Optics & Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

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Optics and Laser Technology

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Dissimilar welding of Inconel 713 superalloy and AISI 4140 steel using Nd:
YAG pulse laser: An investigation on the microstructure and
mechanical properties
Alireza Mirak *, Behrooz Shams , Soroush Bakhshi
Faculty of Materials and Manufacturing Technologies, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Iran

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In the present research, welding of Inconel 713 superalloy and high strength AISI 4140 steel was successfully
Laser welding implemented by using pulsed Nd:YAG laser. The effect of heat input on the microstructural and mechanical
Heat input properties of the weld was studied to find the best conditions for achieving a high quality weld. The micro­
Inconel 713
structure characteristics of different weld regions including weld metal and heat affected zone were examined
4140 steel
using the optical and scanning electron microscopies. It was observed that a columnar dendritic structure was
Microstructure
Hardness formed at the edge of weld metal due to higher gradient temperature, while the reduction of gradient at the
Tensile strength center of weld metal produced a cellular dendritic structure. The increase of heat input encouraged the formation
of coarse dendritic structure which resulted in a reduction in the hardness of weld metal. The HAZ of 4140 steel
side showed the maximum hardness for different values of heat inputs due to formation of martensitic micro­
structure, while the hardness in HAZ of Inconel 713 side was not showed a significant change. The higher value
of heat input led to the segregation of Nb, Mo and Ti elements in the inter-dendritic regions and formation of
brittle laves phase which resulted in a reduction in the tensile strength. However, the weld joint indicated a
maximum tensile strength of 1068 MPa at lower heat input (1875 J/mm). The fracture surface of the tensile
specimens showed a brittle fracture in the weld metal at different heat inputs.

1. Introduction
Inconel 713 is a nickel-based superalloy produced for applications
requiring high strength at high temperatures such as turbine blades in jet
aircraft, guide blades in industrial turbines, press forging dies, extrusion
dies and etc. [1,2]. Inconel-713 alloy is also well-known for its high
creep resistance, high tensile strength and oxidation resistance. On the
other hand, 4140 alloy is a high strength steel designed for components
requiring high pressure or impact such as industry rollers, connecting
rods, gears, car axles and aircraft parts [3,4]. However, there are some
situations requiring to combine the high impact strength of AISI 4140
steel with the high tensile strength of Inconel 713 in high temperature
working conditions; for example, the joint of steel axel and blade turbine
made of super-alloy, in turbocharged engine. It was reported that fusion
welding of nickel-based superalloys has always been challenging, due to
the formation of solidification and liquation cracks [5,6]. Therefore, the
joint of dissimilar materials needs modern welding technologies. The
use of modern technologies for welding dissimilar metals such as laser
beam welding (LBW) has been widely applied in the industry to reduce
segregation of elements, formation of harmful intermetallic compounds
and nucleation of cracks [7-10]. Among the various LBM procedures,
pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding is the most significant technique due to
low heat input and high speed, ability to adjust parameters, fast solidi­
fication, narrow HAZ, and keyhole welding [5]. Using the optimal pa­
rameters of pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding, the best penetration depth is
obtained in addition to the highest mechanical and metallurgical
properties [7,11].
Investigation of the previous researches indicated that the most
significant parameters of laser welding process affecting the micro­
structure and mechanical properties of dissimilar joints are welding
power and speed [5,12,13]. Ahmad et al. [14] investigated the dissim­
ilar joint of Inconel 625 superalloy and duplex stainless steel 2205 using
the pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding and reported that by increasing the
welding speed and consequently the reduction of heat input to the joint,
the welding defects such as micro segregation and micro cracks were
decreased, which was due to increasing cooling rate of the molten pool

