Effect of Wel di ng Variables on Cracking in

Cobalt-Based SMA Hardfacing Deposits

Investigation focuses on establishing guidelines for depositing
crack-free hardfacing weld metal
BY R. V. SHARPLES AND T. G. GOOCH
Introduction
Wel d deposition of hardfacing alloys
is commonl y empl oyed to increase the
service life of components subject to
abrasive wear. A number of alloys are
commerci al l y avai l abl e, based largely
on i ron, ni ckel or cobal t matrices, and
offering various properties in the deposit
(Refs. 1, 2). In general, greater life is ob-
tained for many appl i cati ons by using
deposits of higher hardness, this bei ng
obtai ned via the presence of hard sec-
ond-phase particles, especially carbides,
in the matrix. However, at high hardness
levels, the tensile duct i l i t y of the hard-
facing is reduced and cracking can occur
as a result of wel di ng contraction strain.
Such cracki ng does not necessarily sig-
nificantly reduce the service wear life of
the component, and indeed is sometimes
seen as an advantage in reducing resid-
ual stress levels (relief checki ng).
Nonetheless, in many instances, crack-
ing is undesirable, whether to obtai n a
sealing surface or to avoi d fatigue f ai l -
ure, for example, and a requirement ex-
ists for deposi ti on of crack-free, hi gh-
hardness surfacing.
Cracking can arise either in the solid
state because of l ow tensile ducti l i ty or
duri ng sol i di fi cati on. The latter mecha-
nism of cracki ng can normal l y be over-
come by reducing travel speed, wi t h at-
tenti on to arc ext i nct i on procedure to
avoi d crater cracki ng, but the former
crack type represents a rather more i n-
tractable probl em in hardfaci ng alloys.
Essentially, the incidence of cracking can
be related to the tensile duct i l i t y of the
deposit, and hence, to its composi t i on
and hardness. Whi l e cracki ng can be
avoi ded by selection of an al ternati ve
R. V. SHARPLES and T. G. GOOCH are with
The Welding Institute, Abington Hall, Abing-
ton, Cambridge, U.K.
Paper presented at the 72nd Annual AWS
Meeting, held April 14-19, 1991, in Detroit,
Mich.
consumable composi ti on, this wi l l gen-
erally i nvol ve a reducti on in deposit
hardness, whi ch may be unacceptabl e
in terms of service properties. Where
such a material change is i nappl i cabl e,
the most common preventative measure
is to appl y preheat (Refs. 1, 2), on the
basis that the cool i ng rate after wel di ng
can be reduced wi t h a concomi tant re-
duct i on in the di fferenti al cont ract i on
strain between the cladding and the sub-
strate. However, few quanti tati ve data
have been, publ i shed on the effects of
wel di ng condi ti ons on the cracki ng (or
service) behavi or of wel d-deposi ted
hardfaci ng (Ref. 3); thus, unless pri or
practical experience exists, substantial
procedure devel opment is commonl y
necessary to achieve crack-free hardfac-
ing.
The present program was initiated to
exami ne the effects of varyi ng wel di ng
conditions on the cracking sensitivity of
weld-deposited hardfacing. A particular
obj ecti ve was to expl ore the feasibility
of producing nomograms affording gen-
eral guidance on wel di ng procedures to
avoid cracking wi t h different hardfacing
alloys so that procedural devel opment
trials can be mi ni mi zed. Shielded metal
arc (SMA) wel di ng was chosen to make
deposits on steel using consumabl es
meeting AWS A5.1 3 ECoCr-B specifica-
t i on, an excel l ent hardfaci ng al l oy but
KEY WORDS
ECoCr-B
Hardfacing Alloys
Wel di ng Variables
Cracking
Tensile Ductility
Nomograms
SMAW
Co-Based Consumable
Wear Resistance
Abrasive Wear
one known for its tendency to crack on
cool i ng. This combi nat i on of process
and material is wi del y used in hardfac-
ing applications, especially on site.
