CHARACTERISTICS OF

RESIDUAL STRESS
They are elastic in Nature
They are self equilibrating
Any disturbance like removal of
material or introduction of thermal
load will alter the equilibrium
Can not be eliminated but only be
minimized

INFLUENCES OF RESIDUAL STRESSES

Brittle Fracture

Fatigue Failure

Stress Corrosion Cracking

Dimensional instability

INFLUENCES OF RESIDUAL STRESSES

Minimize load carrying capacity

Residual stress can make a defect a

fracture

Presence of compressive residual

stress can cause buckling in thin

structural members

METHODS OF MINIMIZING RESIDUAL

STRESSES
Stress relieving Annealing
Vibration stress reliving
Local Post weld heat treatment
Over stressing
Hammer Peening
Needle pin Peening

Methods of Heat treatment

Out Gassing or Hydrogen Back out

Pre heating

Post Heating

Post Weld Heat Treatment

Out Gassing or Hydrogen Back out

The objective of this heat treatment is to

raise the temperature of the steel and hold
it to allow the hydrogen to diffuse out.
The hold time varies depends upon the
material

and

section

thickness

with

temperature upto 450C and the time

between one and 48 hours .

Pre heating
The objective is to
(a)

Reduce the rate of cooling

(b)

Allow the Hydrogen to diffuse away

from the weld at a faster rate

(c)

Pre heating also drives away the

moisture from the weld areas

Pre heating
The objective is to
Reducing the residual stresses
present

already

Preheating also makes it easier to

weld materials having high
thermal
conductivity like copper and Aluminium
by compensating for the heat that
dissipates rapidly
Uniform preheating reduces the
distortion due to welding

Post Heating
This is an extension of preheat
Post heating
welding

is

performed

after

Post Weld Heat Treatment

It consists of heating the weldments at a controlled
rate to temperature range below the transformation
temperature (AC1) and holding it at the temperature
for certain time and cooling it down at a controlled
rate.
The lower and upper critical temperature indicate
where the crystal structure of steel begins and
finally completes a change from BCC structure to
FCC structure.

Post weld Heat Treatment

The objective of PWHT:

Relieve the residual stresses.

Improves ductility & toughness

and reduce HAZ hardness

Improving the machinability and

dimensional stability after
machining

Post weld Heat Treatment

The objective of PWHT:

diffusion of hydrogen from the joint

and reduce the susceptibility to
cracking.

It is usually applied to higher

strength carbon-Mn steels and low alloy
steel

Post weld Heat Treatment

The PWHT is usually carried-out by
heating the whole assembly in a furnace
or a oven.
Where the assembly exceeds the size of
available furnace or for welds done in
field

fabrication,

localized

treatment will be carried-out

heat

Post weld Heat Treatment

Depending upon the welding condition
and the knowledge of the earlier failures

Post weld Heat Treatment

PWHT can have both beneficial

and detrimental effects.

Post weld Heat Treatment

Benefits :
Relaxation of residual stresses
Adequate hydrogen removal
Improved mechanical properties

Post weld Heat Treatment

Detrimental effects
Excessive or in appropriate PWHT
temperature and long holding time can
adversely affect properties
The influence/effect of PWHT depends
upon
the
composition
and
prior
mechanical processing of the base metal.

Methods of Post weld Heat

Treatment
Using permanent furnaces
Local Heat treatment
By Induction Heating
By Resistance Heating

Permanent Furnaces
Advantages:
The
temperature
distribution
will
normally meet the requirements of
current fabrication, codes or customer
specifications
Uniform heating of complete structure
avoids inducing thermal stress as is the
case with local heat treatment.