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Mirak@iust.ac.ir (A. Mirak).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2022.108143
Received 15 February 2022; Received in revised form 21 March 2022; Accepted 1 April 2022
0030-3992/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Mirak et al.
and thus formation of finer dendrite structure. They also observed that
the microstructure of the weld metal comprising of fine cellular and
columnar dendritic at low heat input due to fast cooling rate. Neves et al.
[15] studied dissimilar welding of AISI 304 stainless steel and Inconel
600 superalloy with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser and observed that the
overlap of the laser pulses led to a change in the solidification
morphology of weld zone, so that the morphology changed from den­
ditric to cellular-denditric, indicating a higher cooling speed in this re­
gion. Dissimilar welding of Inconel 718 superalloy and AISI 4140 steel
using the pulsed Nd:YAG laser was performed by Anuradha et al. [16].
They concluded that an increase in the laser power and welding speed
associated with a reduction in the width of HAZ and weld areas and an
improvement in the welding depth. They also described that when the
cooling rate increased, the opportunity for micro segregation of ele­
ments and the formation of harmful intermetallic compounds, such as
brittle laves phases, was reduced and so the mechanical properties were
improved. They also reported that the laser welding samples were failed
from the weld metal. Neves et al. [15] estimated that the strength of the
weld metal relative to the base metals was 90%. Li et al. [17] also
investigated dissimilar joint of Inconel 625 superalloy and SUS 304 steel
using high-power CO2 laser and estimated that the strength of the weld
metal was 80% of the base metals.
Some researchers have stated that the most important cause of fail­
ure and crack initiation in tensile specimens is the laves eutectic phases
in the weld metal [18-20]. These phases contain compounds rich in Nb,
Mo and Ti elements. During the dendritic solidification of the weld
metal, the Ni and Fe elements remain in the dendritic core, while Mo and
Nb elements locate in the inter-dendritic areas. The microstructure of a
weld metal is predicted by using two parameters: temperature gradient
(G) and growth rate (R). Ahmad et al. [12,14] showed that the G/R ratio
will be higher for the less heat input due to the high temperature
gradient. They observed that at different welding speeds two types of
cellular structure and dendrites were observed in the weld metal of
samples. Liu et al. [21] by analyzing the microstructure of weld metal in
dissimilar joints of Inconel K418 to 42CrMo steel observed that the
microstructure of the weld metal is dendritic due to its high cooling rate.
They also observed that the scale of dendritic structure is inversely
proportional to the cooling rate, so that the rapid cooling rate of weld
metal in laser welding is responsible for the formation of relatively fine
dendritic structure. Kumar and Pandey [22] also observed a columnar
and cellular structure consisting of the alloying element segregation in
the inter-dendritic areas of the weld metal. Neves et al. [15] showed that
the cellular microstructure of weld metal was grown from the base
metals toward the HAZ area due to the high temperature gradient. Li
et al. [17] stated that the microstructure at the top of weld was cellular,
while a mixed structure of cellular and columnar dendrites was formed
at the bottom of weld. They also indicated that the dendrite structures
were grown in the maximum cooling direction during laser welding
process.
From the existing literature, it was observed that the laser welding of
dissimilar metals such as Inconel 625 superalloy and high strength steels
has been reported by earlier researchers. However, there is a significant
research gap for dissimilar welding of Inconel 713 LC superalloy and
AISI 4140 steel. Therefore, the first aim of the present study is to
investigate the possibility of weld formation between Inconel 713 LC
superalloy and AISI 4140 steel using pulsed Nd:YAG laser technology.
Then, the effect of significant parameter of heat input on the solidifi­
cation microstructure, the tensile strength and hardness of the weld is
investigated to find the optimal condition of laser welding. Finally, the
relationship between the variation of mechanical properties and the
microstructure evolution was investigated.
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Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143
2. Experimental procedure
2.1. Raw materials
AISI 4140 steel and Inconel 713 LC superalloy were cut into round
sections with a diameter of 12 mm and a length of 30 mm using wire-cut
device (Fig. 1). The quantmetry analysis was performed to determine the
chemical composition of superalloy and steel used in the present study,
as shown in Table 1.
2.2. Laser welding process
Laser butt welding were carried out using Nd:YAG pulse welding
machine (UT brand, made in China) without use of filler (autogenous
welding). Some of the technical specifications of this machine were
introduced in Table 2. Prior to welding, the specimens were thoroughly
washed in acetone to remove any grease or contamination.
At the beginning of the welding process, three spot welds were made
to stabilize the position of samples relative to each other. A special
fixture was manufactured to eliminate any gaps between the samples as
well as to reduce the distortion caused by heat input. During the welding
process, argon gas with a purity of 99.99% and a flow rate of 5 lit/min
was used to ensure that the weld pool was free of harmful gases. The
focal length was considered to be 12 cm in all cases. After placing the
samples inside the fixture, the laser beam was irradiated to their surface.
Welding process was performed with different heat inputs of 1875, 3125
and 4375 J/mm, while the other parameters remained constant. The
values of heat input were selected based on the primary experiments.
The values of applied parameters during the welding process were
shown in Table 3.
2.3. Metallographic study
The cross sections of weld metals were cut along their longitudinal
direction to prepare metallographic samples. The samples were then
grinded with sandpaper number 600 to 2000 and polished by Al2O3
powder (0.05 µm). In order to reveal the microstructure of samples, the
steel surface was etched for 3 s by 2 %wt nital solution, and then the
surfaces of superalloy and weld metal were electro-etched with oxalic
acid solution for 6 s.
The macro and micro-structural analyses were performed by optical
microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) model of
TESCAN-MIRA 3. The spot and linear EDS analyses were used to realize
the concentration of elements in the weld metal. In order to quantify the
microstructure characteristics and the components of processed fracture
surfaces, the ImageJ Version 5.2 software was used.
2.4. Mechanical tests
2.4.1. Microhardness
Vickers microhardness test was conducted based on ASTM E384-5
standard under a load of 500 g. In order to analyze the variation of
micro-hardness along the cross section of the weld, the hardness was
measured at a depth of 0.5 mm from the top surface across the base
metal, heat affected zone and weld metal.
2.4.2. Tensile test
Tensile test was implemented at a speed of 1 mm/min using a uni­
versal tensile test machine (model TB30T, manufactured by Copa) to
investigate the mechanical properties of the obtained welds. Tensile
samples were prepared according to ASTM E8/E8M, as shown in Fig. 2.
The fracture surface of tensile samples was analyzed by SEM to specify
the mode of failure during the tensile test.
A. Mirak et al. Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

