Heat input and post weld heat treatment effects on reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic steel friction stir welds

Wei Tang, Jian Chen, Xinghua Yu, David A. Frederick, Zhili Feng

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steels are an important class of structural materials for fusion reactor internals developed in recent years because of their improved irradiation resistance. However, they can suffer from welding induced property degradations. In this paper, a solid phase joining technology friction stir welding (FSW) was adopted to join a RAFM steel Eurofer'97 and different FSW parameters/heat input were chosen to produce welds. FSW response parameters, joint microstructures and microhardness were investigated to reveal relationships among welding heat input, weld structure characterization and mechanical properties. In general, FSW heat input results in high hardness inside the stir zone mostly due to a martensitic transformation. It is possible to produce friction stir welds similar to but not with exactly the same base metal hardness when using low power input because of other hardening mechanisms. Further, post weld heat treatment (PWHT) is a very effective way to reduce FSW stir zone hardness values.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationFriction Stir Welding and Processing VIII - Held During TMS 2015 144th Annual Meeting and Exhibition
EditorsRajiv S. Mishra, Murray W. Mahoney, Yutaka Sato, Yuri Hovanski
PublisherMinerals, Metals and Materials Society
Pages83-87
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)9781119082491
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015
EventFriction Stir Welding and Processing VIII - TMS 2015 144th Annual Meeting and Exhibition - Orlando, United States
Duration: Mar 15 2015Mar 19 2015

Publication series

NameTMS Annual Meeting
Volume2015-January

Conference

ConferenceFriction Stir Welding and Processing VIII - TMS 2015 144th Annual Meeting and Exhibition
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando
Period03/15/1503/19/15

Keywords

  • Eurofer'97
  • Friction stir welding
  • Microhardness
  • Microstructure

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