (2A27, 2A29 and 2A30). The wire was apparently saturated with hydrogen bearing compounds at normal atmospheric conditions.

31 The ability of wire "A" independently to provide sufficient hydrogen to induce cracking, without any atmospheric contribution, was verified with welds 2A36 and 2A38. Weld 2A36 was made under an argon atmosphere. The "slight" cracking obtained with it was the same as that obtained in similar welds exposed to the atmosphere (2A27, 2A29 and 2A30). The welding wire was apparently the major cause of the cracking obtained in these ambient atmosphere welds. The high hydrogen content of the wire is the reason why cracking could not be eliminated by only controlling the flux and atmosphere moisture levels, as previously discussed. This residual crack- ing under ambient conditions was not reported by U.S. Steel in their work, but they also used a different 3 wire which was not cored. Weld 2A38 further verified that as-received wire "A" was able to induce cracking by itself. The wire was baked at 425°C (800°F) for 1 3/4 hours and then used within 25 minutes of removal from the furnace for making a weld under an argon atmosphere. No crack- ing was obtained, apparently due to the hydrogen content decreasing from<*-20 to «*2 ppm in the filler wire. It is apparent that the welding wire can be a significant contributor of hydrogen to the weld metal and that it can, by itself, induce small amounts of cracking. The microalloying effect of different wires on the hydrogen cracking susceptibility, if there are any, were overshadowed by the wire hydrogen content.

32 It was earlier determined that wire "A" would induce cracking using a neutral flux and a 53°C saturated atmosphere. Wires "B" and "C" did not in- duce cracking under the same circumstances. It is reasonable that the combination of atmosphere hydrogen and wire hydrogen must reach a certain critical level, depending on other parameters (e.g. cooling rate) before cracking will occur. If this is true, wires "B" and "C" can be expected to induce cracking with a hydrogen potential in the atmosphere greater than that required for "A" but less than that required for a baked wire having^^2 ppm hydrogen.

J. Mechanical Tests In Table 9 are the results of Charpy V-notch tests on cracked and uncracked A572-50 weld metal. There is essentially no difference in the impact energies measured. However, examination of the specimen fracture surfaces indicates a major difference, Figure 17-A and 17-B clearly show the "faceted" surface of. the cracked weld metal specimen and the fibrous surface of the uncracked weld metal tested at -18 C. The facets are apparently vein cracks which opened when the specimen was broken. The ability of the cracks to decrease the energy absorbed was negligible because of the crack orientation. The results indicate that it is probably not possible to detect microcracking of the severity present in this study with the standard Charpy test. Hydrogen induced cracking might be expected to reduce the specimen elongation in a tensile test with- out substantially effecting the yield and tensile

.33 strengths. This occurred in tests of cracked (8A07) and uncracked (8A08) weld metal in A588 steel as shown in Table 10. The elongation decreased from 29% to 22% in a 51 mm (2") gage length. The cracked 12.8 mm dia. (0.505") tensile specimens also clearly showed "fish eyes" on the fracture surface and cracks which opened up on the surface in the necking region. These tensile test results are in agreement with work done by Nishio, Hiromoto and Inoue also on 9 electroslag weld metal.

K. Weldment Thermal Cycle The tests discussed so far were all conducted with 152 mm (6") wide plates. The cooling water was left running for 1-2 hours after the weld was com- pleted. How this thermal history differed from a production weid in a very wide plate, which would not have the cooling shoes left on, was investigated. Two 610 mm (24") wide plates were welded under' conditions which had been shown to give some micro- cracking. The base metal temperature was monitored (weld 2A35) during and following welding at the mid- thickness location, 25 mm (1") from the inside edge as had been done with some standard size weldments. Figures 18 and 19 are graphs of the thermal history of the wide plate weld and a normal size laboratory weld. One graph is for the mid-height temperature while the other is for the temperature 25 mm (1") from the top of the plates. As would be expected, the wide plate weld cools slightly quicker than the narrow plate case. Leaving the cooling shoes on for the narrow plate, however, produces a more rapid cooling at low

34 temperatures than that shown by the wide plate. Since the wide plate reaches the cracking threshold of~-125°C slightly quicker (—-1-3 minutes sooner) but then cools more slowly from 100 C, it would be difficult to know whether it is more or less susceptible to microcracking, The cracking in wide plate weld 2A35 and the similar narrow plate weld 2A26 was the, same ("slight"). Hence, the results of this research work would likely have been similar if 610 mm wide plates had been utilized throughout. The extreme edges of the 610 mm plates did not get warm to the touch for some 3 0 minutes after the welding was completed (weld metal temperature 100 C). Therefore, the wide plate weld thermal history must be a close representation of an infinite plate's until at least 100 C is reached by the weld metal. Since the subsequent slow cooling of the wide plates did not alter its cracking relative to the 151 mm plates, the standard specimen may approach the actual per- formance of an infinite width plate with respect to the hydrogen induced cracking tendency.

