TECHNOLOGY

Welding Inspection
Heat Treatments
Course Reference WIS 5
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Heat treatments
Heat treatments of steels are usually
intended for one of the following
purposes:Remove stresses induced by cold working
Refine the grain structure
Decrease the hardness and increase ductility
Increase hardness
Improve machineability
Improve mechanical properties as a whole
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Properties of steel
Mechanical properties :
Hardness

a measure of the resistance to penetration

Tensile strength a metals ability to withstand stress
in tension
Compresive strength-a metals ability to withstand a
pressing or squeezing together
Shear strength - a metals ability to resist a sliding
past type of action
Fatigue strength ability to take repeated loading
Toughness ability to resist shock
Ductility ability of a metals to stretches before it
breaks
Brittleness metal does not stretches before it
fractures
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Heat Treatment of Steels

All heat treatments are basically cycles of three elements

Heating
Holding (soaking)
Cooling
Post weld heat treatments are used to change the properties of
the weld metal, controlling the formation of structures
Pre heat treatments are used basically to increase weldabilty,
control expansion and contraction forces during welding.
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Heat Treatments
The relevant variables for heat treatment process,
which must be carefully controlled are as follows.

The heating rate

Temperature attained
The time at the attained temperature (soak time)
Cooling rate

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Heat Treatment of Steels

The basic heat treatments are:

Annealing

Normalising

Hardening

Tempering

Stress relieving

Pre-heating

The method of applying the heat to the material may vary from
procedure to procedure. e.g flame, electrical resistance and
furnaces
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Heat Treatment of Steels

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Heat Treatment

Normalizing involved heating the material

above the upper critical
temperature and cooling it
slowly in room temperature.

Annealing

Similar with Normalizing except

that cooling takes place still more
slowly in temperature controlled
oven.

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Heat Treatment
Quenching :A controlled cooling process which causes metals to
harden.

Materials must be heated at any elevated

temperature,but if hardness is important,the materials
should be heated above the upper critical
temperature.

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Heat Treatment
Annealing and Normalizing

Quenching

Softens

Hardens

Weakens the materials

Strengthens

Causes ductility

Causes brittleness

Removes internal stresses

Causes internal stresses

Removes distortion trends

Causes distortion

Removes cracking trends

Causes cracking

Is a slow cooling process

Is a fast cooling process

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Heat Treatment

Tempering :-

the process of reheating the steel after hardening or quenching to a

temperature which is below the lower critical temperature followed by
any rate of cooling.
Tempering

is generally done between 149 0 C - 6490 C and must be done

immediately after quenching.

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Heat Treatment
Effects of Tempering
Hardness

Decreased

Strength

Decreased

Toughness

Increased

Brittleness

Decreased

Ductility

Increased

Internal stresses

Decreased

Distortion

Reduced

Cracking

Reduced

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Heat Treatments
Stress Relief
Temperature:
Temperature 550 to 680oC hold for sufficient time
Cooling:
Cooling Slow cool in air.
Result:
Result Relieves residual stresses improves mechanical
properties and increases toughness, may also be used to
reduce hydrogen levels
Post Hydrogen Release
Temperature: Approximately 250oC hold up to 10 hours
Cooling:
Cooling Slow cool in air
Result:
Result Relieves residual hydrogen

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Pre Heat
We can preheat metals and alloys when welding for a
number of reasons. Primarily we use most pre-heats to
achieve one or more of the following:
1. To control the structure of the weld metal and HAZ on
cooling
2. To improve the diffusion of gas molecules through an
atomic structure.
3. To control the effects of expansion and contraction.
Preheat controls the formation of un-desirable microstructures that
are produced from rapid cooling of certain types of steels.
Martensite is an undesirable grain structure very hard and brittle it
is produced by rapid cooling from the austenite region.
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Pre Heat
Preheat temperatures are arrived by taking into
consideration the following:

The heat input

The carbon equivalent (CE)
The combined material thickness
The hydrogen scale required (A, B, C, D)

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Pre Heat
Application of Preheat by Flame

Note: Care must be taken not to keep the flame in the same place
for a long period of time. This may cause damage to the parent
material
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Combined material thickness

TECHNOLOGY

Pre Heat Comparison Chart

175

160

150

125

100

75

50 20

140
120
100
80
60
40

20

0.43 0.45 0.47 0.53 0.55

0
0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

Heat input
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5.0

5.5

6.0

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Pre Heat
Advantages of preheat
Slows down the cooling rate, which reduces the risk of
hardening
Allows absorbed hydrogen a better opportunity of
diffusing out, thereby reducing the risk of cracking
Removes moisture from the material being welded
Improves overall fusion characteristics
Lowers stresses between the weld metal and parent
material by ensuring a more uniform expansion and
contraction
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Methods of Measuring Pre Heat

Temperature indicating crayons (Tempil sticks )
Thermocouples or touch pyrometers
At intervals along of around the joint to be welded
The number of measurements taken must allow the
inspector to be confident that the required temperature
has been reached
In certain cases the preheat must be maintained a certain
distance back from the joint faces
If a gas flame is being used for preheat application the
temperature should be taken form the opposite side to the
heat source
If this is not possible time must be allowed before taking
the preheat temperature e.g 2 mins for 25mm thickness
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Any
Any Questions?
Questions?

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Questions
QU 1. How can the levels of hardness be controlled in the
HAZ?
QU 2. What is the maximum recommended heat treatment
temperature for steel weldments?, state which heat
treatments may be considered when maximum toughness is
required
QU 3. What are the four main considerations for determining
preheat temperatures, and as a welding inspector which factors
require inspection when applying pre-heat to a
carbon steel
joint to be welded?
QU 4. What factors need to be checked/controlled during a heat
treatment process
QU 5. Which heat treatment process is required when maximum
ductility is required for example for extensive cold working
operations.
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