Fig. 1. Dimensional of weld samples.

Table 1
Chemical composition of Inconel LC713 superalloy and AISI 4140 steel (wt%).
Materials Fe Ni Cr AL Mo Nb Ti Cu Si Mn P S C

In-713LC 0.2 Balance 12.8 4.6 4.5 2.1 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.04 – – –
4140 Balance 0.4 1 – 0.3 – – 0.6 0.5 1 0.035 0.04 0.38

3. Results and discussion

Table 2
Technical specifications of laser welding machine.
3.1. Initial microstructure of base metals
Parameter Value

Wave length 1064 nm The microstructure of base metals, i.e. Inconel 713 LC superalloy and
Power 0–9 kW AISI 4140 steel, was shown in Fig. 3. It can be seen from Fig. 3 (a) that
Frequency 0/5–20 Hz
the microstructure of Inconel 713 LC consists of γ′ clusters and carbide
Voltage 220 V
Pulse time width 1–20 mS particles that formed in the matrix of γ phase. The agglomeration of γ′
Beam diameter 1–2 mm particles produced γ′ clusters in different regions of γ grains and at grain
boundaries. It is well known that the mechanical properties of nickel
base superalloys depend on the size and distribution of γ′ particles with
Table 3
chemical composition of Ni3 (Al, Ti) [23,24]. In Fig. 3 (b), the micro­
The parameters of laser welding used in dissimilar joint of Inconel 713 LC and structure of AISI 4140 steel includes ferrite (light) and pearlite (dark)
AISI 4140 steel. phases. It should be noted that this steel is used in annealing condition.
Parameter Sample

LW 1 LW 2 LW 3
3.2. Weld area macrostructure

Peak power (W) 1500 2500 3500

The visual inspection of the weld surface was performed after each
Average power (W) 160 210 260
Welding speed (mm/s) 0.8 0.8 0.8 welding pass to ensure a good weld. Single pass laser welding was used
Frequency (Hz) 6 6 6 to join the Inconel 713 superalloy and AISI 4140 steel. The weld samples
Focal length (cm) 12 12 12 were shown in Fig. 4. The solidification or liquation cracks and porosity
Beam diameter)mm( 0.5 0.5 0.5
were not seen on the surface of all three samples. As clear from Fig. 4, an
Pulse time width (mS) 13 13 13
rate of shielding gas (L/min) 5 5 5 increase in heat input resulted in an increase in the weld width. Fig. 5
Heat input (J/mm) 1875 3125 4375 shows the cross-section of weld area obtained at three different heat
inputs. As shown in Fig. 5, there is no defect on the weld samples of LW1

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A. Mirak et al. Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

Fig. 2. Dimensions of tensile specimens according to ASTM E8 / E8M standard.

Fig. 3. Microstructure of a) Inconel 713 LC at 200x magnification and b) AISI 4140 steel at 500x magnification.

Fig. 4. Macroscopic images of the weld surface for: a) LW1, b) LW2 and c) LW3.

and LW3, whereas LW2 weld sample represents a shrinkage defect.
Moreover, the maximum width of HAZ is observed at the upper regions
of the weld, and it reduces along the weld depth (Fig. 5). The reason for
this variation in the width of HAZ is that the heat input to the weld
surface decreased along the weld depth. In other words, the heat input to
the weld surface is higher than the weld root.
The measurements of weld width, weld depth and maximum width
of HAZ were given in Table 4. As can be seen, the increase of welding
power associated with an improvement in the values of weld width,
weld penetration depth and maximum width of the HAZ.
From Fig. 5, it can be also observed that the cross section of weld
joint for LW2 and LW3 samples is U-shape, while the shape of weld for
LW1 sample transformed to V-shape due to reduction of inlet tempera­
ture and incomplete penetration. The V-shape weld was also observed
by Ahmad et al. [14] in welding of Inconel 625 superalloy and AISI 304L
stainless steel. They explained that the counterbalance of recoil forces by

