Author’s Accepted Manuscript

Microstructure and mechanical characterization of

friction stir welded high strength low alloy steels

R. Ramesh, I. Dinaharan, Ravi Kumar, E.T.

Akinlabi

www.elsevier.com/locate/msea

PII: S0921-5093(17)30071-0
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.01.050
Reference: MSA34612
To appear in: Materials Science & Engineering A
Received date: 25 November 2016
Revised date: 16 January 2017
Accepted date: 18 January 2017
Cite this article as: R. Ramesh, I. Dinaharan, Ravi Kumar and E.T. Akinlabi,
Microstructure and mechanical characterization of friction stir welded high
strength low alloy steels, Materials Science & Engineering A,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.01.050
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Microstructure and mechanical characterization of friction stir welded high strength

low alloy steels

R. Ramesha*, I. Dinaharanb, Ravi Kumarc, E.T. Akinlabib

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004,

Tamilnadu, India.
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park

Kingsway Campus, Johannesburg 2006, Gauteng, South Africa.

c
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology

Madras, Chennai 600036, Tamilnadu, India.

*
Corresponding author.

E-mail addresses:rameshsmit@gmail.com (R. Ramesh), dinaweld2009@gmail.com (I.

Dinaharan), nvrk@iitm.ac.in (Ravi Kumar), etakinlabi@uj.ac.za (E.T. Akinlabi).

Abstract

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a promising technique to join HSLA steels without the

problems encountered during fusion based welding processes. In the present work, 3 mm

thick HSLA plates were successfully welded using FSW. A tool made of tungsten-rhenium

alloy was used in this work. The relationship between microstructure and tensile strength was

studied under various welding conditions i.e. change in traverse speed (57–97 mm/min). The

microstructure of the weld nugget revealed the presence of upper bainite and fine ferrite

phases. The amount of upper bainite reduced with increase in traverse speed. EBSD images

showed a reducing trend for grain size. The details of hardness, tensile strength and bending

test were reported.

Key words: High strength low alloy steel; Friction stir welding; Microstructure; Tensile

Strength.

1
1. Introduction

Currently, the micro–alloyed otherwise called as high strength low alloy (HSLA)

steels have emerged as an important class of materials and drawn lots of research focus.

HSLA steels were essentially invented as a replacement to low carbon steels to enhance the

strength-to-weight ratio of structures and individual components. Both the carbon and alloy

content in HSLA steels are very low. HSLA steels are tailored to deliver a specific set of

mechanical properties rather than meeting a composition criterion. HSLA steels are

commonly produced using thermomechanical controlled processing (TMCP) which involves

subjecting the steel to repeated rolling process at high temperature and subsequent rapid

cooling. HSLA steels possess a distinctive combination of high strength, superior ductility,

excellent toughness, adequate formability, improved corrosion resistance, good weldability

and outstanding impact toughness at low temperature. HSLA steels are extensively used in

the construction of automotive chassis, oil and gas transportation pipelines, offshore oil

drilling platforms, ship building, mine and railroad cars, storage tanks, bridges and pressure

vessels [1–4].

Joining of HSLA steels is inevitable for structural applications. The hunt for

establishing proper welding procedures to join HSLA steels is intensified over the years.

HSLA steels can be joined using a variety of traditional fusion welding processes such as gas

metal arc welding [5,6], gas tungsten arc welding [7], submerged arc welding [8,9] and laser

beam welding [10,11].The heat affected zone (HAZ) of fusion welded HSLA steels became

vulnerable to hydrogen assisted cracking. Fusion welding was commonly associated with the

distribution of high tensile residual stress across the joint which accelerated cracking

behavior. Considerable depletion of strength and toughness in the HAZ lead to poor

mechanical properties of the joints. The prior austenite grains continued to grow during

fusion welding and resulted in the development of coarse bainite and martensite phases in the

2
microstructure of the weld nugget. A precise control of weld microstructure is required to

secure proper strength-toughness synergy. Fine bainite structure is advantageous to improve

the joint strength without compromising toughness. But it is seldom achieved in fusion

welding. A coarse bainite phase is detrimental to the joint as it assists in the propagation of

large cracks through the lath boundaries. Although laser beam welding is attractive to join

HSLA steels, the faster cooling rate facilitates the formation of martensite phase [11].