Approach
In essence, the risk of cracking in the
hardfaci ng is governed by the tensile
duct i l i t y of the deposit and by the ap-
pl i ed shrinkage strain (Refs. 2, 3). The
former is dependent on the material
composition and microstructure, and the
latter on composi ti on and wel di ng con-
ditions, especially, from practical expe-
rience, on the preheat level (Ref. 3). Tests
were therefore carri ed out varyi ng de-
posit di l ut i on and preheat temperature,
changes in di l ut i on and composi t i on
being achieved by altering the wel di ng
current wi th single- and double-layer de-
position.
Test welds were deposited circumfer-
ential onto a steel bar of 1 00-mm (4-in.)
diameter and 300-mm (1 2-in.) l ength.
This geometry was selected as constitut-
ing a semi-infinite heat sink of fairly high
restraint. Preliminary tests showed that
di fferenti ati on coul d be made between
the incidence of cracking in the ECoCr-
B deposits produced wi th varying wel d-
ing current.
Experimental Procedure
Materials
The hardfacing material used was in
the form of SMA electrodes of 4-mm
(0.1 6-in.) diameter, obtained to the AWS
A5.13 ECoCrB speci fi cati on. The sub-
strate bar material was 0.4% carbon steel
080 A42 (Ref. 4) (Table 1), as represen-
tative of components for whi ch such
hardfacing might be empl oyed in prac-
tice.
Deposition and Welding Conditions
Deposits were made manual l y by
wel di ng in the flat position onto the bar
WELDI NG RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT I 195-s
Tabl e 1Mat er i al Analysis
Mat er i al Fe C S
ECoCr-B<
a
> 2. 38 1.70 -
( c
>
080A42<
b
> Bal 0. 41 0. 021
P
(c)
0. 012
Element ( wt - %)
Si Mn Ni
1.02 -<
c
> 2. 47
0. 19 0. 82 0. 22
Cr
31. 5
0. 23
Mo
0. 20
0. 07
Cu
(c)
0. 24
Co
Bal
0. 02
W
8. 70
( c)
(a) Manufacturer's analysis.
(b) TWI Ref. No. S/85/205.
(c) Not determined.
Table 2Summary of Effects of Welding
Conditions on Incidence of Cracking in the
Deposited Hardfacing
Preheat Cur r ent
(Q
20
40
70
100
150
200
250
100
250
300
200
(a) Cracked
(A)
100
120
150
100
150
120
150
100
120
150
100
120
150
100
150
120
150
100
100
160
100
(b) Not cracked.
(c) Not dete rmrned.
Nominal
Heat
Input
(k)/mm
1
1.2
1.6
1
1.6
1.2
1.6
1
1.2
1.6
1
1.2
1.6
1
1.6
1.2
1.6
1
1
1.8
1
1st
C<
a
>,
NC
NC
C
NC
NC
NC
NC,
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
C
(c)
NC
_ ( c )
Cr acki ng
Layer 2nd t ayer
NC<
b
>
C
C, C
C
C
c
c
c
c
c, c
c
c
c
c
c
C N C
c
NC
NC
(c)
C
(c)
NC
rotating at a surface {i.e., travel) speed
of 130 mm/mi n (5 in./min). Single-layer
deposits consisted of three beads wi t h
approxi matel y 25% overl ap between
each, and for doubl e-l ayer samples, a
further two beads were deposited on the
original three beads.
Wel ds were made at preheats rang-
ing from 20 to 300C (68to 572F) for
currents between 100 and 160 A at volt-
ages between 21 and 24 V, as summa-
rized in Table 2. Wel di ng was performed
using DC, electrode positive conditions.
In most cases, the same nominal condi -
tions were used for both layers. The pre-
heat was applied by placing the test bar
in a furnace at the required temperature,
and it was mai ntai ned as an interpass
temperature for deposi ti on of adjacent
beads. On compl et i on of wel di ng of
each layer, the test piece was al l owed
to cool in air to room temperature. Some
tests under specific condi ti ons were re-
peated to clarify behavior as necessary.
Thermocouples were harpooned into
the 3rd and 5th bead wel d pools during
deposition, and the cool i ng cycle down
to about 1 00C (21 2F) was recorded.
