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EFFECT OF WELDING PROCESSES AND POSTWELD HEAT TREATMENT ON THE

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF Ti-6Al-4V CASTINGS

Article  in  International Journal of Materials Engineering and Technology · January 2015

DOI: 10.17654/IJMETJan2015_001_021

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 International Journal of Materials Engineering and Technology
© 2015 Pushpa Publishing House, Allahabad, India
Published Online: January 2015
Available online at http://www.pphmj.com/journals/ijmet.htm
Volume 13, Number 1, 2015, Pages 1-21 ISSN: 0975-0444

EFFECT OF WELDING PROCESSES AND POSTWELD

HEAT TREATMENT ON THE MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES OF Ti-6Al-4V CASTINGS

Reham Reda1, Abdel-Hamid Hussein2, Adel Nofal1, M. Sobih3 and

El-Sayed M. El-Banna2
1
Central Metallurgical R&D Institute
Helwan, Egypt
e-mail: metallurgist_reham@yahoo.com
2
Faculty of Engineering
Cairo University
Egypt
3
Military Technical College
Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the effect of two different
welding processes and postweld heat treatment on the microstructure
and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V castings. Gas tungsten
arc welding (GTAW) and electron beam welding (EBW) processes
were undertaken in this paper. After welding and heat treatment,
the specimens were characterized using macrostructural and
microstructural investigations. In addition to that tensile, Charpy
impact toughness and Vickers microhardness tests were also
conducted. The joints fabricated by EBW process exhibited better
mechanical properties than the GTAW joints. Postweld heat treatment

Received: June 12, 2014; Accepted: August 8, 2014

Keywords and phrases: Ti-6Al-4V, GTAW, EBW, postweld heat treatment, microstructure,
mechanical properties.
2 Reham Reda et al.
cycle was designed and conducted. The designed postweld heat
treatment improved the mechanical properties of both types of the
weldments. The enhancement of the mechanical properties of the heat
treated joints was correlated to the weld metal microstructures.

Introduction

Ti-6Al-4V alloy is one of the most widely used Ti-alloys, accounting for
more than half of all titanium tonnage in the world, and no other Ti-alloys
threaten its dominant position [1]. This alloy has an excellent combination of
strength, toughness and good corrosion resistance. Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been
considered as one of preferential engineering materials extensively used in
many industrial fields such as aerospace, pressure vessels, aircraft-turbine,
compressor blades, nuclear engineering, petrochemical, civil industries,
military vehicles and surgical implants [1-6].
Due to the high cost of titanium, e.g., material and processing costs, the
use of net-shape or near-net-shape technologies receives an increasing
interest considering the large cost saving potential of this technology in
manufacturing parts of complex shapes. Casting technologies enable the
manufacture of complex shapes and large parts [1-3, 6]. Various cast parts of
titanium are used in automotive and aerospace applications such as cast
frames for aircraft engines, compressor casings, cast fan frames, exhaust gas
pipes of auxiliary gas turbines, connecting rods, intake and outlet valves and
rim screws. Titanium castings have been used also in biomedical and dental
applications, e.g., cast hip joint stems as well as for crowns and bridges
[2, 3].
Ti-6Al-4V alloy is of α + β type Ti-alloy, schematic binary phase
diagram of Ti-6Al-V alloy is shown in Figure 1. With increasing temperature,
α-phase transforms into β-phase until above the transus temperature (Tβ) of
about 955-1020°C, the whole structure consists of the high temperature
β-phase [2, 3, 6, 7]. α + β alloys have a range in the phase diagram (Figure
1) from the α α + β -phase boundary up to the intersection of the M s -line
with room temperature, thus α + β alloys transform martensitically upon
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 3

fast cooling from β-phase field to room temperature. Lamellar structure can
be formed by slow cooling from the β-phase [6, 7]. The existence of the
α β transformation means that a variety of microstructures and property
combinations can be achieved in the alloy through heat treatment, thus
permitting the adaptation of properties to new applications [2, 7].

