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Mechanical properties of 9Cr–1W reduced activation ferritic martensitic steel

weldment prepared by electron beam welding process

Article in Fusion Engineering and Design · July 2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2014.07.001

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 Fusion Engineering and Design 89 (2014) 2672–2678

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Fusion Engineering and Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fusengdes

Mechanical properties of 9Cr–1W reduced activation ferritic

martensitic steel weldment prepared by electron beam welding
process
C.R. Das a,∗ , S.K. Albert a , Shiju Sam b , P. Mastanaiah c , G.M.S.K. Chaitanya a , A.K. Bhaduri a ,
T. Jayakumar a , C.V.S. Murthy c , E. Rajendra Kumar b
a
Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India
b
Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, India
c
Defense Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad, India

h i g h l i g h t s

• Width of HAZ is smaller in the 9Cr–1W RAFM weldment prepared by EB process compared to that reported for TIG weldments in literature.
• Weld joint is stronger than that of the base metal.
• Toughness of weld metal prepared by EB welding process is comparable to that (in PWHT condition) prepared by TIG process.
• DBTT of as-welded 9Cr–1W RAFM weldment prepared by EB process is comparable to that reported for TIG weld metal in PWHT condition.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Microstructure and mechanical properties of the weldments prepared from 9Cr–1W reduced activation
Received 24 August 2013 ferritic martensitic (RAFM) steel using electron beam welding (EBW) process were studied. Microstruc-
Received in revised form 26 June 2014 ture consists of tempered lath martensite where precipitates decorating the boundaries in post weld heat
Accepted 4 July 2014
treated (PWHT) condition. Lath and precipitate sizes were found to be finer in the weld metal than in
Available online 24 July 2014
base metal. Accordingly, hardness of the weld metal was found to be higher than the base metal. Ten-
sile strength of the cross weldment specimen was 684 MPa, which was comparable with the base metal
Keywords:
tensile strength of 670 MPa. On the other hand, DBTT of 9Cr–1W weld metal in as-welded condition is
Electron beam welding
9Cr–1W RAFM steel
similar to that reported for TIG weld metal in PWHT condition.
Martensite © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Toughness and DBTT

1. Introduction
Reduced activation ferritic martensitic (RAFM) steel is chosen
as a structural material for test blanket modules (TBMs) to be
tested in ITER, for first wall and tritium breeding blanket appli-
cations in DEMO reactor. RAFM steels are chosen for their good
irradiation resistance, thermo-physical and thermo-mechanical
properties [1]. At present, all partner countries are collaborat-
ing to achieve sustainable fusion reaction at ITER, France. Each
collaborating partner country in this program is working toward
the development of its own indigenous structural material and
associated fabrication technologies for the TBMs [2–4]. Indian
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 44 27480118; fax: +91 44 27480118.
E-mail addresses: chitta@igcar.gov.in, chittachaitri@gmail.com (C.R. Das).
specific RAFM steel has been developed at Indira Gandhi Cen-
ter for Atomic Research (IGCAR) [2]. The chemical composition of
9Cr–1Mo–0.06Nb–0.2V–0.05N has been modified by substitution
of highly radioactive (induced) elements like Mo by W and Nb by
Ta to produce RAFM steel [2,3]. Physical and mechanical properties
of this steel are similar to that of Eurofer 97 [3].
Joining and inspection technologies are very important for the
fabrication of TBM because of its complex design which is similar to
a box structure with a maze of channels and irregular subcompo-
nents, thereby giving numerous joint configurations with limited
accessibility for welding. Welding procedure qualification using
this steel for different fusion welding processes is in progress at
IGCAR in collaboration with other partner organizations. In weld
joints of high-Cr ferritic steels, heat affected zones (HAZs) are
known to be the weakest link in the structure [5,6]. Owing to the
complicated design of the TBM, fusion welding processes, such as