Permanent Furnaces
Advantages:

Less labour utilization

Cost effective and economical

method
and one time capital
investment

Minimizes delays to the production

programme

Local Post weld Heat

Treatment (LPWHT)

Necessity for Local PWHT

This is carried-out
If the final fabrication is too large
If the component has to be erected at
site where there are no furnace available
During erection of pipe works on
engineering construction sites, repair
work, complex configurations

Precautions to be taken
Control of heat loss during heating
During PWHT heat losses simultaneously
taking place due to
Conduction through the pipe wall on
either side
Convection by air movement inside
the pipe
Radiation losses

Precautions to be taken
Control of heat loss during heating

To make most efficient use of the heating

source and to avoid excessive cooling rates
weld joint and the adjacent pipe is covered
with insulation
It is better to hold the insulation and the
heating elements with steel band

Precautions to be taken
Control of heat loss during heating
To avoid air circulation inside the pipe
which can cause cooling of the inside
wall all openings in the pipe must be
closed

with

dummy

starting of the cycle.

covers

before

Precautions to be taken
Measurement of temperature

During the heat treatment cycle, the

temperature is measured and recorded
with the help of thermocouples and
recorders

Normally chromel-Alumel thermocouples

are widely used.

Precautions to be taken
Measurement of temperature

Chromel wire is non magnetic and

connected to the positive terminal of the
powers source.

The alumel wire is magnetic and

connected to the negative terminal.

Precautions to be taken
Measurement of temperature

The thermocouple wires are short. Hence

compensating cables are used

Do not interchange the electric terminals

Fixing the thermocouple on the spot is

very important as far as accuracy is
concerned

Use capacitor discharge unit

thermocouples

for fixing

Precautions to be taken
Support of the pipe during heating

During PWHT, the materials strength is

considerably low.

With heavy wall piping, the weight of the

long span will cause permanent
deformation if it is unsupported

Care should be taken to ensure that no

load including the self weight of the
pipe is coming on the weld during heat
treatment.

Local Post weld Heat treatment

Induction Heating
Principle
Induction heating is produced by an
alternating low voltage, high current, applied
to coils wrapped around the pipe.
The magnetic field associated with the
current passing through the coil, penetrate
the pipe.
A current is induced in the pipe & resistance
to the induced current heats the pipe.

Local Post weld Heat treatment

Induction Heating
Advantages

High rate of heating is possible

Temperature can be controlled

narrow range

Localized over heating is not produced

within

The coils have longer life and so they

do not fail during heat treatment

Local Post weld Heat treatment

Electrical Resistance Heating
Due to heavy cost of the induction
hating heating, PWHT users now-a-days
planning to switch over to electrical
resistance heating which is costing very
less as compared to induction heating

Local Post weld Heat treatment

Electrical Resistance Heating
Advantages
Continuous uniform heating can be
maintained
Temperature can be adjusted quickly
and accurately
Heating and welding can go on
simultaneously

Differential heat input can be given

Highly economical

Local Post weld Heat treatment

Electrical Resistance Heating
Dis-advantages
Element burn out may take place causing
interruption
The resistance heating element can get
shorted with the pipe causing stray arc.
The open loop equipment operates at high
voltage

Electrical Resistance Heating

Types of heating elements
Nichrome with ceramic beads
Flexible ceramic pads

Terminologies used in Local PWHT

Soak Band

Heat Band

Soaking Temperature

Soaking Time

Definitions

W
T
SB
HB
GCB
W Maximum width of weld thickness , T - Thickness
SB Soaking Band ( Weld and HAZ)
HB Heating Band ( Weld, HAZ and Part of PM under heat source)
GCB Gradient Control Band

Terminologies used in Local PWHT

Soak Band
The soak band consists if the weld metal,
HAZ and a portion of the base metal
adjacent to the weld being heated
The soak band is sized to to ensure that
the required volume of the metal
achieves the desired temperature

Terminologies used in PWHT

Heated Band
The heated band consists of the surface area
(soak band plus portion of base metal) over
which the heat source is applied to achieve
the required temperature in the soak band
and limit induced stresses in the vicinity of
the weld.