Friction stir welding (FSW) is considered as a promising welding process to produce

sound HSLA joints with minimum or zero defects encountered in fusion welding [12]. FSW

was invented at TWI in 1991 and predominantly applied to join aluminum alloys. The

material at the abutting edges is plasticized by frictional heat due to rubbing of a non

consumable tool. The rotating action of the tool stirs the plasticized material and moves from

one side to another side. The traverse motion causes extrusion of the plasticized material at

the backside of the tool which is forged by the application of a compressive force applied

along the axis of the tool [13,14].The progress in FSW of hard and high melting point

material is sluggish due to rapid tool wear and the need for expensive super hard tools [15].

In spite of this limitation, FSW has been effectively demonstrated to join high temperature

materials such as stainless steels [16,17], inconel [18], titanium [19], zircaloy [20] and

molybdenum [21] using advanced tools. FSW is considered as a green technology which has

several advantages including low energy consumption, absence of filler metal, fine

microstructure, negligible distortion and ease of automation.

Some investigators attempted to join HSLA steels using FSW process [22–30].Wei

and Nelson [22,23] explained the variation in microstructure of weld nugget against different

levels of heat input. The increase in heat input due to increased tool rotational speed affected

the phases formed in the weld nugget. Xue et al. [24] applied FSW process to modify the

microstructure of fusion zone of submerged arc welded HSLA steels. They observed that the

3
increase in tool rotational speed increased the hardness of the weld nugget due to the

formation of upper bainite structure. Ragu Nathan et al. [25,26] investigated the failure of

various tungsten based tools during welding. Nelson and Rose [27] suppressed the formation

of hard zone by controlling the cooling rate using different back up plate materials. Avila et

al. [28] examined the effect of microstructure evolution on fracture toughness. Ragu Nathan

et al. [29,30] correlated the effect of tool geometry on the microstructure and joint strength.

The increase in shoulder diameter improved material flow and lead to the formation of upper

bainite.

A limited number of studies have been reported on FSW of HSLA steels. The

objective of the present investigation is to study the microstructure evolution under various

welding conditions and correlate with the mechanical properties.

2. Experimental procedure

Rolled HSLA steel plates were used for this research work. The composition of as

received HSLA plates was estimated using optical emission spectrometry and is given in

Table 1. The composition matches to A588 Grade K HSLA steels according to ASTM

specifications. Plates of size 100 mm x 50 mm x 3 mm were prepared from the rolled plates.

Square butt welding of HSLA plates was carried out semi automatically on an indigenously

built FSW machine (M/s RV Machine Tools, Coimbatore, INDIA). The FSW tool was made

of tungsten-rhenium alloy. The tool as shown in Fig. 1 had a shoulder diameter of 18 mm and

pin length of 2.7 mm. The pin profile was tapered cylindrical with a diameter of 8 mm at the

shoulder end and 6 mm at the free end. The traverse speed was varied from 57 mm/min to 97

mm/min in steps of 10 mm/min. The tool rotational speed and axial force were kept constant

for all joints which were respectively 500 rpm and 9 kN. The rolling direction of the plates

was kept parallel to the welding direction. The faying surfaces were thoroughly cleaned with

acetone prior to welding. An example of a friction stir welded HSLA plate is shown in Fig. 2.

4
 Specimens were machined (as shown in Fig. 3) perpendicular to the welding direction

for metallographic analysis. They were mounted (STRUERS Citopress), polished (STRUERS

Labopol) and etched with 10% Nital solution. The etched specimens were observed using an

optical microscope (OLYMPUS BX51M). The macrograph was recorded using a stereo

microscope (OLYMPUS SZX16). Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) of the weld

nugget was carried out in a FEI Quanta FEG SEM equipped with TSL-OIM software. The

microhardness was measured using a microhardness tester (WOLPERT WILSON 402-MVD)

at 500 g load applied for 10 s across the weld nugget at the centre of the thickness direction.

The tensile specimens were prepared as per ASTM: E8M-13a standard having a gauge length

of 40 mm, a gauge width of 7 mm and a thickness of 3 mm. The ultimate tensile strength

(UTS) was estimated using a computerized universal testing machine (INSTRON 3367).The

fracture surfaces were viewed using scanning electron microscope (JEOLJSM-

6390).Specimens of size 100 mm x 20 mm x 3 mm were prepared for the bend test. Three-

point root bend test was performed as per ASTM E190-03 specifications.