Figure 1. Schematic binary phase diagram of Ti-6Al-V alloy, (MS:

martensite start temperature).
Welding is important in the fabrication of aerospace components, in
addition to certain types of implants such as pace-makers, defibrillators,
catheters, cochlear, insulin pumps, stents, and orthopedic implants that are
often made of two elements welded together [8, 9]. The need to weld the
alloy for certain applications can expose the alloy locally to non-optimum
thermal cycles and it is, therefore, of importance to gain an understanding of
the kinetics involved in the phase transformations during heating and
cooling. Macro- and microstructural characteristics of weldments in Ti-
alloys, as affected by weld solidification, cooling rate, and postweld
heat treatment, significantly influence weldment corrosion and mechanical
properties [10, 11].
Ti-alloy can be welded by a wide variety of fusion and solid-state
welding processes [11, 12]. Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is the most
preferred welding method for reactive materials like Ti-alloys due to its
4 Reham Reda et al.

comparatively easier applicability and better economy. However, it is widely

understood that the GTAW of Ti-alloys exhibits coarse grains in the weld
zone, which often results in inferior mechanical properties [10]. If production
volume is large or Ti plate thickness exceeding about 50mm, the high capital
investment required for electron beam welding (EBW) and laser beam
welding (LBW) systems can be acceptable, based on higher welding rates
and improved productivity [11].
LBW is similar in many ways to EBW, because both of them
offer advantages of high speed, good automated manufacturing and highly
reproducible, in addition to narrow welds with low risk of distortion. The use
of high-energy-density welding processes to produce full-penetration, single-
pass autogenous welds rather than multipass conventional arc welding, is
desirable to minimize the residual stresses in Ti welds that greatly influence
the performance of a fabricated aerospace component by degrading fatigue
properties [10, 11, 13]. LBW can be thought as a substitute for EBW, but it is
limited from the standpoint of joining thick Ti plate, with 15kW required to
produce a full-penetration weld in 13mm thick [11, 12]. Using EBW, plates
up to 100mm thickness can be welded without filler metals. EBW was
undertaken in this study. Electron beam welding (EBW) is highly suited for
joining titanium, as the high vacuum inside the chamber where the process is
carried out, shields hot metal from contamination.
The transformations during continuous cooling could thus be quite
complex. Since cooling rates in welding also vary depending on welding
processes, a wide spectrum of microstructures may be expected to form
on the fusion zone. This will obviously have an important effect on
the properties of the weldment [7]. A deep understanding of the
phase transformations and microstructural modifications occurring during
processing, e.g., welding and heat treatment, is required to allow the
improvement of the mechanical performances [11]. The objective of this
work is to: (i) compare between GTAW and EBW processes of Ti-6Al-4V
alloy from the point of view of tensile properties, hardness and impact
toughness, moreover, (ii) study the effect of postweld heat treatment upon the
former properties of the both welding methods.
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 5

Experimental Procedure

The material used in this study was cast Ti-6Al-4V alloy manufactured
by Baoji intelle metals Co. Ltd., China. The chemical composition is given in
Table 1.

Table 1. Chemical composition of the studied alloy

Element Al V Fe C O N H Ti
wt.% 5.89 4.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.0016 0.0053 Balance

Plates of dimensions 100mm × 85mm × 5mm and 27.5mm × 85mm × 5mm

were prepared, each two of these plates were welded together, then the
tensile and impact testing samples were machined from these plates,
respectively, using electric discharge machining (EDM). EDM was
conducted with very slow speed to avoid any surface damage; hence its
effect could be negligible. Filler materials with square cross-section area of
dimensions 3mm × 3mm × 200mm for GTAW were prepared from the same
materials.
Prior to welding, the base material plates were milled with a clean
stainless steel brush on one edge and degreased with acetone to remove the
surface oxide layer from the edges to be welded. Filler material was also
polished then washed with detergent in an ultrasonically agitated bath
and water-rinsed before being dried to ensure cleanliness of the weldments.
These polishing and cleaning procedures were enough to remove any oxides
or effect of the EDM process.
Butt joint welding configuration was undertaken upon both the welding
processes. Table 2 presents the parameters of GTAW and EBW processes
used in this study. GTAW process was performed, using filler material from
the same alloy, on a joint of single V groove-shaped plates in argon gas
atmosphere. Argon gas was used for both the torch and back-up protection.
On the other hand, autogenous full-penetration EBW joints were produced
using Seo TECH electron beam machine with maximum power of 60KW.
The degree of vacuum in EBW is corresponded to 1.6 × 10−3 Pa.
6 Reham Reda et al.