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2014.07.001
0920-3796/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 C.R. Das et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 89 (2014) 2672–2678 2673

tungsten inert gas (TIG), narrow gap TIG (NG-TIG), electron beam
(EB) and laser and laser-MIG hybrid welding are considered for fab-
rication. EB, laser and laser hybrid welding are advanced joining
processes wherein the width of HAZs is significantly lower than
the width of HAZs formed in manual metal arc (MMA) or TIG weld-
ments. Lower width of the HAZ enhances creep rupture life of
the weldment [7]. Therefore, it is very important to understand
the microstructure and mechanical properties of the weldments of
9Cr–1W RAFM steel prepared by the above mentioned advanced
joining processes. This manuscript discusses the microstructural
and mechanical properties of 9Cr–1W RAFM steel weldments made
by electron beam welding. It may be noted that Indian specific
RAFM steel contains 1.4 wt.% W and initial development was initi-
ated with 1 wt.% W, and present results are based on research work
carried out on 1 wt.% W RAFM steel.
2. Experimental
9Cr–1W RAFM steel plates of 200 mm × 120 mm × 12 mm were
used for preparation of weld pads using EB welding process in
vacuum condition (1 × 10−3 mbar). A few autogenous weld beads
were made on a 9Cr–1W RAFM steel plates, to optimize the welding
parameters that provide full penetration welds in 12 mm thick
plate. The welding parameters used for EBW process are: Gun volt-
age: 55 kV, welding speed: 1 m min−1 and electron beam current:
135 mA. Weldments were subsequently examined by radiographic
and ultrasonic inspection techniques. These weld joints were sub-
jected to PWHT at 750 ◦ C for 90 min in a furnace at a heating rate of
100 ◦ C h−1 . A few set of specimen blanks were subjected to PWHT
for 2 h at 740, 750 and 760 ◦ C. Face bend test specimens of size
180 mm × 30 mm × 10 mm were fabricated from the as-welded
and post weld heat treated weldments and they were subjected to
three point face bend tests in a custom made bend test machine.
For metallographic observation, cross weld specimens of size
10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm were prepared using conventional metal-
lographic route. For optical and scanning electron microscopic
observations, the mirror polished specimens were etched using Vil-
lella’s reagent (1 g picric acid and 5 ml hydrochloric acid in 100 ml
ethanol). For comparison of weld metal microstructure, between
EB and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process, weld pad was
prepared by 1.0 wt.% RAFM steel filler wire using 9Cr–1W RAFM
steel plate of size 300 mm × 125 mm × 12 mm. Pre-heat tempera-
ture, interpass temperature and heat input were 300 ◦ C, 250 ◦ C and
1.2 kJ mm−1 respectively used for GTAW process. X-ray diffraction

Table 1
Chemical composition (in wt%) of RAFM steel used.

Element Cr C Mn V W Ta N B Ti Nb Mo

RAFMS 9.07 0.093 0.56 0.22 1.01 0.06 0.02 0.0005 <0.005 0.001 0.002
Element Ni Cu Al Si Co O P S As + Sn + Sb + Zr
RAFMS 0.005 <0.001 0.004 0.09 0.002 0.0046 0.002 0.002 <0.03

