Role of cube texture on toughness variation of electric resistance welded steel

Properties changes of an X52 microalloyed steel processed by a full-scale industrial electric resistant welding (ERW) equipment was studied. Lack of proper toughness level in the weld zone was investigated. Results show that the low toughness value could only be satisfactorily addressed after a two-stage annealing process. {100} pole figures for each processing step revealed a completely random texture for the initial plate. However, after the ERW process, a textured structure with the main components of brass, S and copper was obtained. Texture components were substantially weakened after the second stage of annealing and instead a cube texture was developed which could explain satisfactory level of toughness for the ERW pipe after conducting the two-step annealing process.