35 CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

The results of this research clearly indicate that hydrogen-induced cracking can be caused by a combination of high restraint and moisture. Moisture from a saturated air atmosphere between 40 and 53 C was found to cause significant cracking when used with neutral flux and a filler wire containing 2 0 ppm hydrogen. The wire apparently supplemented the atmospheric hydrogen to cause significant cracking although it resulted in only minor cracking when used with an inert or ambient atmosphere. It is expected that cracking could be induced by numerous different combinations of wire, restraint and saturated air temperature. Higher restraint could, in effect, be substituted for part of the hydrogen from the atmosphere or wire to result in equivalent cracking. The hydrogen induced cracking phenomenon was found to initiate at a temperature of about 125 C during postweld cooling. It is reasonable that this temperature will depend on the specific restraint and hydrogen present. However, it is quite clear that microcracking begins at a low temperature, at le^ast 20 minutes after a weld is completed. These experiments further show a significant portion of the cracking (?»-25%) may possibly occur within a few hours after reaching ambient temperature.

36 The mechanical tests performed indicate that microcracks in the weld metal decrease the tensile test elongation. Tensile yield and ultimate strength and Charpy V-notch tests were found to be insensitive to microcracks 0.13 - 3.8 mm long. The CVN results indicate that weld metal exhibiting an energy absorption of 20 joules (15 ft-lb) at -18°C (0°F) is not difficult to obtain in A572-50 or A588-B with normal welding procedures and con- sumables.

Left unexplained by this work is the question why the cracking occurs in the proeutectoid ferrite having a Vickers hardness of approximately 115 as. opposed to the pearlite/bainite/ferrite micro- 12 structure hardness of approximately 200. Undoubtedly it is related to high solubility of hydrogen in the austenite and its inevitable rejection to discontinuities upon austenite trans- formation. How it is related is quite uncertain just as'ib has remained unknown in a similar cracking found in shielded metal arc weld metal.

More specific, less academic, questions are also raised or left unanswered by this work. They include areas such as:

(1) Base material effects - what is the cause of the possibly superior cracking resistance of A588-B. (2) Grain size-is the maintenance of small austenite grain size a viable way of re- ducing microcracking susceptibility as is implied by the selective cracking of large grains in marginally cracked welds.

37 (3) Reproducibility - why is there a variation in the amount of cracking observed in welds made under the same welding con- ditions.

(4) Polar.ity - does the use of straight polarity rather than reverse polarity result in less weld metal hydrogen, as Paton has suggested, and is it a viable 16 means of controlling microcracking. (5) Fatigue - what effect does microcracking have on the weld metal fatigue resistance. Some work has suggested that the toe of the electroslag reinforcement is more susceptible to crack propagation than the microcracks., 12, 18 (6) Flux basicity - to what extent is a low basicity desirable in view of increasing weld metal oxygen retention as basicity decreases. ' (7) Time - Temperature relationship - how does the -2Z125 C threshold vary for different thermal histories and when specifically does cracking occur during the postweld period.

Obviously there are many questions still un- answered regarding the cracking phenomena. However, this research has illustrated that control over several welding parameters can assist in reducing cracking. These steps would include utilizing:

38 (1) Flux of moderate basicity (2) Dried flux (3) Welding wire of low hydrogen content (4) Reduced cooling by preheat, postheat or cooling shoe manipulation so as to maintain the weldment temperature >125 C for several hours after welding (5) Atmosphere control, perhaps with an inert shield when extreme humidity is encountered.

It is encouraging that the results of this experimental work are consistent with much of the work which has been done by others dealing with this same phenomenon. The basic cause of the problem appears to be generally attributed to hydrogen, largely supplied by moisture. It is hoped that this work enhances the understanding of the basic phenomenon and aids in finding suitable ways to utilize the economic advantages of the electroslag welding process.

39 1. Weldment configuration - all 51 ntn (2") thick x 305 ran (12") high butt welded plates. Plate width 152 ran (6") except for one 610 ran (24") wide weldment. Starting blocks 51-76 mm (2-3") tall. Runoff blocks 38-76 mm (132-3") tall.

2. Amperage - 575 amps in all but one weldment

3. Voltage - 38 volts in all cases, reverse polarity

4. Base Plate - A572-50, A36 or A588-B. Rolling direction for A36 and A588B kept horizontal. Rolling direction for the A572-50 was unknown.