Cooling rates from 800to 500C (1472
to 932F) were det ermi ned. This cool -
ing parameter was taken as correspond-
ing to a temperature range close to that
at whi ch cracki ng commences duri ng
cool i ng (Ref. 2), and because data exist
(Refs. 5, 6) to predict the effect of chang-
ing wel di ng condi ti ons, j oi nt heat sink,
etc., on the deposit cool i ng cycle.
Examination
Cracks were detected both aurally as
they occurred during initial cool i ng and
by dye penetrant testing carried out after
deposi ti on of the 3rd bead and again
after the fi nal run. Sections were taken
from deposits, mount ed, ground and
polished to a 1 pm finish. They were ex-
amined under an optical microscope to
assess deposit mi crostructure and as a
further check on the incidence of crack-
ing.
To determi ne the extent of di l ut i on,
the amount of iron present in the deposit
was measured by using energy disper-
sive x-ray analysis in conjunction wi th a
scanning electron microscope. Analyses
were taken in each of beads 3 and 5.
Hardness measurements on trans-
verse sections were made using a Vi ck-
ers pyrami dal di amond indentor under
a load of 5 kg.
Results
Material Microstructure and
Cracking Behavior
Figures 1 and 2 show representative
deposits and cracking. Both the first and
second layers showed pri mary sol i di fi -
cation to the metallic a-phase, wi th sub-
sequent formation of interdendritic car-
bides, as in Fig. 3. The carbide content
in the second layer was, however, very
much higher than in the first beads.
The cracki ng observed was vi rtual l y
all transverse to the wel d bead, roughly
perpendicular to the substrate, and had
formed apparently randoml y al ong the
deposit (Figs. 1, 4). The cracki ng oc-
curred wi t h negl i gi bl e plastic strain in
the matrix, and developed along the car-
bide phase. No sol i di fi cati on cracki ng
was observed.
In addi t i on to cracki ng in the de-
posited bead, fusion l i ne and heat-af-
fected zone (HAZ), hydrogen cracki ng
Fig. 1 View of test weld: 1 kj/mm and 10CPC preheat.
Fig. 2 Transverse section through test weld: 1.2 kj/mm and 150C
preheat.
196-s I MAY 1992
Fig. 3 Microstructure of test weld in Fig. 1, 320X. A Third run; B fifth run.
was obser ved. Fi gure 5 shows cr acki ng
i ni t i at ed at t he deposi t t oe i n a sampl e
pr oduced at 1 k j / mm (25 kj / i n. ) and 40C
( 104F) pr eheat . The HAZ cr acks wer e
of t he t oe and under bead t ype l yi ng
r oughl y par al l el t o t he we l d i n g di r ec-
t i on, t he f or mer somet i mes bei ng asso-
ci at ed wi t h cr acki ng in t he cl addi ng ma-
t er i al . Cr acki ng appear ed pr edomi nant l y
i nt er gr anul ar , and was l ar gel y conf i ned
t o t he t r ansf or med HAZ . The HA Z mi -
cr ost r uct ur e pr oduc ed by t he f i rst l ayer
var i ed f r om f ul l y mar t ensi t i c i n t he de-
posi t s wi t h t he most r api d c o o l i n g t o
mi x e d hi gher t emper at ur e t r ansf or ma-
t i on pr oduct s at t he l onger cool i ng t i mes.
The HAZ cr acks wer e obser ved onl y i n
t he mar t ensi t i c mi cr ost r uct ur es.
Effect of Welding Conditions
A s ummar y of t he ef f ect s of cur r ent
and preheat on deposi t cr acki ng is gi ven
i n Tabl e 2. For bot h l ayer s, cr acki ng i n
t he har df aci ng was r educed by i ncr eas-
i ng cur r ent or pr eheat t emper at ur e, and
cr acki ng occur r ed mai nl y i n t he second
l ayer, r equi r i ng a subst ant i al i ncrease i n
pr eheat l evel f or its avoi dance. As i l l us-
t rat ed in Fi g. 6, cool i ng t i mes f r om 800
t o 500C (At
a
_
5
) i ncreased at hi gher pre-
heat t emper at ur es, especi al l y wi t h pr e-
heat t o above 200C (392F). No par t i c-
ul ar di f f i cul t i es we r e ex per i enc ed wi t h
sl ag r emoval , and t here wer e no i ndi ca-
t i ons t hat r esi dual sl ag c ont r i but ed t o
cr acki ng i n t he second l ayer.