3. Results and discussions

3.1. Macrostructure of welded joints

The cross sectional macrographs of the friction stir welded HSLA steel joints at

various traverse speeds are presented in Fig. 4. The macrographs reveal that the joining was

successful under the experimental conditions and the applied tool design. All the joints

exhibit full penetration without a lack of joining at the root of the joint. Typical volumetric

defects (worm holes, tunnels, pin holes and voids) encountered in FSW are not present in the

macrographs. The frictional heat generated was adequate to plasticize the HSLA steel and

cause good amount of material flow leading to proper consolidation. However, two kind of

defects (a groove defect at the top of the weld nugget near retreating side and a root flaw due

5
to improper consolidation) as marked by arrows in Fig. 4e was observed at a traverse speed

of 97 mm/min. The increase in traverse speed reduces the residing time of the generated

frictional heat and available stirring effect of the rotating tool [13]. As a result, defects

occurred owing to low heat input and inadequate stirring. The defect formation at the highest

traverse speed chosen in this investigation suggests that the tendency to form defects

increases with increased traverse speed. The shape of the weld nugget is similar to a “basin

shape” which broadens towards the crown surface of the joint. This indicates that the material

flow induced by the tool shoulder was dominant during welding. The boundary of the weld

nugget is clearly visible on both the sides and delineated with black lines. The weld nugget is

symmetric with respect to the axis of the tool rotation. A symmetric weld nugget is a result

of uniform material flow across the weld nugget and promotes homogenous microstructure. It

is evident from Fig. 4 that there is no appreciable reduction in the size of weld nugget with

increased traverse speed. This may be due to the major role played by severe plastic

deformation compared to volumetric heating of the material by frictional heat. No banded

structure or clear onion ring structure is visible in Fig. 4. However, Ragu Nathan et al. [25]

noticed clear onion ring structure in friction stir welded 5 mm thick HSLA plates. The

process parameters, tool design and plate thickness used by the present authors are different

to them which might not have favored the formation of onion ring structure. The color

contrast across the weld nugget is constant which implies that there is no foreign material

embedded in the form of debris from tool wear. The tool design i.e. tool material and

geometry applied in this investigation did not undergo significant wear and withstood the

stresses imposed by welding. An optical micrograph of the transition zone of the joint at 97

mm/min is depicted in Fig. 5. Different zones in the micrograph are identified as weld nugget

(WN), a narrow transition region –generally known as thermomechanically affected zone

(TMAZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ).The grains in TMAZ display a change in orientation

6
due to the action of shear stresses. The combined action of thermal and mechanical forces is

accountable for the change in orientation.

3.2. Microstructure of welded joints

The optical micrograph of as received HSLA steel is presented in Fig. 6a. The

micrograph is characterized predominantly with two phases namely ferrite and pearlite. The

plain colored regions represent ferrite phase which exhibits polygonal shape. The dark

regions are identified as pearlite phase which displays a fine lamellar structure. Ferrite phase

occupies major portion of the micrograph to that of pearlite due to lower carbon content. The

microstructure evolved in the weld nugget with various welding conditions is represented in

Figs. 6b–f. Those micrographs were recorded at the geometric centre of the weld nugget. The

microstructure of the base metal is significantly refined in the weld nugget. The

microstructure of all the weld nuggets (Figs. 6b–f) is not same which suggests that the

welding conditions greatly influenced the resultant microstructure subsequent to welding.

The key factors which direct the evolution of weld nugget microstructure are the chemical

composition of the steel and the heat input during welding [11,23]. Fig. 7 presents the

generation of friction heat under the applied experimental conditions. Heat input was

calculated based on an expression reported elsewhere (Heat transfer efficiency and

coefficient of friction were respectively assumed to be 0.8 and 0.3) [31].Heat input in turn

affects heating rate of the abutting edges, peak temperature of the weld nugget and cooling

rate of the consolidated material. Generally, if the heat input is high or excessive it results in

slower cooling rate and vice versa. Subsequently, if the cooling rate is slow it leads to the

formation of coarse grain microstructure and vice versa. Though the heat input in FSW is

relatively lower compared to fusion based welding processes, the slower welding speed may

negate the merits of lower heat input. Even though a lower frictional heat input is preferred to

produce fine grains, comparatively a higher friction heat input is required for adequate

7
plasticization of steel to that of low temperature non ferrous materials. According to the

established continuous cooling transformation diagram, various phases such as acicular

ferrite, bainite and martensite are expected to form. It is evident from Figs. 6b–d that the weld

nugget microstructure is composed of upper bainite and fine ferrite. Similar results were

reported by some researchers [22,29]. There are no traces of martensite phase. This

observation suggests that the peak temperature during welding exceeded the allotropic

transformation temperature i.e. A3 in iron–carbon diagram under the welding conditions 57–

77 mm/min. The austenite is transformed into upper bainite upon cooling. However, the

amount of upper bainite reduced with increased traverse speed due to reduction in peak

temperature above A3 and its residing time. The micrographs of weld nugget at traverse

speed 87 and 97 mm/min show meager amount of upper bainite and huge amount of fine

ferrite. This indicates that the peak temperature is hardly above A3 with lesser dwell time.