5. Wire - 2.5 ran (3/32") diameter, three different types used (one solid, two cored)

6. Flux - three different commercially available types utilized (basicities 1.2, 2.7, 4.1)

7. Flux Moisture - ambient, dry (baked at 425 C lh hrs and held at 150 C) or 10% liquid water by weight

8. Restraint - (A) Four, 13 mm (h") thick strongbacks tacked in place with their C.L. 22 mm (7/8") from the top and 63 ran (2Jj") from the bottom of the 51 mm x 305 mm plates or (B) Four, 51 mm (2") thick strongbacks welded on with 407 ran (16") of 18 ran (3/4") E7018 fillet weld per strongback. Strongback centerline 60 ran (2 3/8") from the top or bottom edge of the 51 mm x 305 ran plates

9. Welding Atmosphere - ambient, 100% hydrogen, 40°C (104°F) water saturated air, 53°C (128 F) water saturated air, 100% argon (high purity)

10. Guide Tube - 16 ran (5/8") dia., AISI 1018, uncoated. Acetone cleaned the I.D. and O.D. before use. Table 1 Parameters Controlled for Each Weld

40 11. Cooling Shoes - Copper, water cooled, 460 mm (18") tall, with weldment reinforcement recess

12. Pre-Startup Adjustments (A) Guide - to - sump clearance 25 mm (1") (B) Wire - to - sump clearance 6 mm (%")

13. Postweld Heat Treatment - Ambient, 105°C, 145°C or 195-300°C

Table 1 Parameters Controlled for Each Weld (continued)

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47 Welds 2A28 and 2A29 1. Transducers - Model D-9205-M2,. SN's G178 and F208 100-300 KHZ response, no couplant used

2. Preamplifier - Differential, Model 1801-190B, SN's 2204 and 2206

3. Amplitude Threshold - 50 db during weld, 40 db postweld 4. Gain 30 db during weld, 40 db postweld 5. Envelopes - 10 ms

6. Spacing Trim - 9.5

7. Traveling window (accept zone) during welding

8. Window 1-99 (transducer-to-transducer) postweld 9. Count rate accumulated per second

10. Calibrated at 40 db gain

11. Unprocessed (spatially non-selective) count rate recorded from bottom transducer

12. Event location and amplitude distribution plots made during welding and postweld

Welds 2A30 and 2A31 1. Transducers - Model D9210M1, SN's AA24 and BA54 400-600 KHZ response, K-B Hitempco 1000 couplant used

2. Preamplifier - Differential, Model 1801-450B, SN's 2177 and 2178

3. Amplitude Threshold - 50 db during weld, 40 db postweld 4. Gain 30 db during weld, 40 db postweld 5. Envelopes - 10 ms 6. Spacing Trim - 9.5

Table 6 Acoustic Emission Monitoring Parameters Dunegan - Endevco series 3000 equipment

48 ' 7. Window 1-99 during welding 8. Window 1-99 postweld

9. Count rate accumulated per minute during welding. Per 10 or 20 mins postweld.

10. Calibrated at 40 db gain

11. Processed count rate and total counts recorded from bottom transducer

12. Event location and amplitude distribution plots made during welding and postweld

Table 6 Acoustic Emission Monitoring Parameters (continued)

49 o o in o o ■P CD o 0) £ (0 to l n o m & n o o I" 00 3

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53 control wire supply panel power supply

molten slag molten meta cooling water inlet & outlet strongbacks

cooling shoe (cutaway)

Figure 1 General Electroslag Welding Configuration

54 c O "to ou u n05 en oc

in ii \

n

C\] O i if)

Figure 2 Standard Weldment Size

55 Figure 3 Laboratory Weldment Weld 6A20

56 8

I< 03

I PQ

-P

+J <3 0) (A 0) C

& I

Figure 4 Weld Metal Microcracks Weld 2A18, A572-50 base material 50X, Nital etch

57 ■1 1 i 1 1 1

- -

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Figure 5 Postweld Emission .Rate Welds 2A28 and 2A29

50 1 i i i i 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 - 1 \ t .i - . o - CO o . -a

x v X x v X CO - _- o O - - Q.