Table 2. Parameters of GTAW and EBW processes

Process
GTAW EBW
Parameters
Current (A) 100 0.02
Speed (mm/min) 60 600
Voltage (V) 11.5 50.000
Angle of V-Groove (Degree) 60 --------
Filler Material Ti-6Al-4V --------

Figure 2 shows the shape of the GTAW and EBW joints. After welding,
all welds were subjected to a visual examination to make sure that they were
a brilliant silver color, and acceptable weldments were machined in the shape
of the testing samples.

Figure 2. Welding joints of Ti-6Al-4V alloy: (a) GTAW and (b) EBW joints.

Postweld heat treatment was applied on both types of the welding joints.
Postweld heat treatment involved holding for 10min at 900°C, followed by
the furnace cooling to 700°C and isothermally holding at this temperature for
30min. Finally specimens were water quenched down to room temperature.
Schematic drawing of the postweld heat treatment is shown in Figure 3.
Specimens were prepared by standard metallographic techniques which
consist of polishing and etching in an etchant composed of 10% HNO3, 5%
HF, and 85% distilled water. After etching, the specimens were investigated
by an optical microscope and backscattered scanning electron microscope
(SEM).
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 7

Figure 3. Schematic drawing of the postweld heat treatment cycle.

Flat-shaped tensile specimens were machined according to ASTM E8,

using EDM. Uniaxial tensile tests were carried out at room temperature and a
crosshead speed of 0.5mm/min.
Standard Charpy V-notch impact specimens were machined in
accordance with ASTM E23 standard specification. The Charpy specimen
has a rectangular cross-section (5mm × 10mm × 55mm) and contains a 45°V
notch, 2mm deep with a 0.25mm root radius located in the fusion zone in
the middle of the specimens. Charpy impact tests were done using a 150-J
maximum capacity machine at room temperature. After impact testing,
fracture surfaces were observed carefully by scanning electron microscope
(SEM) to investigate the fracture mode and crack propagation behavior.
The average bulk Vickers microhardness of the specimens was measured
along base metal (BM), heat affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone (FZ) by a
diamond pyramid indenter under a 500mgf load.

Results and Discussion

1. Macrostructure investigation
The microstructure of the weldment and the extent to which it differs
from the base material is strongly influenced by the thermal cycle of welding
[11]. GTAW and EBW processes are fusion welding type. Fusion welding
8 Reham Reda et al.

involves melting and resolidification of the base metal, and the part of the
weld that has been melted is known as the fusion zone (FZ). There is a zone
adjacent to the weld fusion zone that experiences a solid state thermal
cycle that alters its microstructure. This zone of the weld is known as the
heat affected zone (HAZ). The thermal excursion exceeds the β transus
temperature in a portion of the HAZ. Thus, both the FZ and some of the HAZ
exhibit β transformed microstructures and properties [16]. Since the value of
the heat input and cooling rate during welding are important considerations,
welding was carried out using different processes; GTAW and EBW.
Figures 4(a) and 4(b) are macrographs showing the overall cross-sections
of Ti-6Al-4V plates welded by GTAW and EBW methods, respectively. As
shown, GTAW joint possesses wider weld fusion zone (FZ) than EBW joint.
The GTAW weld is over 10mm wide, and the boundaries between the base
metal (BM), heat affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone (FZ) are clearly
visible (Figure 4(a)). The FZ of the EBW joint is quite narrow of 2-4mm
width, and is clearly distinguished from the base metal, with HAZ hardly
observed (Figure 4(b)). The grains of the as-cast base metal are extremely
coarse and clearly visible.

