Effect of Mn and Ni on microstructure and impact toughness of submerged arc weld metals

The influences of Mn and Ni contents on the impact toughness and microstructure in the weld metals of high strength low alloy steels were studied. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum composition ranges of Mn and Ni to develop welding consumables with better resistance to cold cracking. The results indicated that Mn and Ni had considerable effect on the microstructure of weld metal, and both Mn and Ni promoted acicular ferrite at the expense of proeutectoid ferrite and ferrite side plates. Varying Ni content influenced the Charpy impact energy, the extent of which depended on Mn content. Based on the properties and impact resistance, the optimum levels of Mn and Ni were suggested to be 0.6%—0.9% and 2.5%—3.5% respectively. Additions beyond this limit promoted the formation of segregation structures and other microstructural features, which may be detrimental to weld metal toughness. © 2015, Tianjin University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.