; :

- -

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Figure 6 Cumulative Postweld Drassions Welds 2A28 and 2A29

59 CD in en O o o o o O (•ujUU/siunoD) GIB^J i-unoo

Figure 7 Postweld Qnission Rate VJelds 2A30 and 2A31

60 1 1 1 1 1 1 —r 1 1 1 1

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1 i 1 1 I _.!._ l I _ 1 1 1 1 1 m ro CM (suoiijiuj ui) s^unoo l^}Qj_

Figure 8 Cumulative Postweld Emissions Welds 2A30 and 2A31

61 i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 180 l\ \ n * » * v i * 160 cracked weld 2A28 v ' \ \ ' t \ ( * . \/ stop •~ 140 C 0) ■£ 120 3 o U _ 100 C stop 0$ 3 80 o

60 - good weld 2A29 or 40 - c O U 20 -

0 i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 0 5 10 15 20 25 Time(min.)

Figure 9 Count Rate During Welding Welds 2A28 and 2A29

62 i—i—i—i—i—i i i—n—i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i |

2.0

cracked weld 2A28 / C 1.5- O

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0$ 0.5 - good weld 2A29

0 i i i t i i i T-i i i i i ■ i i I i I i I I t i I l i i i i 0 5 . 10 15 20 25 Time (min.)

Figure 10 Cumulative Counts During Welding Welds 2A28 and 2A29

63 i i i i I i i i i I i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i c E 80 - if) +-> c o u 60 - cracked weld 2A31 c en

o 40 -

0

good 20 weld c 2A30 O U 0 » i i' * i » » i i i i » » i » i i i i i i i 0 5 . 10 15 20 25 Time (min.)

Figure 11 Count Rate During Welding Welds 2A30 and 2A31

64 i i i i i i i i i i i i i l I i i I l I I I I I I I I

^0.6 - - 10 c • O „ / - := 0.5 / E cracked weld / .Eo.4 2A31 >^^ / *•—' / / CD / -*-» / C 0.3 / Z3 / / o i / u I / 0.2 - ' / 03 i / -»-» i / O i / 1 h- 0.1 AL ^good'weld ■ / / ^- 2A30

0 . i. i i i i i i i i -m i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i 0 5 10 15 20 25 Time (min.)

Figure 12 Cumulative Counts During Welding Welds 2A30 and 2A31

65 1 1 1— 1 r ■!— —i— -

y c o° c£ »•— o ^ o "* cn -t-J c oZ5 »4—o - CD 0 u o U — +->' sz 05 to o O

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• 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 o o o o o o 8 o o O o 00 CD ^r c\i (Do)s>Jn;EJ0duu0i

Figure 13 Thermal History Weld 2A32 No weld metal cracks

66 1 ■ i 1 r- ~T ■ r —|— —i *_" CDu ' O OJ ■ ■ C ■*-> L. - ga 1z o c - o ^ ^ O) c 4— T3 o (/) CD U O CD " U -t-1 sz. in CO d c - U) o O o c _ +-> \ H— •+-> O — — A — C c_ - o-- u t/1 - 0u 9 c: - u ' N. - +-» / \ — — - 0 •D "O £ H

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I o o o o o o o o 8 o o CO CD "* C\J OJ 0jn^Ej0duu0i

Figure 14 Thermal History Weld 2A33 ITo weld metal cracks

67. 1 1 ' 1 1 i i i i i -

O ™c 3 3 'c 0 O £C - 0 ^ c ™ H— T3 o - £ u o U +-» (/) ro O ^ c- O O _ Q. en c »♦— _ ■+-> \ 1 L. - o C_ u -"^^ 073 3CO — _ - VI ^ 0) U - 0 c - U 7 *" to (D

•D E — £ H

i i " 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 o O ' o o 0 o o o o 0 0 o 00 (D ^r OJ Oo) aJniEJGduual

Figure 15 Thermal History Weld 2A34 Slight cracking

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— M =3 I - " 8-.

E-*fl CO :E3

— N *" =N 8. I m

s 8 CO

•H

Figure 16 Weld Matal Porosity Weld 8B12

69 A - Weld 2A09 No microcracks

B - Weld 2A04 Major microcracking

Figure 17 Charpy V-Notph Fracture Surfaces

Itest at -18°C (0°F) A572-50 base material

70 <^_N to c/l 0 03 fU O. a Q 0 h c) (_ O 1 a. in (D in ro ro ■o < (D C\J C\J £ ■a T3 JZ 0) iP ■o& £ £ CO \ >- \ \ \ LJ % \ \ \ ^ \ \

(o ) 0jn^.Bjaduu0i

Figure 18 Wide and Normal Plate Thermal Histories Midheight Midthickness 25mm from the inside edge