Terminologies used in PWHT

Gradient Control Band
The gradient control band consists of the
surface area over which insulation and heat
sources are placed
It encompass the soak band , heated band
and sufficient adjacent base metal

Terminologies used in PWHT

Gradient Control Band serves two functions

It minimizes heat losses in the heated

band

It ensures the axial temperature

gradient within the heated band is not

exceeded

Temperature gradients

A minimum

axial temperature gradient

temperature at a distance of 2Rt from the

edge of the soak band be no less than one
half of the temperature at the edge of the
soak band during heating, hold and cooling

Temperature gradients
Through thickness gradient
A close through thickness gradient are
required to be met in newly introduced
materials

like

X-20

and

P91

steels

to

prevent cracking
Close contact between the pipe and the
heating coil is necessary to obtain close
thermal gradient between OD and ID

Parameters used in PWHT

Heating Rate

Cooling Rate

Soaking Temperature

Soaking Time

Parameters used in PWHT

Heating Rate
The rate of heating during PWHT can affect
the temperature difference between the
outside and inside surfaces

Parameters used in PWHT

Hold Temperature and Time
PWHT

hold

temperature

and

time

requirements are based on the type material

and the thickness

Parameters used in PWHT

Cooling Rate
The cooling rate may maintained as that of
the heating rate

Standards

Heating Rate

Cooling Rate

Soaking Time

Width of the
Heating Band

Insulated
Band

AWS D1.1

<200C per hour

divided by the max
metal thick of thicker
part

<260C per hour

divided by the max
metal thick of thicker
part

6.4 mm or less 15
Minutes

--

--

Need not less than

55C

Need not less than

55C

Upto including 25
mm 220C per hour

Upto including 25
mm 275C per hour

2.5 minutes per mm

thickness

> 25 mm it is
5500C/thickness or
55C whichever is
greater

> 25 mm it is
6875C/thickness or
55C whichever is
greater

Minimum 30
Minutes

Thick <25 mm
200C per hour

Thick <25 mm
200C per hour

One hour per 25 mm

of thickness

Thick > 25 mm
5000C/hour divided
by ax thick or 50C
whichever is greater

Thick > 25 mm
6250C/hour divided
by ax thick or 50C
whichever is greater

BS 2633

AS 1228

6.4 mm to 50.8 mm
1 Hour per inch
Over 50.8 mm 2
hours plus 15
minutes for each
additional inch

Width the heating

band shall be atleast
5t

Width of the heating

band 5 root Rt

Insulation
band 10
root Rt

Standards

Heating Rate

Cooling Rate

Soaking Time

Width of the
Heating Band

Insulated
Band

ASME
Sec. VIII

Max
222C/Hr/Thick

Max
278C/Hr/Thick

1 Hr per inch upto

2.

--

--

Min. 55C per

hour

Min. 55C per

hour

>2 - 2 hr plus 15
minutes for every
additional inches

6000C/hr/thick

6000C/hr/thick

2.5 minutes per

mm thickness

Weld and HAZ

5 root Rt

Max 200C/Hr

Max 200C/Hr

<335C/hr
divided by 50%
of thickness in
inch

<335C/hr
divided by 50%
of thickness in
inch

1 Hr per inch upto

2.

3 times the
thickness of the
pipe of thickest
part.

Insulation
band 10
root Rt

BS 5500

B31.1

>2 - 2 hr plus 15
minutes for every
additional inches

Case study

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Pipes used for trials
Material
OD
ID
Thickness
Length

:
:
:
:
:

Carbon steel
458 mm
339 mm
57 mm
2.7 mts.

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Pipes used for trials
Material
OD
ID
Thickness
Length

:
:
:
:
:

P91
325
285
20
660

steel
mm
mm
mm
mm

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Pipes used for trials
Material
OD
Thickness
Length

:
:
:
:

P22 steel
253.6 mm
47 mm
1.6 mts.

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Trials were carried-out with single
coils and split coil methods
Trials were carried-out with single
coils and split coil methods

Evaluation of Existing Practice

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Observation
In P91 the hardness measurements
were
carried-out
using
portable
EUCOTIP unit
Initial Hardness measured : 197 Hv
Final Hardness measured : 173 Hv

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Observation
Residual Stress Evaluation (in MPa)
Magnitude of residual stress before PWHT : -234
Magnitude of residual stress After PWHT

: -73

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Observation
Micro structural Evaluation
Microstructure was taken using replica and
electrolysis method
The grain size was changed from coarser to
finer after PWHT

Experiments carried-out at WRI

Conclusion
A temperature gradient of 30 can be
achieved with a lot of care and a
maximum of 50 with inadequate care.
Trials with split coil appears to give
better results