Fig. 1. Three-point bend test of 9Cr–1W RAFMS weldment in (a) as-welded and (b) PWHT conditions.
2674 C.R. Das et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 89 (2014) 2672–2678
Fig. 2. Photomicrograph of normalized (950 ◦ C/30 min) and tempered (750 ◦ C/1 h)
9Cr–1W RAFMS base metal at (a) low magnification and (b) high magnification.
(XRD) technique was used to determine the amount of retained
austenite in the weld metal in as-welded and PWHT conditions.
XRD scans were carried out in 2 range of 30–120◦ with step size
of 0.02◦ using Cu–K∝ source.
Microhardness measurements were carried out at 500 g load
using Vicker’s microhardness tester. Round cross-weld tensile
specimens of 4 mm diameter and 26 mm gauge length were
machined from weldments in as-welded and PWHT conditions.
Tensile tests were carried out in 50 tons Instron universal tensile
machine at room temperature and strain rate of 3 × 10−4 s−1 . Full
size Charpy-V impact toughness tests of weldments subjected to
PWHT at 740, 750 and 760 ◦ C for duration of 2 h were also car-
ried out. These PWHT temperatures and durations were studied
to understand the effect PWHT conditions on room tempera-
ture Charpy-V impact toughness values. Ductile–Brittle Transition
Temperature (DBTT) was also determined for weld metal in the
as-welded condition. Fracture surfaces of Charpy-V notch impact
tested specimens were observed under scanning electron micro-
scope (SEM).
3. Results
3.1. Non-destructive evaluation
Nondestructive radiographic and ultrasonic examination con-
firmed that the weld joints are free of defects. The sensitivity of
radiographs was set using defect of size which corresponds to 2%
of the wall thickness. Similarly, in the case of ultrasonic exami-
nation, 0.6 mm diameter side drilled hole was used for establishing
its sensitivity. Specimens prepared from both as-welded and PWHT
joints were passed three point bend test showing 180◦ bend duc-
tility. The photographs of the tested specimens are shown in Fig. 1.
These results confirmed that the welds are free from defects and
has sufficient bend ductility even in as-welded condition.
3.2. Material and microstructure
Chemical composition of the RAFM steel base metal is
given in Table 1. The as-received material is in the normal-
ized (950 ◦ C/30 min) and tempered (750 ◦ C/1 h) (N&T) condition.
Microstructure of as-received base metal in N&T condition con-
sists of tempered lath martensite. SEM photomicrograph of the base
metal (Fig. 2a and b) reveals that the lath and prior austenite grain
boundaries are decorated with precipitates.
Optical photomicrograph of the as-welded weld metal is shown
in Fig. 3. This photomicrograph shows weld metal which consists of
epitaxial zone at the fusion interface, followed by as cast solidified
microstructure at the center of the weld metal. Low magnification
microstructure of HAZ is also shown in Fig. 3a. HAZ microstructures
consist of coarse grain (CG), fine grain (FG) and intercritical (IC)
heat affected zone (HAZ) as shown in Fig. 3b–d. Variations in prior
austenite grain size in the HAZ are evident from these micro-
graphs. SEM photomicrographs of the weld metal in as-welded and
PWHT conditions are shown in Fig. 4. Microstructure reveals very
fine precipitates in the as-welded condition (Fig. 4a) and relatively
coarser precipitates in the post weld heat treated (PWHT) condition
(Fig. 4b). As expected, lath boundaries are more clearly evident in
post weld heat treated condition than in the as-welded condition
as precipitates decorate these boundaries. Fig. 5 shows XRD results
of the weld metal in as-welded and PWHT conditions. XRD pattern
contains peaks for bcc phase only. It can be seen from Fig. 5 that the
intensity of {1 1 0} peak is reduced in PWHT condition as compared
to that in as-welded condition. Simultaneously, a decrease in full
width half maximum (FWHM) from 0.83 in as-welded condition to
0.72 in post weld heat treated condition is observed. There is no
evidence of retained austenite in the weld metal.
3.3. Hardness
For as-welded and PWHT conditions, hardness distribution
across the weld metal is shown in Fig. 6a. It shows that the hardness
of the weld metal is 400 HV0.5 in as-welded condition as com-
pared to the base metal hardness of 230 HV0.5 (N&T) condition.
Fig. 6a also shows that the hardness of the weld metal decreases to
294 HV0.5 after PWHT at 740 ◦ C/2 h. But, it decrease to 264 HV0.5
with further increase in PWHT temperature (760 ◦ C/2 h). On the
other hand, the hardness of the base metal decreases from 230 to
200 HV0.5 after PWHT. For the as-welded and PWHT conditions, the
distribution of hardness from the root to the face of the weld metal
is shown in Fig. 6b. Hardness is more uniform in the weld metal
after the PWHT as compared to that in the as-welded condition.
From the hardness distribution (Fig. 6a) across the weld interface,
it can be inferred that the width of the HAZ is ∼0.5 mm.