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A. Mirak et al. Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

Fig. 5. Macroscopic images of weld area at a) LW1, b) LW2 and c) LW3.

density), Marangoni force (due to surface tension gradient) and gravity

Table 4
[26]. The buoyancy force is due to difference in temperature of molten
Dimensions of welding areas at different values of laser welding power.
pool, giving rise to different densities. In other words, the density de­
Maximum width of HAZ (µm) Weld depth (µm) Weld width (µm) Sample creases with increasing temperature. Marangoni force also forms by a
157 800 1657 LW 1 heat-induced surface tension gradient. The temperature of the liquid
246 1584 2170 LW 2 metal at the top of the molten pool is higher than at the bottom, causing
317 1850 2333 LW 3
the melt to move upwards, as shown in Fig. 6. So, these forces create a
vortex flow of melt into the weld pool, which results in formation of the
the surface tension at the melt wall is responsible for formation of V- specific shape of the weld joint.
shape weld. Xiao et al. [25] have stated that the geometric shape of the The approximate percentages of the weld metal for two welding
molten pool depends not only on the heat input but also on the forces parts were given in Table 5. Despite the radiation of laser beam exactly
acting on the molten pool. A schematic diagram of the driving forces in at the interface of two metals, Table 5 shows that the volume of melt
the molten pool was shown in Fig. 6. produced by Inconel 713 superalloy is more than that of produced by
After formation of the molten pool, three main driving forces are AISI 4140 steel, which is due to the lower thermal conductivity of the
applied to the fluid flow: buoyancy force (due to changes in metal superalloy than that of AISI 4140 steel. The thermal conductivity of AISI

Fig. 6. Forces in the welding pool after the laser beam is turned off.