The HA Z c r ac k i ng oc c ur r ed onl y i n
deposi t s p r o d u c e d wi t h pr eheat l evel s
up t o 100C. Resul t s of har dness mea-
sur ement s on t y pi c al c r ac k ed and u n -
cr acked HAZs are gi ven i n Tabl e 3. The
hi ghest har dness was f ound wi t h 20C
pr eheat , but , especi al l y i n t he ot her
wel ds , it must be pr esumed t hat some
t emper i ng and sof t eni ng f r om t he as-
we l d e d har dness had oc c ur r ed dur i ng
subsequent pr eheat i ng and depos i t i on
of t he second l ayer.
Dilution
Di l ut i on as assessed by t he i r on c o n -
t ent of t he deposi t i ncr eased wi t h i n -
cr easi ng cur r ent and, t o a lesser ext ent ,
pr eheat Fi g. 7. The deposi t hardness
measur ement s are pl ot t ed agai nst d i l u -
t i on in Fi g. 8. Har dness f el l at hi gher d i -
l ut i on l evel s. No ev i denc e of deposi t
cr acki ng ar ound hardness i ndent at i ons
was seen.
Di scussi on
Effect of Welding Conditions
Cr acki ng occur s i n a deposi t as a re-
sul t of t he strai ns set up not onl y by un-
equal c ool i ng rates wi t h i n t he deposi t ,
but al so by any expansi on mi smat ch be-
t ween deposi t and subst rat e. In t he case
of har df ac i ng, t he p r o b l e m is exacer -
bat ed by t he hi gh mat er i al st rengt h over
a r ange of t emper at ur es t hat resists ac-
c ommodat i on of shr i nkage st r ai n. It f ol -
l ows t hat any degr ee of d i l u t i o n of a
ECoCr-B or si mi l ar al l oy by a steel sub-
Table 3Representative Results of HAZ
Hardness Measurements
Nominal Maximum
Heat HAZ
Preheat Current Input HAZ Hardness
(C) (A) (kj /mm) Cracking HV5
<a
>
20 100 1
100 100 1
150 100 1
300 160 1.8
C<
b
> 473
C 349
NC<
C
> 289
NC 317
(a) Vickers hardness wi t h 5 kg indenting l oad.
(b) Cracked.
(c) Not cracked.
Fig. 4 Typical deposit cracking, 100X. Fig. 5 - HAZ cracking from deposit toe, 50X.
WE L D I N G RESEARCH SUPPL EMENT I 197- s
25
20 -
S 15
M 10 h
cn
c
o
o
5
=
1
D = 1.6kJ/mm

D a
a
^
n Q a ^ . ^
-B-.-
9
-
1
"" !
^-"
-
_ '
,,
i
^
^
i
/ /
/ /
a
S /
' /
/
y
Y
^
i
100 200
Preheat t emper at ur e, C
300
40
30
20
10
n
i i
" Preheat
= 20C
o = 100*C
a = 250T
/
/
D
/
/


y
s
^ - ^ s
D*
i i
i
/
y
'
First -
l ayer ,
y
y

Second jj
Layer , '
i
100 120 140
Current , A
160
Fig. 6 Effect of preheat temperature on deposit cooling times, 800-500C, for 1 Fig. 7 Effect of current on dilution, measured as iron
and 1.6 kj/mm, with bounding lines. content of the deposit.
0
Fig. 8 -
20
Iron cont ent , %
Effect of deposit dilution, measured as iron content, on hardness.