3.4. Tensile strength
Room temperature yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile
strength (UTS) of cross-weld specimens in PWHT condition are
found to be 540 and 684 MPa, respectively. Corresponding values
for base metal in N&T condition are 510 and 670 MPa respectively.
For the weld joint, high temperature (500 ◦ C) YS and UTS are
found to be 364 and 379 MPa, respectively. These values are
 C.R. Das et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 89 (2014) 2672–2678
Fig. 3. (a) Low magnification image of RAFM weldment and low magnification secondary electron image of (b) CGHAZ (c) FGHAZ, and (d) ICHAZ.
also comparable with that of the base metal (350 MPa for YS and
365 MPa for UTS). All cross-weld specimens failed in the base metal
far away from the weld interface. Photographs of the cross-weld
tensile tested specimens are shown in Fig. 7. These results clearly
show that the weld metal is stronger than the base metal and
this is also in agreement with higher hardness of the weld metal
than that of the base metal. It may be noted that no filler wire
was used for joining this material. Therefore, the volume of weld
metal as compared to the base metal in the gauge is considerably
less. Hence, the tensile properties of the weldment are influenced
marginally by high strength of weld metal.
3.5. Impact toughness
Room temperature Charpy-V notch impact toughness of the
weld metal in as-welded condition is found to be 190 J. Similarly,
room temperature toughness of the weld metal after PWHT at dif-
ferent temperatures is shown in Fig. 8. It shows that the toughness
value increased marginally to 191–210 J from the as-welded value
of 190 J after PWHT which was done at different temperatures.
These values are similar to that obtained for the base metal (225 J).
Fractographs of tested specimens (as-welded and one PWHT con-
dition) are shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 9a shows the presence of shallow
dimple facets on the fracture surface of the as-welded specimen
whereas Fig. 9b shows the presence of numerous finer dimple facets
on the fracture surface of PWHT specimen. Variations in toughness
of the EB weld metal (in the as-welded condition) with temperature
is plotted along with published data on GTAW weld metal of RAFM
steel (PWHT at 750 ◦ C/2 h) in Fig. 10 [8]. From this figure it is clearly
evident that the DBTT of EB weld metal in as-welded condition is
similar to that of TIG weld metal in PWHT condition. Here it may be
mentioned that Srinivasan et al. performed Charpy-V impact test of
weld metal after completion of PWHT at 750 ◦ C for 2 h. Considering
68 J criteria, ductile brittle transition temperature estimated from
their test was reported to be −81 ◦ C [8]. Under similar criteria, the
DBTT for EB weld metal is found to be −80 ◦ C.
2675
4. Discussion
Microstructure and mechanical properties of weld metal are
presented in the preceding sections. The influence of micro-
structural changes on mechanical properties of the weldment is
discussed in the succeeding section. From the macrographs (Fig. 3)
and hardness distribution (Fig. 6a), it is estimated that the width
of the HAZ is 0.5 mm. Commonly, HAZ width in the weldment
varies between 1.5 and 3.5 mm when the weldments are prepared
using MMA or TIG welding processes [9]. Lower width of HAZs in
the weldment prepared by EB process as compared to those pre-
pared by other arc welding processes has been reported in literature
[5,6,10], and it is attributed to the high electron density and instan-
taneous decay of electron energy. In the case of metal–electron
interaction, the energetic electron hits the metallic surface caus-
ing ejection of the valence electron or replacement of core electron
if the energy is sufficient. In this process, the electron instanta-
neously loses its energy during its interaction with material. The
time period of electronic decay is several orders less in magnitude
as compared to the heat transport properties of the material. As a
result, less volume of the metal gets affected in the case of EB pro-
cess compared to large volume of metal in the case of MMA process
and thereby, resulting in development of finer HAZ width.
High hardness in the as-welded weld metal is due to the for-
mation of lath martensite after cooling to room temperature. This
high hardness of the weld metal reduced from 400 HV0.5 in as-
welded condition to 264–294 HV0.5 after PWHT at 740–760 ◦ C.
During PWHT, carbon and other alloying elements diffused out
from the martensite lattice and bring down the c/a ratio resulting
in decrease in the lattice strain [10]. As a result, lattice distortion
decreases and consequently the hardness of the material decreases
too. On the other hand, further decrease in hardness of the base
metal after PWHT from that of the as-received condition suggests
adequate tempering of the base metal has not taken place in the
