Microstructures from wire-fed laser welding of high strength steel grades

In welding, wire-feeding enables alteration of the resulting microstructure and, in turn, the mechanical behavior of the welded joint. For pipeline steel grades, very few commercial wires are matching at high strength and simultaneously ensure sufficient toughness. New wire chemistries need to be investigated. Promising consumable chemistries can be studied through metal cored wires. One promising concept is alloys that promote acicular ferrite instead of bainite. Interlocking instead of parallel laths can lead to higher toughness. In the gouge range of 15–19 mm, laser-arc hybrid welding has been studied for pipeline steel grades X80 and X100. For efficient mapping of various weld metal conditions, a simplifying “snapshot” method was developed. A pulse shaped laser beam melts wire pieces in a controlled manner, reproducing thermal cycles in welding. The weld metal tends to form bainite, but under certain conditions, complex microstructures with interlocking laths can be generated. Slow thermal cycles can lead to coalescence of the laths to coarser structures, while fast cycles favored finer structures and occasionally lath interlocking. The formation of acicular ferrite was difficult to achieve. Advanced wire chemistries lowered the hardness of the weld metal, as did preheating.