EBSD images of as received HSLA steel and weld nugget at various welding

conditions are presented in Figs. 8a–f. The average grain size of as received HSLA steels was

17 μm. Grains with an alternate array of continuous dots in Fig. 8a represent pearlite phase.

The quantitative effect of welding conditions on grain size is furnished in Fig. 9. The average

grain size decreased with an increase in traverse speed. It was estimated to be 9.7 μm at 57

mm/min and 6.3 μm at 67 mm/min. The grain size is governed by two different mechanisms

in FSW. The increase in frictional heat generation coarsens the grain size. On the other hand,

the increase in deformation rate due to the rotating tool reduces the grain size. Both frictional

heat and deformation rate reduce with increase in traverse speed. There is a competition

between frictional heat and deformation rate at each welding condition to change the grain

size [14]. The resultant grain size is the net effect of frictional heat and deformation rate. The

available frictional heat and deformation rate are high at a traverse speed of 57 mm/min. But

the reduction in grain size with increased traverse speed suggests that the effect of frictional

8
heat is dominant over deformation rate. The slower cooling rate at lower traverse speed (57

mm/min) caused coarse upper bainite structure. The increase in traverse speed reduced the

peak temperature and increased the cooling rate causing a reduction in the size of upper

bainite (Figs.8b–d). The fine ferrite grains are retained (Figs.8e and f) without coarsening at

higher traverse speed due to lower peak temperature and faster cooling rate.

3.3. Mechanical properties of welded joints

The microhardness distribution across the HSLA joints under various welding

conditions is represented in Fig. 10. The hardness of the weld nugget is higher compared to

that of as received HSLA plates. This can be attributed to faster cooling rate in FSW in

comparison to fusing welding. There is no major variation in hardness across the joint. It is

well established that the mechanical properties are greatly influenced by the type of phases

present and the grain size [1,2]. The formation of upper bainite structure increased the

hardness of joints at traverse speeds below 78 mm/min. The hardness of the joints increased

with increased traverse speed due to finer bainite structure. Further increase in traverse speed

reduced the hardness of the joints in spite of finer ferrite grains. Because, the harder bainite

phase is absent and the ferrite is relatively softer than bainite. As discussed in the previous

section, the grain size became finer with increased traverse speed. The mechanical properties

are proportional to grain size according to well-known Hall-Patch relationship. Hence, the

hardness was expected to increase with traverse speed. However, the formation of hard

bainite phase dominated the effect of grain size.

The tensile strength of HSLA joints and the failed tensile specimens under various

conditions are respectively presented in Fig. 11 and 12. The UTS was measured to be 540

MPa at 57 mm/min and increased to 553 MPa at 77 mm/min. The variation in UTS was

within a narrow range. All those tensile specimens failed at the base metal as seen in Figs.

11a–c. The formation of upper bainite phase strengthened and preserved the integrity of the

9
weld nugget. The morphologies of the fractured specimen show (Fig. 13a–c) large population

of well-developed dimples. This observation suggests that the welded specimens possessed

adequate ductility after welding. Further increase in traverse speed reduced the UTS which

was estimated to be 407 MPa at 97 mm/min. The tensile specimens welded at 87 and 97

mm/min failed at the weld nugget (Fig. 12d and e). The fracture surface of the tensile

specimen at 87 mm/min (Fig. 13d) shows distinct signs of poor consolidation of plasticized

material. The presence of micro voids deteriorated the joint strength and caused failure at the

weld nugget. The lowest UTS at 97 mm/min is due to root flaw and groove defect observed

in the macrostructure (Fig. 4e). The fracture surface (Fig. 13e) revealed uneven surface

compared to other joints. The root flaw might have acted as stress raiser and caused failure at

the weld nugget. The UTS of as-received HSLA plates was 583 MPa. A maximum joint

efficiency of 94.9% was obtained in the welded joint at 77 mm/min.