as-received condition. Hence, during PWHT, lath martensite con-
tinues to temper resulting in the coarsening of precipitates and
2676 C.R. Das et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 89 (2014) 2672–2678
Fig. 4. SEM image of 9Cr–1W RAFMS weld metal in (a) as-welded and (b) PWHT
conditions.
decrease in the hardness value [10]. Tamura et al. [10] reported con-
tinuous decrease in hardness in 9Cr–1Mo–0.2V steel with increase
in tempering temperature and these observations are in line with
expected behavior of the material. It may be noted that 9Cr–1W
RAFM steel is a martensitic steel, similar to the modified 9Cr–1Mo
steel except for the replacement of Mo with W and Nb with Ta.
Fig. 6. Variation of the hardness (a) across the weld metal and (b) from root to cap.
Fig. 5. XRD profile for as-welded and PWHT weld metal prepared using EB welding
process.
Since W is a heavier element, coarsening kinetics of precipitates is
sluggish [11]. With the advance of tempering process, sub-grains
of several ␮m in size are formed through the coalescence of lath
martensite and decrease in the number of the ultra-fine grains.
Increase in the size of sub-grain structure caused decrease in the
hardness of the material. This can be discussed with Hall–Petch
relation. Grain size is inversely correlated with hardness for solid
solution strengthened materials [12]. As expected, increase in the
particle size accompanied by increase in the sub-grain size dur-
ing PWHT could be the reasons for lower hardness in the base
metal (204 HV0.5) as compared to as-received material hardness
of 230 HV0.5. Hardness difference of 13 HV0.5 between base metal
(204 HV0.5) and HAZ (191 HV0.5) was smaller in EB weldment than
those reported by others for TIG weldments prepared from RAFM
steel (39 HV0.5) and modified 9Cr–1Mo steel (40 HV0.5) [5,6,9].
Minimum hardness measured in the HAZ of EB weldment in this
study is 193 HV0.5 compared to 165 HV0.5 reported for the TIG
weldment of RAFM steel reported by Jiang et al. [9]. From the above
results and discussion, it is clearly evident that the microstructural
and hardness changes of HAZ of the 9Cr–1W RAFM steel weldment
prepared by EB process is less than that reported for TIG weldments.
Even though hardness profile indicates hardness variation
across the weld metal with minimum hardness in the HAZ and
maximum in the weld metal after PWHT, fracture of the specimen
has occurred in the unaffected base metal of the weldment during
 C.R. Das et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 89 (2014) 2672–2678
Fig. 7. Cross weld tensile tested specimen in (a) As-welded and (b) PWHT condition.
tensile testing. It was shown that both yield and tensile strengths of
weldment are comparable to those of the base metal even though
a slight reduction in the hardness of the base metal after PWHT is
noted. This clearly shows that the weld metal is stronger than that of
the base metal. Width of the HAZ in the EB weldment is too narrow
to affect the overall tensile properties of the weldment. Constraint
effect of adjacent zones with higher hardness than this zone could
prevent its deformation during tensile testing. The observation of
failure locations in cross-weld specimens clearly revealed that the
failure location was outside the HAZ in the base metal. In this con-
text, one can conclude that the tensile properties of EB weldment
would be better than that of weldments prepared using other pro-
cess. In fact, in literature, it has been noticed that the cross-weld
specimen of 9Cr steels fails in the unaffected base metal, outside the
HAZ [13]. But, the formation of soft zone [14] in the HAZ of dissimi-
lar weldment of 9Cr steel with 2.25Cr steel attributed to the failure
in the weakest region of the HAZ [15]. Comparable strength of the
base metal and cross-weld specimen is due to the matching com-
position of the weld metal, in addition to smaller volume of weld
metal and HAZ comparable to that of the unaffected base metal in
the gauge length of the specimen. Though hardness in the HAZ of
the fine and inter-critical heat affected zones is reduced marginally
[5,6,9], its contribution in reducing the overall strength of the cross-
weld specimen was minimal. In fact, more softening of base metal
and lesser softening of the weld metal could be the reason for com-
parable strength of base metal and weldment. Observation of cross-
weld tensile tested fracture specimens (Fig. 7) revealed that the
entire strain was accumulated in the fracture location. Das et al. [13]
reported the failure of the cross-weld specimen outside the HAZ in
the unaffected base metal junction made of modified 9Cr–1Mo steel
weldment and similar results are reported by many authors [16].
Fig. 8. Toughness of weld metal subjected to PWHT at 740, 750 and 760 ◦ C for 2 h
along with base metal toughness.
2677
During tensile loading, load was supported by the base metal
instead of the weld metal and HAZ due to their smaller dimensions
