Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution of Simulated Heat-Affected Zones in Wrought Eglin Steel

A comprehensive study was performed to correlate the mechanical properties and microstructural evolution in the heat-affected zone of Eglin steel. A Gleeble 3500 thermo-mechanical simulator was used to simulate weld thermal cycles with different peak temperatures at a heat input of 1500 J/mm. These samples underwent mechanical testing to determine strength and toughness in the as-welded and post-weld heat-treated conditions. The inter-critical heat-affected zone (HAZ) had the lowest strength following thermal simulation, while the fine-grain and coarse-grain heat-affected zone exhibited increased strength when compared to the inter-critical HAZ. The toughness of the heat-affected zone in the as-simulated condition is lower than that of the base metal in all regions of the HAZ. Post-weld heat treatments (PWHTs) increased the toughness of the HAZ, but at the expense of strength. In addition, certain combinations of PWHTs within specific HAZ regions exhibited low toughness caused by tempered martensite embrittlement or intergranular failure. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction data have shown that Eglin steel has retained austenite in the fine-grain HAZ in the as-simulated condition. In addition, alloy carbides (M23C6, M2C, M7C3) have been observed in the diffraction spectra for the fine-grain and coarse-grain HAZ following a PWHT of 973 K (700 °C)/4 hours.