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A. Mirak et al.
Table 5
Percentage of weld metal for Inconel 713 and AISI 4140 steel.
Percentage of weld metal for 4140 Percentage of weld metal for Sample
steel Inconel 713
40 60 LW1
45 55 LW2
40.6 59.4 LW3
4140 steel and Inconel 713 at 100 ◦ C is 42.6 and 11.6 W/mk, respec­
tively [1]. Thus, the heat transfer on the superalloy side is less than that
on the steel side, which leads to a further increase in temperature of the
superalloy and causes the molten pool to be drawn towards it. The other
reason for higher melting of Inconel 713 superalloy is its lower melting
point (1260 ◦ C) compared to the AISI 4140 steel (1416 ◦ C).
As observed from Fig. 5, a shrinkage defect was formed in the weld
metal of the LW2 sample. In Fig. 7, the scanning electron microscope
(SEM) was used to analyze the formed defect. That reveals the presence
of small discontinuous cavities in the defect due to contraction. The
cause of these cavities is related to the interaction of the driving forces
during the solidification of molten pool. When the laser beam is turned
off, the recoil force of the evaporation acting on the keyhole stops
immediately. So, the gravity and Marangoni force (surface tension) are
the only forces present in the molten pool, leading to the rapid collapse
of the keyhole. When the keyhole is deep enough, most of the liquid
metal is stored at the top of molten pool. The upper part of the liquid
metal flows to the surface of molten pool, while the lower part of the
liquid metal flows towards the bottom of molten pool to fill the keyhole
[27]. In other words, the lower part of the keyhole is filled by gravity
and the upper part is filled by Marangoni force (surface tension). Thus,
the small shrinkage cavities probably remain in the middle areas.
In this case, the cavities do not have time to reach the surface of the
molten pool before solidification of the liquid metal. The appearance of
a residual porosity is highly variable and depends on the keyhole
collapse. A slight change in how the laser beam is turned off can lead to a
completely different mechanism of keyhole collapse, resulting in the
removal of cavities from the weld metal.
3.3. Microstructure of weld metal
Fig. 8 shows the microstructure of weld cross section for dissimilar
joint of the Inconel 713 and AISI 4140 steel. From Fig. 8, the solidifi­
cation begins at the interface of the weld and base metals and progresses
toward the center of the molten pool. Consequently, the solidification
time at lateral sides of the weld pool is shorter compare to the center of
weld, which results in finer grains at lateral sides of the weld metal.
Fig. 7. SEM image of cavities created on LW2 weld metal.
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Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143
It is clear from Fig. 8 that the weld metal contains two different
structures, the columnar-dendritic structure at the edge of the weld
metal and the cellular dendritic structure in the center of the weld metal.
The formation of columnar-dendritic structure at the interface of weld
and base metals is because of the higher gradient temperature, however,
the decrease of gradient at the center of weld metal led to formation of a
cellular dendritic structure. Fig. 9 shows the microstructure of weld
metal for LW1, LW2 and LW3 samples.
It should be stated that an increase in the heat input produced the
higher molten pool and consequently reduced the cooling rate of the
liquid metals. It can be therefore seen from Fig. 9 that the LW1 sample
with higher cooling rate represents a finer dendritic microstructure
compared to LW2 and LW3 samples. The increase of heat input led to a
rise in the grain size of weld microstructure from 2.5 to 6 µm. In Fig. 9c,
the presence of shrinkage voids was observed at higher heat input. The
shrinkage voids were produced owing to lack of material flow into the
space between connected dendrites during solidification [12]. The
growth direction of dendrites and distance between them is different
from each other. During the solidification of molten pool, when the heat
extraction direction is along the primary dendrite, the second dendrite
arms also growth in that direction [1]. The distance between centers of
dendrites was measured and given in Fig. 10. According to Fig. 10, with
increasing the heat input, the distance between center of dendrites in­
creases, which is owing to a reduction in the cooling rate and thus
provision of more time for further growth of dendritic. Similar results
has been reported by Kou [28] that stated an increase in the inlet tem­
perature or slower cooling rate accompanied with formation of large
dendritic arms which has grown with the use of smaller arms to mini­
mize material solid surface energy. Moreover, Strondl et al. [29]
investigated the electron beam welding of Inconel superalloys and
observed that the narrowest distance between dendrites was obtained at
highest solidification rate.
3.4. Micro-segregation
Segregation of elements during the solidification causes the forma­
tion of harmful intermetallic phases, which in turn affects the mechan­
ical properties of the joint. The phenomenon of micro segregation of
elements strongly depends on the heat input and cooling rate. The
higher heat input associates with the greater atomic mobility of the el­
ements in the melt and the longer cooling time which results in the more
segregation of elements. From the previous research about dissimilar
welding of Inconel superalloy and steel, it was found that usually
segregation of Nb, Mo and Ti was occurred during weld solidification
and the elements Fe, Cr and Ni remained within the dendritic core
[10,30,31].
The EDS analysis was performed to identify the segregation of ele­
ments and thereby laves phase. The white spots within the inter-
dendritic areas indicate the laves phases, which were produced
because of separation of the elements Nb, Mo and Ti (Fig. 9). In Fig. 9,
two points at the inter-dendritic region and inside the dendritic core
were selected for EDS analysis. Table 6 shows the results of EDS analysis
for each point. According to Table 6, the elements Nb, Mo and Ti have
been segregated into inter-dendritic regions. Moreover, Table 6 shows
that extent of segregation of Nb, Mo and Ti during weld solidification
increased with increasing power laser owing to slower cooling rate. The
slower cooling rate for the LW3 sample results in higher separation of
Nb, Mo and Ti because there is sufficient time to redistribute the ele­
ments. It is also worth mentioning that the radius of these elements is
larger than other elements of the weld metal, which leads to more
segregation of these elements. However, the segregation of Nb, Mo and
Ti elements in the present work is less than those of observed in the gas
tungsten arc welding (GTAW) [32], due to the higher cooling rate of the
molten pool in the laser welding process.
The equation of k = CC0s is usually used to determine the elements
A. Mirak et al. Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

Fig. 8. Microstructure of LW3 specimen a) at the interface of weld metal and Inconel 713 and b) at center of weld metal.

Fig. 9. Microstructure of the weld metal in samples a) LW 1, b) LW 2 and c) LW 3.

segregation in different areas of the weld metal, in which k is element
distribution coefficient, Cs is the composition of dendritic core and C0 is
the nominal composition. For k-value lower than one, the element will
segregate to the inter-dendrite region, while for k-value higher than one,
the element will segregate to the dendrite-core region. Table 7 shows the
calculated values of k for different elements. According to Table 7, k-
value for Ni, Cr and Fe is greater than one, which leads to very little
separation of these elements. However, k-value of elements Nb and Mo
is less than one, which leads to the separation of these elements towards
inter-dendritic areas. In a similar work, Ahmad et al. [14] reported the
segregation of Mo and Nb during the laser butt welding of Inconel 625
and stainless steel 2205. Mishra et al. [30] also performed the laser beam