Figure 4. Macrographs of the Ti-6Al-4V welding joints: (a) GTAW and (b)
EBW.
In GTAW process, the resultant bead structure is a coarser one due to
high heat input leading to slower cooling rate. The wider arc column (the
process characteristic) is also a reason for this wide FZ. In EBW process, the
energy density is comparatively higher than that in GTAW process, but the
high self quenching rates that are associated with this process certainly
promote the fast cooling rates. So EBW process results in a narrow FZ, as
previously reported [13, 15].
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 9

2. Microstructure investigation
The base metal microstructure (Figure 5) reveals Widmanstätten
structure consisting with α-plate colony structure of α and β phases in
prior β-grains with grain boundary α-phase. After GTAW process, the
microstructure of the fusion zone (FZ) consists of a mixture of acicular α,
massive α and Widmanstätten α + β structures, as shown in Figure 6. Under
GTAW condition, the transformation of microstructure occurred from a
Widmanstätten α-structure, in the as-cast base alloy, to an acicular
α-structure, in the FZ. This kind of distinction attributes to the maximum
temperature, melting of base metal as well as subsequent cooling with
faster cooling rate than in the casting process, which resulted in more fine
microstructure after welding. Massive α-phase with lots of small regions of
Widmanstätten α + β structures was also observed.

Optical micrograph of the interface between the base metal and heat
affected zone (HAZ) of GTAW joint is shown in Figure 7. HAZ
microstructure of the GTAW joint consists of coarse α + β structure
with grain boundary α. These microstructure constituents were reported
previously [9, 10, 15].

Figure 5. Microstructure of the as-cast base metal Ti-6Al-4V alloy shows

Widmanstätten structure, thin dark regions between α-plates are β-phase.
10 Reham Reda et al.

Figure 6. Optical micrograph of FZ of GTAW showing the microstructure

consisting of acicular α, massive α and Widmanstätten α + β structures.

Figure 7. Optical micrograph of the interface between HAZ and BM of

Ti-6Al-4V GTAW joint.
Postweld heat treatment cycle was designed to make the weld
microstructure more fine and homogeneous; hence enhance the mechanical
properties. The designed postweld heat treatment cycle involved two stages
of annealing process. First annealing stage temperature (900°C) was selected
to be below β-transus temperature to avoid grain coarsening, Tβ was
determined to be 987°C for the studied alloy. After 10min holding at 900°C,
in α + β range, the furnace was cooled to lower temperature in α + β range
(700°C) and the samples were isothermally held for 30min followed by water
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 11

quenching. The furnace cooling to lower temperatures was intended to

promote the vanadium enrichment in β-phase through β → α transformation
during slow cooling. Isothermal holding for 30min at the lower temperature
permits the redistribution of the alloying elements due to diffusional process
at lower temperature. On the other hand, quenching from 700°C resulted in
microstructure free from brittle martensite phase. Water quenching from this
temperature also prevents the decomposition of β-phase; hence β-phase is
retained to room temperature. The presence of this retained β-phase in the
microstructure of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is reported to improve the mechanical
properties [15].
After heat treatment of the GTAW joint (GTAW HT), the FZ shows a
basket-weave structure (Figure 8), which is considered more fine form of the
Widmanstätten α + β structure. On the other hand, HAZ of the GTAW HT
joint could not be distinguished from the base metal.

Figure 8. Microstructure of FZ of GTAW HT joint consists of fine basket-

weave α + β structure.

Figure 9 shows micrographs of the FZ of the EBW joint. When

Ti-6Al-4V alloy is welded by EBW method and then cooled, the structure
transforms to martensite. This is attributed to the localized energy, high
welding speed and low heat input delivered by EBW. Therefore, during
EBW process, heating above β-transus for a short period of time was
undertaken, followed by rapid cooling by the surrounding cold material. This
12 Reham Reda et al.

rapid cooling is usually higher than the critical cooling rate (Figure 1), which
results in martensite transformation, as previously reported [7, 10, 13, 15,
17]. As a consequence, much smaller grains and needle-like α’ martensitic
structures were formed in FZ as compared with FZ of GTAW.

