The Metallurgy Of Carbon Steel

The best way to understand the metallurgy of carbon steel is to study the Iron Carbon
Diagram. The diagram shown below is based on the transformation that occurs as a result
of slow heating. Slow cooling will reduce the transformation temperatures; for example:
the A1 point would be reduced from 723C to 690 C. However the fast heating and
cooling rates encountered in welding will have a significant influence on these
temperatures, making the accurate prediction of weld metallurgy using this diagram
difficult.

Austenite This phase is only possible in carbon steel at high temperature. It has a
Face Centre Cubic (F.C.C) atomic structure which can contain up to 2% carbon in
solution.

Ferrite This phase has a Body Centre Cubic structure (B.C.C) which can hold very
little carbon; typically 0.0001% at room temperature. It can exist as either: alpha or
delta ferrite.

Carbon A very small interstitial atom that tends to fit into clusters of iron atoms. It
strengthens steel and gives it the ability to harden by heat treatment. It also causes
major problems for welding , particularly if it exceeds 0.25% as it creates a hard
microstructure that is susceptible to hydrogen cracking. Carbon forms compounds
with other elements called carbides. Iron Carbide, Chrome Carbide etc.

Cementite Unlike ferrite and austenite, cementite is a very hard intermetallic

Cementite Unlike ferrite and austenite, cementite is a very hard intermetallic

compound consisting of 6.7% carbon and the remainder iron, its chemical symbol is
Fe3C. Cementite is very hard, but when mixed with soft ferrite layers its averidge
hardness is reduced considerably. Slow cooling gives course perlite; soft easy to
machine but poor toughness. Faster cooling gives very fine layers of ferrite and
cementite; harder and tougher
Pearlite A mixture of alternate strips of ferrite
and cementite in a single grain. The distance
between the plates and their thickness is
dependant on the cooling rate of the material; fast
cooling creates thin plates that are close together
and slow cooling creates a much coarser structure
possessing less toughness. The name for this
structure is derived from its mother of pearl
appearance under a microscope. A fully pearlitic
structure occurs at 0.8% Carbon. Further
increases in carbon will create cementite at the
grain boundaries, which will start to weaken the
steel.

Cooling of a steel below 0.8% carbon When a steel solidifies it forms austenite.
When the temperature falls below the A3 point, grains of ferrite start to form. As
more grains of ferrite start to form the remaining austenite becomes richer in
carbon. At about 723C the remaining austenite, which now contains 0.8% carbon,
changes to pearlite. The resulting structure is a mixture consisting of white grains
of ferrite mixed with darker grains of pearlite. Heating is basically the same thing
in reverse.

Martensite If steel is cooled rapidly from austenite, the F.C.C structure rapidly
changes to B.C.C leaving insufficient time for the carbon to form pearlite. This
results in a distorted structure that has the appearance of fine needles. There is no
partial transformation associated with martensite, it either forms or it doesnt.
However, only the parts of a section that cool fast enough will form martensite; in a
thick section it will only form to a certain depth, and if the shape is complex it may
only form in small pockets. The hardness of martensite is solely dependant on
carbon content, it is normally very high, unless the carbon content is exceptionally
low.

Tempering The carbon trapped in the martensite transformation can be released by

heating the steel below the A1 transformation temperature. This release of carbon
from nucleated areas allows the structure to deform plastically and relive some of its
internal stresses. This reduces hardness and increases toughness, but it also tends to
reduce tensile strength. The degree of tempering is dependant on temperature and
time; temperature having the greatest influence.

Annealing This term is often used to define a heat treatment process that produces
some softening of the structure. True annealing involves heating the steel to
austenite and holding for some time to create a stable structure. The steel is then
cooled very slowly to room temperature. This produces a very soft structure, but
also creates very large grains, which are seldom desirable because of poor
toughness.

Normalising Returns the structure back to normal. The steel is heated until it just
starts to form austenite; it is then cooled in air. This moderately rapid transformation
creates relatively fine grains with uniform pearlite.