7
A. Mirak et al.
Fig. 10. Distance between dendrites for different heat input.
welding of Inconel 625 superalloy and 316 stainless steel and observed
the segregation of Nb, Mo, Ti and Fe elements.
The formation of laves phase with the chemical formula (Cr, Ni, Fe)2
(Ti, Mo, Nb) was also reported during the welding of Inconel superalloy
and steel [10,31]. It is well recognized that the formation of laves phase
is mainly related to segregation of elements during weld solidification
[14,21]. Due to the higher atomic radius of Nb and Mo, they are not able
to dissolve in the Ni-rich (austenitic) field and thus segregate in the
inter-dendritic distance. Fig. 9 clearly shows the possible presence of
laves phase (white areas) within the inter-dendritic areas
According to Table 6, the more concentration of Ti, Nb and Mo el­
ements and depletion of Ni, Fe and Cr elements at the inter-dendritic
space manifest the formation of laves phase [14,21], however the for­
mation of laves phase was little. The EDS analysis was also used to
determine the concentration of elements across the weld line of LW1 and
LW3 specimens, as shown in Fig. 11.
The purpose of this analysis is to compare the effect of heat input on
the concentration of Fe, Ni and Cr elements in the weld metal. The
dilution for Fe and Ni is about 50%. As can be seen from Fig. 11, the
homogeneity of the elements in the weld metal of the LW3 sample is
greater than that of obtained in the LW1 sample. The reason for this
occurrence is that the increase of heat input improved the heat input to
the LW3 sample and so reduced the cooling rate, which resulted in
provision of more opportunity for the elements to diffuse into the weld
metal.
3.5. The HAZ microstructure
The microstructure of the heat affected zone (HAZ) at the interface of
4140 steel base metal and the weld metal was shown in Fig. 12. As can
be seen, the microstructure of HAZ at the 4140 steel side represents the
heterogeneous structure of the lath martensite. The lath martensite is
often formed in low carbon steels due to the high cooling rate. At the
4140 steel side there are two different morphologies in the HAZ, the
martensite grains are coarser near to the weld metal than the ones away
from weld metal. Since grains near to the weld metal were undergo
higher peak temperature than those a little far away which were
recrystallized and refined, the coarser martensite grains formed.
Fig. 13 shows the microstructure of weld samples at the center of
Table 6
Elemental distribution in the dendritic cores and inter-dendritic regions for three samples of LW1, LW2 and LW3 (wt%).
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Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143
HAZ. As can be seen from Fig. 13, the microstructure of all samples
consists of martensite laths. However, with increasing the heat input the
coarser martensite grains were formed, which was due to higher heat
input and consequently slower cooling rate. In addition, at higher heat
input the presence of the cracks was found in HAZ of 4140 steel side
owing to higher temperature gradient.
Fig. 14 shows the microstructure of the heat affected zone (HAZ) at
the interface of Inconel 713 superalloy and the weld metal. As can be
seen from Fig. 14, a very narrow HAZ has formed at the Inconel su­
peralloy side due to the high temperature resistance of Inconel, which
resulted in no changes in grain size. However, with the increase of heat
input, the γ′ particles changed from a regular and cuboidal morphology
to an irregular and un-uniform morphology. Moreover, at higher heat
input the liquation cracks were formed in the HAZ of Inconel 713 side
due to higher temperature gradient (Fig. 14b). Crack formed in the HAZ
region is called liquation crack. Formation of liquation crack is due to
liquation of partial phases and subsequently fragmentation of the liquid
[5]. The liquation crack is formed when a continuous or semi continuous
liquid film is produced on HAZ grain boundaries during the weld cooling
[12]. The increase of heat input was also associated with the nucleation
of γ′ -γ eutectic phase in the HAZ region of Inconel 713 (Fig. 14b). It
seems that the formation of γ′ -γ eutectic is the most important reason for
initiation of the liquation cracks.
3.6. Mechanical properties
3.6.1. Hardness
Fig. 15 shows the hardness profile across the weld metal zone under
different heat inputs. As expected, the hardness changes from the base
metals to the weld metal for all three samples. The average hardness for
AISI 4140 steel and Inconel 713 is 250 HV and 380 HV respectively,
while the weld metal has an average hardness of 280 HV in all three
samples. In Fig. 15, the weld metal of the LW3 sample indicated the
lowest hardness due to the higher heat input and consequently the
slower cooling rate. According to Fig. 9c, the decrease of cooling rate
produced a coarser dendritic microstructure which followed by reduc­
tion of hardness in the weld metal of LW3 sample [5,14]. It should be
also explained that at lower heat input the presence of Nb-rich and Mo-
rich precipitations in the inter-dendritic improves the hardness. How­
ever, an increase in heat input leads to growth of these precipitations
and formation of laves phase that depletes most of Nb and Mo elements,
and consequently reduces the value of hardness [29]. Liu et al. [21] also
Table 7
Coefficient of element distribution (K) for different elements.
Element Sample
LW1 LW2 LW2
Ni 1.82 1.02 1.02
Fe 1.1 1.51 1.51
Cr 1.84 1.04 1.04
Nb 0.47 0.76 0.76
Mo 0.57 0.96 0.96
Ti 0.66 0.95 0.95
A. Mirak et al.
Fig. 11. EDS analysis across the weld line of samples a) LW1 and b) LW3.
stated that the lowest hardness was obtained at the weld metal of K418
superalloy and 42CrMo steel joint due to the partial dissolution of the
main strengthening phase in the K418 superalloy, i.e. γ′ (Ni3Al). Taheri
et al. [5] observed that with an increase in heat input and therefore a
decrease in the solidification rate of weld metal, MC carbides and γ′
phase have more opportunity for growth and thus reduce the hardness of
superalloy.
From Fig. 15, it can be also observed that the highest hardness is
observed at the HAZ of 4140 steel (about 364 HV). According to Fig. 13c,
the high value of hardness at the HAZ of 4140 steel can be owing to the
formation of a large amount of needle like martensite. The other reason
for higher hardness of the HAZ of 4140 steel is that the HAZ region of
4140 steel is wider than that of Inconel 713 due to its higher coefficient
of heat conductivity. Moreover, Fig. 15 indicates that an increase in the
heat input led to further increase of the hardness in the HAZ of 4140
steel, which was due to the coarsening of martensite layers and
increasing the austenitizing temperature of the steel. The coarse-grained