Figure 9. Microstructure of the EBW joint shows the acicular α’ martensite

phase formed in the FZ: (a) Optical micrograph and (b) Backscattered SEM
image.
Backscattered SEM image of the FZ of the EBW joint, Figure 9(b),
reveals the acicular morphology of the formed martensite. It can be seen that
there are lots of small regions of fixed orientation acicular α’ martensite
phase. The needle-like microstructure has a strong tendency to the same
orientation in every region, and different regions randomly appear in all
directions. HAZ microstructure of EBW joint could not be distinguished in
our study.
In EBW joint, the presence of martensitic structure is reported previously
[10, 13, 15, 17]. The high self-quenching rate associated with the EBW
process certainly promotes the diffusionless transformation of the β-phase
into martensitic microstructure. It is reported [13] that the small FZ of
EBW joint grows opposite to the heat flow direction and then undergoes
martensitic transformation upon cooling.
Upon heat treatment, the martensitic structure of FZ of EBW joint
decomposes to basket-weave α + β structure, as shown in Figure 10. During
heat treatment, when the composition of martensite approaches to that of
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 13

α-phase, β-phase is formed from which α-phase precipitates inside the

β-phase. Backscattered SEM image of the FZ of EBW joint after heat
treatment (EBW HT) reveals α- and β-phases with basket-weave structure
morphology (Figure 10(b)).

Figure 10. Microstructure of the FZ of EBW HT joint shows basket-weave

α + β structure: (a) Optical micrograph and (b) Backscattered SEM image.

In GTAW HT and EBW HT joints, the basket-weave α + β structure is

formed (Figure 8 and Figure 10). The difference between these two
structures is attributed to the difference in the starting microstructure between
both joints before the heat treatment process. The microstructure of the FZ in
the case of the as-welded GTAW joint, as discussed above, consists of coarse
α + β structure and massive α with acicular α, while, in the case of EBW
joint, the microstructure in the as-welded condition consists of acicular α’
martensitic structure. Therefore, during heat treatment, β-phase formed by
α + β → β transformation during heating step of the GTAW joint while
in the other case, EBW joint, β-phase formed by α’ → β decomposition,
accompanied with the formation of α-phase precipitates. Therefore, it is
expected that the mechanical properties of the two joints will be different.

3. Mechanical properties

3.1. Tensile properties

Table 3 presents the transverse tensile properties of the joints. The
fracture location, in the case of GTAW joints, was in the FZ, whereas, in the
14 Reham Reda et al.

case of EBW joints, the fracture location was in the base metal. Therefore,
the strength of the GTAW joints is lower than that of the base metal while
the strength of EBW joints is higher than that of the base metal.

Table 3. Transverse tensile properties of the welded joints

Property σUT σYS Elongation Fracture

Condition (MPa) (MPa) (%) location

BM 900 ± 5.7 840 ± 7.5 6.8 ± 0.57 ----

GTAW 880 ± 6 791 ± 7 1.6 ± 0.4 FZ

GTAW HT 915 ± 4 751 ± 4.5 2.11 ± 0.3 FZ

EBW 903 ± 5 873 ± 6 2.5 ± 0.3 BM

EBW HT 930 ± 3 847 ± 3.8 3.7 ± 0.2 BM

It is reported [13] that the joint properties are controlled by FZ chemical

composition and microstructure. The strength of Ti-6Al-4V base alloy is
mainly attributed to the presence of colonies of lath-type β and α lamellar
structure inside prior β grains. In fusion welding, the dilution of base metal in
FZ is a common phenomenon. The grain size of the FZ also plays a major
role in deciding the joint properties of Ti-alloys that are dictated by the
amount, size, shape and morphology of α-phase and density of α + β
interfaces.
After GTAW process, there is 2.22% reduction in the ultimate tensile
strength, as compared with the base metal alloy (Table 3). The reduction in
the strength of GTAW joint is attributed to the microstructure characteristics
of the FZ, i.e., the presence of coarse serrate structures of grain boundary α,
massive α, and Widmanstätten α + β (Figure 5). On the other hand, the
strength of the GTAW joint after heat treatment (GTAW HT) is increased by
3.95% as compared with the as-welded condition although the fracture also
occurs in the FZ. This is due to that the strength of GTAW HT joint is still
lower that the heat treated base metal. Therefore, postweld heat treatment
enhances the tensile strength of the GTAW joint. This is attributed to getting
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 15