and as a result, failure location shifted toward the base metal. Albert
et al. [7] also reported similar observation regarding the shifting
of failure location in the unaffected base metal far away from the
weld interface in laser weldments under high stress condition at
high temperature. Rodrigues et al. [17] reported that the hardness
of the soft zone was lower compared to the base material in the
weldment made using conventional fusion welding process. These
authors also reported that with increase in width of soft zone, i.e.
width of the HAZ, the tensile strength of the soft zone decreases
[18]. It may be noted that such observations were not noted in
the present investigation. Stability of microstructure in the HAZs
of EB weldment as compared to other weldments prepared by high
heat input process, like SMA (submerged arc), FCA (flux-core arc)
and TIG welding process results in less variation in the hardness
which improves the creep life of the weldments. But substructures
develop in the ICHAZ or FGHAZ. In this direction, Albert et al. [7]
reported the improvement in creep rupture life for the ferritic steel
weldment prepared using EB process compared to TIG welding
process at higher stress levels.
Good toughness in weld metal in as-welded and PWHT con-
ditions is discussed as follows. The size of lath martensite and
precipitates formed in the weld metal prepared by EB process is
finer than those reported in the weldment prepared by TIG process
[18]. In order to compare the precipitate size, high magnifica-
tion image, at 20,000×, was taken from TIG weld metal, EB weld
metal and 9Cr–1W RAFMS base metal. The measurement shows
that the precipitate size is 137 ± 30 and 210 ± 75 nm in EB and
TIG weld metals, respectively. On the other hand, the precipitate
size is 161 ± 67 nm in RAFMS base metal studied in this investiga-
tion. It clearly suggests that the size of precipitate is bigger for TIG
weld metal as compared to the 9Cr–1W RAFMS base metal but it is
smaller for EB weld metal than that of the base metal. This is prob-
ably due to the high cooling rate experienced in the EB weld metal
after EB welding. These are clearly evident from the Figs. 2 and 4b.
During PWHT, annihilation of dislocations and precipitates form.
Annihilation of dislocations reduces internal strain and this is con-
firmed by the reduction in the width of {1 1 0} peak in XRD of the
weld metal subjected to PWHT from that of the as-welded condi-
tion. As a result marginal increase in toughness value is observed
after PWHT.
It is worth noting that W promotes retention of delta ferrite in
9Cr steel at room temperature, but this phase was not observed in
the present study as W content was 1 wt.%. Recently, Albert et al.
[19] reported retention of delta ferrite in 9Cr–1.4W RAFMS weld
metal prepared with EB welding process. Presence of delta ferrite
is reported to increase the DBTT of 9Cr–1.4W RAFM steel close to
the room temperature. These authors also showed that the DBTT
2678 C.R. Das et al. / Fusion Engineering and Design 89 (2014) 2672–2678
Fig. 9. Fractograph of Charpy impact specimen in (a) as welded and (b) PWHT condition (750 ◦ C).
Fig. 10. Variation in Charpy-V impact toughness vs. test temperature.
does not change with increase in PWHT duration to 4 h at 750 ◦ C.
Therefore, present result clearly demonstrate that lower DBTT is
achievable if W content in 9Cr steel is 1 wt.%. Marginal variations in
toughness values after PWHT at different temperatures suggest that
the microstructure of weld metal is more stable within the temper-
ature range investigated. Comparable DBTT values of as-welded EB
weld metal and that of TIG weld metal (Fig. 10), which was tested
after 750 ◦ C/2 h PWHT suggests EB weld metal is tougher even in
the as-welded condition which is attributed to the fineness of the
microstructural features for EB weld metal.
5. Conclusions
1. Sound weld joints were prepared with RAFM steel using EBW
process.
2. Hardness of the weld metal decreased from ∼400 HV0.5 in as-
welded conditions to 264–294 HV0.5 on PWHT at 740–760 ◦ C
and variation of hardness across the weld joint after PWHT is
found to be less than those reported for arc welds.
3. Width of HAZ is smaller in the RAFM weldment prepared by
EB process compared to those reported for TIG weldments in
literature.
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4. Tensile properties of base metal as well as cross-weld specimens
are found to be similar with fracture occurring in base metal far
away from the weld joint. This confirms that joint is stronger
than that of the base metal.
5. High toughness of weld metal in as-welded and PWHT condi-
tions is due to finer microstructural features in the weld metal.
6. DBTT of as-welded 9Cr–1W RAFMS weld metal is similar to the
weld metal (in PWHT condition) that prepared using TIG welding
process.
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