Fig. 14 depicts the photograph of root bend specimens. All the welded HSLA plates

successfully passed the bend test except the joint welded at 97 mm/min. The joints displayed

acceptable ductility upto 87 mm/min. It is interesting that the joint which had micro voids at

87 mm/min bend fully without breakage. The bending action imposed compressive stress on

the face side of the weld which might have acted against opening of micro voids during

bending. The defects in the joint at 97 mm/min caused breakage of bend specimen.

4. Conclusions

In the present work, HSLA steels were successfully joined using friction stir welding at

different traverse speeds. The following conclusions were derived:-

 The tendency to form macroscopic defects increased with increase in traverse speed.

Root flaw and groove defect were observed at a traverse speed of 97 mm/min.

10
  The microstructure of the weld nugget consisted of upper bainite and fine ferrite

phases. The amount of upper bainite reduced with traverse speed due to decrease in

peak temperature and faster cooling.

 EBSD images revealed a decreasing trend of grain size with increased traverse speed.

The effect of frictional heat was dominant over deformation rate of plasticized

material.

 The weld nugget displayed higher hardness due to hard bainite phase and refined

ferrite. The hardness decreased with faster traverse speed due to reduction in the

formation of bainite structure and increase in soft ferrite phase.

 The joint strength was 540 MPa at 57 mm/min and 407 MPa at 97 mm/min. The

higher strength below 78 mm/min traverse speed was due to hard weld nugget. The

lower joint strength with further increase in traverse speed was due to poor

consolidation and macroscopic defects.

 All the welded joints passed the root bend test except the joint welded at 97 mm/min.

There was acceptable ductility in the welded plates.

Acknowledgements

The corresponding author is grateful to Indian Academy of Sciences at Bangalore,

Indian National Academy of Sciences at New Delhi and The National Academy of Sciences

India at Allahabad for awarding Summer Research Fellowship (Reg.No: ENGT-51, 2015) to

carry out this work. The authors acknowledge Dr. K. K. Ramachandran at Government

Engineering College Thrissur for sharing HSLA plates. The authors are grateful to Materials

Joining Laboratory at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, OIM and Texture Lab at Indian

Institute of Technology Bombay and Microscopy Lab at University of Johannesburg. The

authors acknowledge National Institute of Technology Calicut and PSG College of

Technology Coimbatore for sharing valuable suggestions and extending the facilities.

11
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Figure Captions

Fig. 1. Tungsten-rhenium alloy friction stir welding tool.

Fig. 2. An example of a friction stir welded HSLA plate.

Fig. 3. Scheme for extraction of specimens for various tests (A-Tensile specimen, B-EBSD

specimen, C-Microstructure and hardness specimen and D-bend test specimen)

Fig. 4. Optical macrograph of friction stir welded joints at traverse speed of; (a) 57 mm/min,

(b) 67 mm/min, (c) 77 mm/min, (d) 87 mm/min and (e) 97 mm/min.

Fig. 5. Optical micrograph of transition zone at a traverse speed of 97 mm/min.

Fig. 6. Optical macrograph of ; (a) HSLA steel and friction stir welded joints at traverse

speed of; (b) 57 mm/min, (c) 67 mm/min, (d) 77 mm/min, (e) 87 mm/min and (f) 97 mm/min.

Fig. 7. Effect of traverse speed on frictional heat input.

Fig. 8. EBSD (IPF + grain boundary) map; (a) HSLA steel and friction stir welded joints at

traverse speed of; (b) 57 mm/min, (c) 67 mm/min, (d) 77 mm/min, (e) 87 mm/min and (f) 97

mm/min.

Fig. 9. Effect of traverse speed on grain size of friction stir welded HSLA joints.

Fig. 10. Effect of traverse speed on microhardness of friction stir welded HSLA joints.

Fig. 11. Effect of traverse speed on UTS of friction stir welded HSLA joints.

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Fig. 12. Photographs of failed tensile specimens. Numbers indicate the value of traverse

speed.

Fig. 13. SEM micrograph of friction stir welded joints at traverse speed of; (a) 57 mm/min,

(b) 67 mm/min, (c) 77 mm/min, (d) 87 mm/min and (e) 97 mm/min. Micro voids and defects

are circled.

Fig. 14. Photographs of specimens after root bed test. Numbers indicate the value of traverse

speed.

Table 1 Chemical composition of HSLA steel.

Element C Si Mn P S Cr Ni Mo Al Cu Fe
wt.% 0.102 0.303 0.405 0.081 0.014 0.540 0.286 0.016 0.033 0.300 Balance

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Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5
18
Figure 6

19
Figure 7

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Figure 8
21
Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

22
Figure 12

23
Figure 13

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Figure 14

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