finer and more homogeneous microstructure after heat treatment of the

GTAW joint.
In the case of EBW joints, i.e., as-welded and heat treated (EBW HT),
the obtained strengths are the strengths of their base metals where the
fractures occur; hence, the strength of the EBW joints are higher than the
base metal. This is attributed to the characteristics of the EBW joints. High
strength of the as-welded condition of the EBW joint is a result of the formed
martensitic structure in the FZ. On the other hand, the EBW HT joint exhibits
the highest tensile strength of all joints conditions. This is attributed to the
formed microstructure after heat treatment of EBW joint, which consists of
fine basket-weave α + β structure with fine α precipitates.

The values of the ultimate tensile strength (σUT ) increase while the
yield strength (σYS ) decreases after the postweld heat treatment. The
improvement in the ultimate tensile strength (σUT ) after heat treatment is a
result of obtaining more fine and homogeneous structure. The slow cooling
step and the second stage of annealing at 700°C of the postweld heat
treatment cause the alloy to have a more homogeneous microstructure, i.e.,
uniform distribution of V and Al, which improves the properties of the alloy.
On the other hand, the reduction in the value of yield strength (σYS ) after
heat treatment may be attributed to the decrease in the V content in β-phase
after the second annealing stage at low temperature, i.e., 700°C. It is
previously reported that the value of the σYS is proportional to the V content
in β-phase [18].

Elongation of the welds is lower than that of the base metal. The GTAW
joint has the lowest value. There is an improvement in the value of tensile
elongation by 31.87% and 48% after heat treatment of the GTAW and EBW
joints, respectively, as compared with their as-welded conditions. The EBW
HT joint has the highest value of elongation.

3.2. Hardness results

The microhardness along the distance from the center of the FZ
16 Reham Reda et al.

towards the base metal (BM) was measured using Vickers microhardness
testing machine, and the values are presented in Figure 11. The hardness of
the as-cast base metal is 317HV. As shown in Figure 10, the hardness
distribution from the center of the EBW joint is narrow, whereas the GTAW
joint shows wider hardness distribution.

Figure 11. Vickers hardness vs. distance from the center of the FZ to BM.

The microhardness decreases from the center of the FZ to the BM

invariably in all conditions of the joints, as shown in Figure 11. In the
as-welded conditions, the peak hardness of the GTAW joint and EBW joint
reaches 370HV and 404HV, respectively. This suggests that the hardness is
increased by 16.7% and 27.4% in the FZ of GTAW and EBW joints,
respectively, due to the thermal cycle of the welding process as compared
with the base metal. The increase in the hardness after EBW process is
attributed to formation of α’ martensitic phase with high density dislocations.
On the other hand, the increase in the hardness after GTAW process is
attributed to the finer microstructure as compared with the base metal in
addition to oxygen contamination that occurred during GTAW process.
This oxygen contamination is attributed to that, under the experimental
conditions; the inert gas-shielding effect was likely not enough to completely
avoid oxygen contamination during the joining procedures. Lesser amounts
of dissolved oxygen are known to harden and embrittle Ti and its alloys, as
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 17