71 > 0«P cfl -M OJ o CO Q. m

Q. ■= 0 C T3 £_ 1 8 tf) CD c/> c en < 0) CM C\J £ 0 ■o p x: CD CD -*-> o <: £ a o

■CO•^ 0

CO

0 E i-

JL o o o o o o o o 00 CD Oo)0jnq.fej0duu0i

Figure 19 Wide and itorrnal Plate Thermal Histories Top Mid thickness 25rtm from the top of the plate

72 REFERENCES 1. Cary, H. B. (ed.)/ Porta-Slag Welding, Hobart Brothers Inc., Troy, Ohxo, 1970, pp 1-24 2. Shackleton, D. N., Acceptance Criteria for Electroslag Weldments in Bridges, Phase-1, European Research Institute for Welding, April 1977 3. Konkol, P. J., Domis, W. F., "Causes of Grain-Boundary Separations in Electro- Slag Weld Metals", Welding Journal, June 1979, pp 161-167s 4. Nakano, S., Tamaki, K., Tsuboi, J., "Hydrogen and Cracking in ESW Weld Metals", IIW Document XII - J-49-7 6 5. Flanigan, A. E., Kaufman, M., "Microcracks and the Low-Temperature Cooling Rate Embrittlement of Welds", Welding Journal, Vol. 30, Dec. 1951, pp 613-624s 6. Flanigan, A. E., Bocarsky, S. I., McGuire, G. B., "Effect of Low-Temperature Cooling Rate on the Ductility of Arc Welds in Mild Steel", Welding Journal, Vol. 29, Sept. 1950, pp 459-465S 7. Flanigan, A. E., Micleu, T., "Relation of Preheating to Embrittlement and Microcracking in Mild Steel Welds", Welding Journal, Vol. 32, Feb. 1953, pp 99-106s 8. Flanigan, A. E., Saperstein, Z. P., "Iso- thermal Studies on the Weld Metal Micro- cracking of Arc Welds in Mild Steel", Welding Journal, Vol. 35, Nov. 1956, pp 541-556s 9. Nishio, Y., Hiromoto, Y., Inoue, K., "Study on Hydrogen Behavior and Preventing Welding Cracks in Electroslag Weld Zones", IIW Document XII - J- 48-76 10. Schwenk, E. B., Shearer, G. D., Hutton, P. H., Klein, R. F., "Monitoring Electroslag Welding by Acoustic Emission", The Third Acoustic Emission Symposium, Tokyo, 1976, pp 428-441

73 11. Mitchell, J. R., McGogney, C. H., Culp, J. D., "Acoustic Emission for Flaw Detection in Electroslag Welds", presented to the South Texas Chapter of the American Society of N.D.T., April 1979 12. Kunihiro, T., Nakajima, H., "Microcracking in Consumable Nozzle Electroslag Weld Metal", Proceedings of Japan-U.S. Seminar on Significance of Defects in Structures, 1974 13. Konkol, P. J., "Effects of Process Parameters on Thermal Distribution During Electroslag Welding", Welding Journal, Dec. 1977, pp 371-379s 14. Nishio, Y., Yoshida, Y., Miura, Y. "A Study of the Behavior of Diffusible Hydrogen and Weld Cracking in Thick Weldments", IIW Commission XII Document, 1976 15. Culp, James D., "Electrosgal Weldments: Per- formance and Needed Research", Public Roads, Vol. 41, 4 Ed, 1978, pp 181-192 16. Paton, B. E., Electroslag Welding, American Welding Society, New York, 1962, pp 158-171, 355-360 17. Nakano, S., Tamaki, K., Tsuboi, J., "Slag Metal Reactions and Origins or Oxygen in the ESW Process", IIW Document XII - J - 67- 78 18. Kapadia, B. M., Imhof, E. J., "Fatigue Crack Propagation in Electroslag Weldments", Flaw Grow and Fracture, ASTM STP 631, 1977, pp 159-173

74 VITA

James A. Davenport was born in Lockport, New York on July 20, 1950 to Paul and Constance Davenport. He was raised in Yonkers, New York, graduating from Roosevelt High School, located there, in 1968. Between 1968 and 1973 he attended New York University in New York City, obtaining a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering cum laude in 1972. In 1973 he received a Master of Business Administration degree from the New York University Graduate School of Business ^Administration.

•a Between 1973 and 1978 Mr. Davenport worked for Exxon Corporation and then Olin Corporation at their South Louisiana manufacturing facilities. His specialization in the materials engineering aspects of process equipment design and operation was supplemented with a Master of Science degree in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering from Lehigh University in January of 198 0. Mr. Davenport is currently a Materials Engineering specialist with E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Gulf Coast Regional Engineering Office, Beaumont, Texas. He is a member of Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies and NACE and ASME professional societies,

75