Welding If the temperature profile for a typical weld is plotted against the carbon
equilibrium diagram, a wide variety of transformation and heat treatments will be
observed.

Note, the carbon equilibrium diagram shown above is only for illustration, in reality it will
be heavily distorted because of the rapid heating and cooling rates involved in the welding
process.

a) Mixture of ferrite and pearlite grains; temperature below A1, therefore

microstructure not significantly affected.
b) Pearlite transformed to Austenite, but not sufficient temperature available to
exceed the A3 line, therefore not all ferrite grains transform to Austenite.
On cooling, only the transformed grains will be normalised.
c) Temperature just exceeds A3 line, full Austenite transformation. On cooling
all grains will be normalised
d) Temperature significantly exceeds A3 line permitting grains to grow. On
cooling, ferrite will form at the grain boundaries, and a course pearlite will
form inside the grains. A course grain structure is more readily hardened
than a finer one, therefore if the cooling rate between 800C to 500C is
rapid, a hard microstructure will be formed. This is why a brittle fracture is
most likely to propagate in this region.

Welds The metallurgy of a weld is very different from

the parent material. Welding filler metals are designed
to create strong and tough welds, they contain fine
oxide particles that permit the nucleation of fine grains.
When a weld solidifies, its grains grow from the course
HAZ grain structure, further refinement takes place
within these course grains creating the typical acicular
ferrite formation shown opposite.

Recommended Reading

Metals and How To Weld Them :- Lincoln Arc Foundation

A very cheap hard backed book covering all the basic essentials of welding
metallurgy.
Welding Metallurgy Training Modules:- (Devised by The Welding Institute of
Canada) Published in the UK by Abington Publishing. Not cheap but the
information is clearly represented in a very readable format.

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Page last updated 08 May 2002

Residual Stress

Magnitude Of Stresses- A Simple Analogy

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Page last updated 08 May 2002

Strain Age Embrittlement

This phenomenon applies to carbon and low alloy steel. It involves ferrite
forming a compound with nitrogen; iron-nitride (Fe4N). Temperatures around
250C, will cause a fine precipitation of this compound to occur. It will tend to
pin any dislocations in the structure that have been created by cold work or
plastic deformation.
Strain ageing increases tensile strength but significantly reduces ductility and
toughness.
Modern steels tend to have low nitrogen content, but this is not necessarily true
for welds. Sufficient Nitrogen, approximately 1 to 2 ppm, can be easily picked
up from the atmosphere during welding.
Weld root runs are particularly at risk because of high contraction stresses
causing plastic deformation. This is why impact test specimens taken from the
root or first pass of a weld can give poor results.
Additions of Aluminium can tie up the Nitrogen as Aluminium Nitride, but
weld-cooling rates are too fast for this compound to form successfully. Stress
relief at around 650 degrees C will resolve the problem.

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Page last updated 08 May 2002

HOW TO AVOID PWHT

The above picture is of a new pressure vessel that failed during its
hydraulic test. The vessel had been stress relieved, but some parts of
it did not reach the required temperature and consequently did not
experience adequate tempering. This coupled with a small hydrogen
crack, was sufficient to cause catastrophic failure under test
conditions. It is therefore important when considering PWHT or its
avoidance, to ensure that all possible failure modes and their
consequences are carefully considered before any action is taken.

The post weld heat treatment of welded steel fabrications is normally

carried out to reduce the risk of brittle fracture by:

Reducing residual Stresses. These stresses are created when

a weld cools and its contraction is restricted by the bulk of
the material surrounding it. Weld distortion occurs when
these stresses exceed the yield point. Finite element
modelling of residual stresses is now possible, so that the
complete welding sequence of a joint or repair can be
modelled to predict and minimise these stresses.

