A comparative study of the microstructure and mechanical properties of HTLA steel welds obtained by the tungsten arc welding and resistance spot welding

Hardness tests are routinely employed as simple and efficient methods to investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of steels. Each microstructural phase in steel has its own hardness level. Therefore, using surface hardness mapping data over a large area of weld zone would be a reasonable method to identify the present phases in steel. The microstructure distribution and mechanical properties variation through welded structures is inhomogeneous and not suitable for certain applications. So, studying the microstructure of weld zone has a significant importance. 4130 steel is classified in HTLA steels and it is widely used in marine industry due to its superior hardenability, good corrosion resistance and high strength. Gas tungsten arc and resistance spot welding are the most usable processes in joining of 4130 sheets. In this work a series of welds have been fabricated in 4130 steel tube by gas tungsten arc and resistance spot welding. The tube was subjected to quench-tempered heat treatment. Slices from the welds before and after heat treatment were polished and etched and the macrostructure and microstructure were observed. Hardness maps were then determined over the large area of weld zone, including the heat affected zone and base plate. Results show good relations between the various microstructures, strength and hardness values. It is also proved that this method is precise and applicable to estimate phase fraction of each phase in various regions of weld. In the current study some equations were proposed to calculate the ultimate tensile stress and yield stress from the weld. The calculated data were compared with experimental data obtained by tensile test. Average relative error between data prepared by these two methods has a very acceptable value around 5%.

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► Hardness mapping is a novel method to identify different phases.
► Surface hardness mapping, tabulates the hardness of a large area of weld.
► Hardness maps can be used to depict the strength map through the specimen.
► Hardness mapping is an easy way to identify the phase fractions within the specimen.