Effect of natural aging on the microstructural regions, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and fracture in welded joints on API5L X52 steel pipeline

A characterization study was done to analyze how microstructural regions affect the mechanical properties, corrosion and fractography of the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), weld bead and base metal for pipe naturally aged for 21 years at 30 degrees C. Results showed that microstructures exhibited damage and consequently decrease in properties, resulting in over-aged due to service. SEM analysis showed that base metal presented coarse ferrite grain. Tensile test indicated that microstructures showed discontinuous yield. Higher tensile strength was obtained for weld bead, which exhibited a lower impact energy in comparison to that of HAZ and base metal associated with brittle fracture by trans-granular cleavage. The degradation of properties was associated with the coarsening of nano-carbides observed through TEM images analysis, which was confirmed by SEM fractography of tensile and impact fracture surfaces. The weld bead reached the largest void density and highest susceptibility to corrosion in H2S media when compared to those of the HAZ and base metal.