martensite associates with an increase in the fault energy and disloca­
tion density which tends to improve the hardness. However, from
Fig. 15, an increase in the heat input accompanied with a slight reduc­
tion in the hardness of HAZ of Inconel 713 due to grain growth in this
area and the little dissolution of γ′ phase [5,21].
The maximum hardness of weld metal and heat affected zone (HAZ)
obtained in the present research and other works were compared in
Table 8. The hardness of the weld metal in previous works and the
present study is almost equal, but in the case of HAZ, the hardness varies
from 290 HV to 550 HV. As mentioned previously, the variations of
martensite grain size caused by the change of heat input are responsible
for this wide range of the hardness in the HAZ region. The reason for the
increase in the hardness of HAZ region in this study compared to pre­
vious works is the higher heat input (4375 J/mm) to the samples.
3.6.2. Tensile strength
Fig. 16 shows the fractured tensile specimens after tensile testing. As
can be seen, the fracture was occurred at the weld zone of tensile
specimens. Fig. 17 shows the effect of heat input on the ultimate tensile
9
Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143
strength of the weld specimens. It was observed that all three specimens
were failed without plastic deformation which represents brittle frac­
ture. As can be seen from Fig. 17, an increase in the heat input led to a
reduction in the ultimate tensile strength of weld joint. The reduction of
ultimate tensile strength caused by the increase of heat input is due to
the higher inlet temperature and consequently the lower cooling rate
which eventually results in the increase of the dendrites size. The coarser
dendritic structure deteriorates the mechanical properties of weld joint.
In the LW1 specimen with the finer dendritic microstructure, the
movement of dislocation is more restricted and consequently accumu­
lation of dislocations increased which resulted in an improvement in the
ultimate tensile strength of weld joint [32]. In addition, based on the
results of EDS analysis (Table 6), the presence of Nb-rich and Mo-rich
precipitates within inter-dendritic structure of LW1 sample hindered
the movement of dislocation, leading to enhancement of the ultimate
tensile strength. However, in LW3 sample, separation of these elements
and the formation of laves phase evoked a reduction in the ultimate
tensile strength of weld joint. It was reported that the presence of laves
phase in the weld metal facilitates the nucleation and propagation of the
micro-cracks and therefore, it has a detrimental influence on the tensile
strength [21].
Similar results were reported by Ahmad et al. [14]. They pointed out
that formation of fine dendritic grains associated with Mo rich phases in
the microstructure of weld metal at lower heat input were responsible
for improvement of the tensile strength, while laves phases formation at
higher heat input induced a reduction in the tensile strength of weld
joint. Similar findings have also been reported in [33]. Based on the
results of previous researches about dissimilar welding of superalloy and
steel [14,15,21], it can be concluded that the obtained welds using the
laser welding process have a more favorable tensile strength than other
methods such as tungsten electrode welding [34,35]. In Fig. 18, the
fracture surface of tensile specimens was evaluated using scanning
electron microscopy (SEM).
According to Fig. 18, the cleavage facets were observed on the
fracture surface of all samples which represent a brittle fracture. Indeed,
at lower heat input (Fig. 18a), beside the cleavage facets some dimples
A. Mirak et al.
Fig. 12. SEM images of the microstructure at the interface of 4140 steel and weld metal for samples a) LW1, b) LW2 and c) LW3.
were also observed. An increase in the heat input increased the values of
cleavage facets and produced tearing ridges which represent completely
brittle fracture in the LW3 sample (Fig. 18c).
The other characteristic of surface fracture is the presence of solid­
ification cracks. Since the failure mechanism involves the formation and
spread of cracks, several factors can influence on the crack formation.
One of the most important factors is the particles rich in Ti, Nb and Si
[36]. The EDS analysis was performed on the particles observed in
Fig. 17, which represents that they are rich in Nb, Ti and Si (see Table 9).
Therefore, these particles can be considered as Nb-rich precipitate or
laves phase. The presence of Laves particles inside the cavities on the
fracture surface led to formation of micro-voids at the Laves/matrix
interfaces (Fig. 18b). The coalescence of micro-voids leads to formation
of the micro-cracks. Therefore, laves particles provide desirable sites for
formation of micro-voids and growth of micro-cracks along the interface
of laves/matrix, which make the fracture process easier and thus leads to
lower tensile strength [19,21,37,38].
4. Conclusion
In this paper, Nd:YAG laser pulse welding of Inconel 713 superalloy
and high strength AISI 4140 steel was successfully performed and the
following results were obtained:
10
Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143
1. The microstructure of the weld metal at heat input range of 1875 to
4375 J/mm was entirely dendritic-cellular. However, by increasing
the heat input leads to coarse structure and, the distance between
centers of dendrites increased from 2 to 3.1 µm.
2. During the solidification of molten pool, the morphology of the weld
structure changed from a columnar dendritic at the interface of weld
joint and base metals to cellular dendritic at the center of weld metal
due to gradual reduction of temperature gradient.
3. The EDS analysis indicated that during solidification of weld pool,
the Fe and Ni elements with a distribution coefficient greater than
one partially penetrated into the dendrite core areas, while the Nb
and Mo elements with a distribution coefficient less than one and a
larger radius segregated into inter-dendritic areas. Segregation of
laves phase was also recognized within the inter-dendritic regions of
weld metal.
4. An increase in heat input improved the width of HAZ at 4140 steel
side from 154 to 310 µm, while at Inconel 713 superalloy side a very
narrow HAZ was observed due to high temperature resistance of this
alloy. Moreover, the lower thermal conductivity of Inconel 713 su­
peralloy than 4140 steel caused the molten pool to be drawn towards
the superalloy side.
5. The maximum value of hardness was obtained at HAZ of 4140 steel
(600 HV) due to formation of fine and coarse martensite grains.
A. Mirak et al. Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