25 -
20 -
o
in
cu
e
C
o
o
15 -
10 -
5 -
1
- o = Fi rst
1
l ayer
Q = Second l ayer
Solid symb
D

,
**~ __ * " " n __
V
. #



i
ol s = cracki ng
"*1
\
. 4*00
: \ o
\
\
0
o
8
o
o
o
-
-

10 20 30
% iron in deposi t
40
Fig. 9 Effect of cooling time from 800 - 500 C on
deposit cracking.
198-s I MAY 1992
strate wi l l be parti cul arl y i mportant in
avoiding cracking because di l uti on both
reduces composi t i onal (and to a large
extent expansion) mi smatch and also
makes a softer and more accommodat-
ing deposit by decreasing the carbi de
content. In pri nci pl e, the overal l situa-
tion is made more complex when a sec-
ond layer of deposit is added because
composi ti onal differences between the
new layer and its substrate become
much less, but so does the degree of ac-
commodation required. In addi ti on, mis-
match strains generated in the first layer
wi l l , to some extent, be transmi tted to
the second layer, but the concept of tol -
erance to shrinkage strains being deter-
mined by di l uti on should remain val i d.
It was further argued above that the
effective applied strain and hence crack-
ing risk is i nfl uenced by preheat level
and subsequent cool i ng rate. Certainly
this is indicated by practical experience
wi t h the proviso that a general preheat
is applied to the substrate so that severe
temperature gradients do not exist.
On this basis, the present data were
plotted as in Fig. 9, considering di l uti on
and cool i ng condi ti ons. It can be seen
that a bounding curve can be identified,
di vi di ng cracked and uncracked de-
posits. There woul d seem to be a dis-
t i nct i on between the first and second
layer results, as discussed further below,
but it is considered that a diagram of this
type coul d wel l form the basis for a
nomogram system to defi ne wel di ng
conditions giving crack-free deposits.
Such a nomogram shoul d be appl i -
cabl e to hardfaci ng systems generally,
and not onl y to the ECoCr-B consum-
ables utilized in the present work. How-
ever, the practi cal usage of data in the
form of Fig. 9 wi l l require consideration
of a number of aspects of behavi or. In
the first instance, the control of di l uti on
is parti cul arl y i mportant in hardfaci ng
as it markedly affects the wear and cor-
rosion resistance of the deposit (Refs. 3,
4, 7). Low levels of iron di l uti on may be
acceptable (as is the case wi t h ECoCr-
B), but in general , the greater the per-
centage of iron in a hardfacing layer, the
poorer its properties wi l l be. The ten-
dency for increased di l uti on to decrease
the l i kel i hood of cracki ng may lead to
the use of wel di ng condi ti ons causing
higher di l ut i ons than are compat i bl e
wi t h the service condi ti ons of the com-
ponent, when maxi mum performance
wi l l not be given by the hardfacing de-
posit. Hence, when empl oyi ng Fig. 9, a
decision must be taken as to the permis-
sible di l uti on l evel . If, for exampl e, de-
posit hardness can be taken as a useful
guide to the resistance of a surface un-
dergoi ng l ow-l oad abrasive wear (Ref.
3), data as in Fig. 8 may be appl i cabl e,
but wi l l need to be generated for partic-
300 200 100
Preheat t emperat ure, "C
10 20 30 40
% iron in deposit
Fig. 10 Proposed nomogram for derivation of SMA welding conditions giving a specified
iron content in the deposit, with no brittle hardfacing cracking.
ular hardfacing/substrate combinations.
It wi l l be necessary also to define the
cool i ng rate and di l ut i on experi enced
in any particular hardfacing operati on.
Some guidance on the latter is given in
Fig. 7, but cl earl y more i nformati on is
needed. In regard to cool i ng rate, a num-
ber of nomograms exist (Refs. 5, 6) for
predi ct i on of At
8
.
5
. For i nfi ni te heat
sinks, and using the bounding lines from
Figs. 6 and 9, it is possible to develop a
nomogram constructi on as in Fig. 10,
whereby the cool i ng rate necessary to
avoi d cracki ng at the required di l ut i on
is directly related to wel di ng conditions.
