An evaluation is presented of the microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of welds in 20 mm thickness high strength low alloy steel HSLA 80, of Austrailian manufacture. In total, nine butt joints were prepared using the double tandem (four wire) submerged arc welding process in which both heat input and travel speed were varied. The inclusion size distribution was determined for selected welds and showed that heat input had a major effect. Colour etching techniques were used to reveal the solidification structure, which in turn correlated with welding parameters. As the heat input increased, the cooling rate decreased resulting in a larger cellular dendritic cell spacing, decreased acicular ferrite content, and coarser acicular ferrite laths. The effect of travel speed on delta ferrite cell spacing and prior austenite grain size was found to be co-dependant on the heat input and the thermal profile resulting from multiple electrode welding. These results show that increased deposition rates can be achieved by increasing the travel speed and current density without sacrificing joint quaility. The authors are at the Adelaide Laboratory, CSIRO Manufacturing Science and Technology, PO Box 4, Woodville, SA 5011, Australia. Manuscript received 22 April 1999; accepted 27 April 1999. (C) 2000 IoM Communications Ltd.