Fig. 13. SEM images of the microstructure at the center of HAZ in samples a) LW1, b) LW2 and c) LW3.

Fig. 14. SEM images of the microstructure at the interface of Inconel 713 superalloy and weld metal for samples a) LW1 and b) LW3.

11
A. Mirak et al. Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

Fig. 15. Hardness profiles including hardness of base metals, HAZ region and welding metal of LW1, LW2 and LW3 samples.

Table 8
Comparison of the micro hardness results of the present research with the pre­
vious works.
Hardness of HAZ (4140) (HV) Hardness of weld metal (HV) Reference

290 265 [14]

400 210 [9]
500 250 [32]
400 290 [18]
550 290 This research

Fig. 17. Effect of heat input on the ultimate tensile strength of weld specimens.

7. The cleavage facets were the main fracture characteristic of weld

samples which indicated a brittle fracture at different values of heat
input. In addition, the presence of laves phase within the fracture
surface of LW2 and LW3 samples encouraged the formation of micro-
cracks.
8. Finally, it should be stated that the laser welding of Inconel 713
superalloy and AISI 4140 steel was successfully performed at three
heat inputs. When the heat input of 1875 J/mm is applied, the
hardness and tensile strength of the weld are improved and the
microstructure defects are decreased. However, when the higher
weld penetration is required the heat input should be 4375 J/mm,
but it decreases the hardness and tensile strength of the weld.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Fig. 16. Fracture of weld metal in tensile specimens of a) LW1, b) LW2 and
c) LW3.
However, an increase in the heat input followed by a slight reduction
in the hardness of weld metal from 284 to 266 HV.
6. The increase of heat input associated with a reduction in the tensile
strength of weld joint from 1068 to 622 MPa, which was due to
formation of coarser dendritic grains and also higher segregation of
Nb-rich and Mo-rich participates and consequently formation of
laves phase.
Alireza Mirak: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation,
Project administration, Resources. Behrooz Shams: Investigation,
Writing – original draft. Soroush Bakhshi: Validation, Writing – review
& editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence

12
A. Mirak et al. Optics and Laser Technology 152 (2022) 108143

Fig. 18. Fracture surface of tensile specimens for a) LW1, b) LW2 and c) LW3.

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