Tempering the weld and HAZ microstructure. The

microstructure, particularly in the HAZ, can be hardened by
rapid cooling of the weld. This is a major problem for low

rapid cooling of the weld. This is a major problem for low

and medium alloy steels containing chrome and any other
constituent that slow the austenite/ferrite transformation
down, as this will result in hardening of the micro structure,
even at slow cooling rates.

The risk of brittle fracture can be assessed by fracture mechanics.

Assuming worst-case scenarios for all the relevant variables. It is
then possible to predict if PWHT is required to make the fabrication
safe. However, the analysis requires accurate measurement of HAZ
toughness, which is not easy because of the HAZs small size and
varying properties. Some approximation is possible from impact
tests, providing the notch is taken from the point of lowest
toughness.
If PWHT is to be avoided, stress concentration effects such as: backing bars, partial penetration welds, and internal defects in the
weld and poor surface profile, should be avoided. Good surface and
volumetric NDT is essential. Preheat may still be required to avoid
hydrogen cracking and a post weld hydrogen release may also be
beneficial in this respect (holding the fabrication at a temperature of
around 250C for at least 2 hours, immediately after welding).
Nickel based consumables can often reduce or remove the need for
preheat, but their effect on the parent metal HAZ will be no different
from that created by any other consumable, except that the HAZ
may be slightly narrower. However, nickel based welds, like most
austenitic steels, can make ultrasonic inspection very difficult.
Further reduction in the risk of brittle fracture can be achieved by
refining the HAZ microstructure using special temper bead welding
techniques.

Further Information On: -

Temper Bead Welding Technique

Fracture Mechanics (Link temporarily Disabled)
Residual Stresses
Metallurgy of Steel
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Page last updated 10 June 2002

Alloying Elements

Manganese
Increases strength and hardness; forms a carbide; increases hardenability;
lowers the transformation temperature range. When in sufficient quantity
produces an austenitic steel; always present in a steel to some extent because it
is used as a deoxidiser
Silicon
Strengthens ferrite and raises the transformation temperature temperatures; has
a strong graphitising tendency. Always present to some extent, because it is
used with manganese as a deoxidiser
Chromium
Increases strength and hardness; forms hard and stable carbides. It raises the
transformation temperature significantly when its content exceeds 12%.
Increases hardenability; amounts in excess of 12%, render steel stainless. Good
creep strength at high temperature.
Nickel
Strengthens steel; lowers its transformation temperature range; increases
hardenability, and improves resistance to fatigue. Strong graphite forming
tendency; stabilizes austenite when in sufficient quantity. Creates fine grains
and gives good toughness.
Nickel And Chromium
Used together for austenitic stainless steels; each element counteracts
disadvantages of the other.
Tungsten
Forms hard and stable carbides; raises the transformation temperature range,
and tempering temperatures. Hardened tungsten steels resist tempering up to
6000C
Molybdenum
Strong carbide forming element, and also improves high temperature creep
resistance; reduces temper-brittleness in Ni-Cr steels. Improves corrosion
resistance and temper brittleness.
Vanadium
Strong carbide forming element; has a scavenging action and produces clean,

inclusion free steels. Can cause re-heat cracking when added to chrome molly
steels.
Titanium
Strong carbide forming element. Not used on its own, but added as a carbide
stabiliser to some austenitic stainless steels.
Phosphorus
Increases strength and hardnability, reduces ductility and toughness. Increases
machineability and corrosion resistance
Sulphur
Reduces toughness and strength and also weldabilty.
Sulphur inclusions, which are normally present, are taken into solution near the
fusion temperature of the weld. On cooling sulphides and remaining sulphur
precipitate out and tend to segregate to the grain boundaries as liquid films, thus
weakening them considerably. Such steel is referred to as burned. Manganese
breaks up these films into globules of maganese sulphide; maganese to sulphur
ratio > 20:1, higher carbon and/or high heat input during welding > 30:1, to
reduce extent of burning.

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Page last updated 02 June 2002

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