reported previously [19]. These hardness profiles of the welding joint are in
agreement with previous results [9, 10, 13, 15-17].
After heat treatment, hardness of the GTAW joint increases up to 372HV
while it decreases down to 345HV in the case of EBW joint. This may
be interpreted by the effect of heat treatment on both of the starting
microstructures. In the case of GTAW, the microstructure turns from a
mixture of coarse acicular α, massive α and Widmanstätten α + β structures
to homogeneous basket-weave structure, therefore, the hardness increases
due to formation of more homogeneous and finer microstructure. On the
other hand, the microstructure of EBW joint turns from α’ martensitic phase,
with high dislocations density, to tempered microstructure of decomposed
martensite; hence the hardness of EBW joint decreases after heat treatment.
It is interesting to note that there are little variations in hardness
across the base metal, the HAZ and the FZ after heat treatment, as shown
in Figure 11. This homogenization in hardness along the joint resulted from
the heat treatment operation carried out subsequent to welding. This note
was previously reported [9] for GTAW joints in Ti-6Al-4V sheets. The
microhardness values are less significant in affecting the mechanical
properties because the inherent nature of the process selected has more
influencing factors.

3.3. Impact toughness and fracture behavior

Charpy impact toughness test results are presented in Table 4. The
impact toughness of the base metal decreased by 59% and 45.5% after
welding by GTAW and EBW processes, respectively. This reduction in the
impact value after GTAW process is attributed to the formed coarse structure
in addition to the absorbed gas due to less precaution. On the other hand, the
reduction in the impact value, after EBW process, is attributed to the
formation of the acicular α’ martensite phase.

Heat treatment enhances the impact value for both of the welding joints,
as presented in Table 4. The highest impact toughness is achieved after heat
treatment of the EBW joint as compared with the other conditions. This is
18 Reham Reda et al.

attributed to the fine basket-weave structure formed after heat treatment

of EBW joint (Figure 10) which exhibits good mechanical properties as
compared with other conditions. As discussed before, we can say that the
starting microstructure is the key for this difference between the basket-
weave structure obtained after heat treatment of GTAW and EBW joints, in
addition to absorbed and diffused oxygen in the heated surface layer due to
less precaution during GTAW.

Table 4. Charpy impact toughness results of the welded specimens

Property
Impact toughness, (J)
Condition
BM 11 ± 0.6
GTAW 4.5 ± 0.8
GTAW HT 7.2 ± 0.3
EB 6 ± 0.5
EB HT 10 ± 0.5

The fractured surfaces of the Charpy impact test specimens of the

welded joints were analyzed using SEM and the fractographs are displayed in
Figure 12. There is an appreciable difference in the size of the dimples of the
base metal (Figure 12(a)) as compared with the welded joints. The fracture
surfaces of the welded joints show the presence of dimples with various sizes
and some secondary cracking is detectable. The modes of failure for all
joints are ductile with microvoid coalescence (Figure 12(d, c)). After heat
treatment, the fracture surfaces of the joints are more fine than in the
as-welded condition (Figure 12(d, e)). This confirms the impact toughness
results.
 Effect of Welding Processes and Postweld Heat Treatment … 19

Figure 12. SEM of the fracture surfaces of the weldments: (a) As-cast,
(b) GTAW, (c) GTAW HT, (d) EBW and (e) EBW HT joints.

Conclusions

(1) Microstructure of the FZ after GTAW consists of a mixture of

acicular α-structure and massive α-phase with lots of small regions of
Widmanstätten α + β structure, while after EBW, the microstructure of
the FZ transforms to martensitic structure. After heat treatment, both
microstructures turn to basket-weave structure and EBW HT joints exhibit
more fine structure.
(2) The postweld heat treatment cycle that involves furnace cooling from
20 Reham Reda et al.

high temperature in α + β range to lower temperature followed by holding

and water quenching enhances the optimum combination between the tensile
properties, hardness and impact toughness of the weldments as compared
with the as-welded conditions.
(3) The EBW HT joint exhibits higher tensile strength, tensile elongation
and impact toughness as compared with GTAW HT joint. The formation of
fine basket-weave α + β structure after heat treatment is the key for the
enhancement of the tensile properties of the EBW joint.

(4) After postweld heat treatment, the values of σUT increase while σYS
decrease for both joints. This is attributed to the procedure of the heat
treatment cycle, which results in more fine and homogeneous structure,
which enhances the values of σUT , and reducing the V content in β-phase,
which lowers the values of σYS .

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