At present, the nomogram must be re-
garded as onl y a tentative proposal, and
substantially more testing is essential to
define its practi cal vi abi l i t y. Indeed, a
number of reservations must be ex-
pressed. First, Fig. 9 was obtained for a
specific materi al /wel di ng process com-
bi nati on and for onl y one consumabl e
batch; whereas, other hardfacing alloys
must be expected to show a different
cracking response wi th changes in di l u-
t i on, depending on the composi ti on i n-
volved. Further, the use of di l uti on as an
i nput presupposes that process and
wel di ng condi ti ons i nfl uence cracki ng
onl y by det ermi ni ng the depth of sub-
strate penetrati on. For practi cal pur-
poses, this may be true but appropriate
study of such wel di ng variables is re-
qui red. Moreover, it is assumed that the
cracking test piece geometry used is rel-
evant to service. Even if this is the case,
Fig. 10 is limited to substrate geometries
whi ch act as a semi -i nfi ni te heat sink
and al l ow no accommodati on of resid-
ual stresses by di storti on. In this last re-
spect, the nomogram wi l l err on the con-
servative side.
Hardfacing Cracking Behavior
The very high strength and low duc-
ti l i ty of the deposit from ECoCr-B elec-
trodes, and its great sensitivity to di l u-
ti on, dominate the behavior of a deposit
almost to the exclusion of other factors
and are responsible for the somewhat
different response of the first and sec-
ond layers. It was di f f i cul t to generate
cracks in the first layer, but the crack/no-
crack boundary appears to approach a
near-vertical l i ne. This i mpl i es that di -
l uti on was the main factor i nf l uenci ng
crack f ormat i on in the first layer, pre-
sumably via its effect on the carbide con-
tent, and that about 20% was the cri t i -
cal level, irrespective of cool i ng rate i n-
sofar as this was an i ndependent vari -
abl e. Thus, from Fig. 8, any first layer
deposit wi t h a hardness bel ow say 450
HV woul d be expected to be crack-free
almost wi t hout regard to its condi ti ons
of deposition, noting that onl y one con-
sumable was tested and gi ven that the
present level of restraint was sufficient
to represent a worst case. In pri nci pl e,
deposit cracki ng coul d be i nfl uenced
also by the vol ume expansi on associ-
ated wi t h transformati on to martensite
in the substrate. However, since cool -
ing rate had l i ttl e effect on first layer
cracki ng (Fig. 9), such an effect is un-
likely to be of particular significance.
On the other hand, di l uti on of the sec-
ond layer was restricted to l ow levels.
Here, the crack/no-crack boundary
woul d appear to be nearly hori zont al ,
that is, cool i ng rate was the control l i ng
factor wi th di l uti on having much less ef-
fect. It is di ffi cul t or i mpossi bl e to
achieve such l ow di l ut i on in a single
layer wi t h the SMA process, but this is
WELDI NG RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT I 199-s
QJ
CL
QJ
c_
Q_
200
150
100
50
i I
Increasing parent metal
hardenability or weld
metal hydrogen l evel '
v /
\ '
\ /
/
/
/
(b) / 1
/
i i
l
N7
a) /
i
1 1
oo
/
/ Reducing parent metal
hardenability or weld
metal hydrogen level
M
0 0.1
0.5 0.2 0.3 0.4
Carbon cont ent , %
Fig. 11 Guide to preheat temperatures using austenitic SMA electrodes at about 1 to 2 kj/mm
to avoid HAZ hydrogen cracking when welding ferritic steels (Ref. 10). A tovv restraint; B
high restraint. The present results are indicated as: = not cracked, = cracked.
readily obtained wi th alternative depo-
sition methods, for example, by plasma
transferred arc surfacing (Ref. 8), and a
study of l ow- di l ut i on first layers pro-
duced by other processes is necessary
to indicate the general appl i cabi l i ty (or
otherwise) of Figs. 9 and 10.
It should also be noted that the pre-
sent investigation has concentrated on
bri ttl e, solid-state cracki ng. Sol i di fi ca-
tion cracking was not found to be a par-
ticular probl em, but may require further
attenti on in ECoCr-B deposits at very
high di l ut i on levels or in al ternati ve
hardfacing materials.
Heat-Affected Zone Cracking
The l ocati on and morphol ogy of the
HAZ cracki ng observed i ndi cate this
stems from hydrogen embri ttl ement.
Cl earl y, this probl em must be recog-
ni zed in any scheme i ntended to give
guidance on wel di ng procedures for pro-
duction of crack-free hardfaced compo-
nents. Vi rt ual l y no data exist on wel d
metal hydrogen levels associated wi t h
cobalt-based consumables, but in terms
of hydrogen solubility and diffusion rate,
a close paral l el can be drawn wi t h
austenitic stainless steel and nickel alloy
electrodes (Ref. 9). The risk of HAZ hy-
drogen cracki ng using stainless steel
consumables was discussed by Gooch
(Ref. 10) in terms of base metal transfor-
mati on behavi or and consumabl e hy-
drogen level, and it is considered prob-
able that the guidelines proposed woul d
be generally applicable to cobalt-based
SMA electrodes as presently employed.
The maxi mum HAZ hardness in Table
3 of over 470 HV is high enough to en-
gender significant sensitivity to hydro-
gen cracking. In plain carbon steels such
as 080 A42, some control over HAZ mi -
crostructure and hardness can be
achieved by varying wel di ng conditions.
However, in SMA hardfaci ng, the heat
input employed may be restricted by the
need for posi ti onal wel di ng. In such
cases, rel i ance must be pl aced on the
use of preheat, especially to al l ow hy-
drogen diffusion away from the deposit
whi l e the material is at sufficiently high
temperature for hydrogen embrittlement
to be negligible. In this regard, reference
can be made to Fig. 11, deri ved from
wel ds in transformabl e ferri ti c steels
made using austenitic SMA consum-
ables. The present HAZ cracking results
are shown, and it can be seen that the
observed behavior is predicted wel l by
the diagram.
Summary and Conclusions
Study has been carried out on the sen-
sitivity of wel d deposited hardfacing to
cracking stemming from low tensi le duc-
ti l i ty of the deposit. Cobalt-based al l oy
to AWS A5.1 3 Grade ECoCr-B was de-
posited onto a 0. 4% C steel by the
shielded metal arc process, wi t h vary-
ing current and preheat levels. The f ol -
l owi ng conclusions were reached.
1) Cracking in the hardfacing was re-
duced by increasing current and preheat
temperature for both single- and t wo-
layer deposits.
2) Sensitivity to deposit cracking was
substantially higher in the second layer
than the first, as a result of l ower di l u-
tion and higher deposit hardness.
3) Boundi ng condi t i ons for deposit
cracki ng were defi ned in terms of de-
posit di l uti on and cool i ng rate. The ap-
proach is proposed as a basis for a nomo-
gram system to predict the risk of crack-
ing in different hardfacing/substrate
combinations.
4) For the parti cul ar electrodes and
substrate steel studied, cracki ng of first
layers was avoided by selection of wel d-
ing conditions giving over 20% di l ut i on:
preventi on of cracki ng in the second
layer required a wel di ng procedure such
that a cool i ng time from 800 to 500C
above 20 s was obtained.
5) Heat-affected zone hydrogen
cracki ng was observed. It is probabl e
that exi sti ng gui del i nes for the avoi d-
ance of such cracki ng using austenitic
stainless steel electrodes are applicable
also to cobalt-based consumables.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank their colleagues at
The Wel di ng Institute for assistance in
the course of the program. Particular ac-
knowl edgment is made to D. N. Nobl e
for i ni t i at i ng the proj ect, to Dr. I. A.
Bucklow for advice, to C. S. Hunt for di -
recting the wel di ng, and to N. ). Tebbit,
G. H. Di xon and J. E. Clark for carrying
out the experi mental work. The work
was j oi ntl y funded by research members
of The Wel di ng Institute and the Miner-
als and Metals Division of the U.K. De-
partment of Trade and Industry.
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200-s I MAY 1 992