Microstructural evolution and toughness in the HAZ of submerged arc welded low welding crack susceptibility steel

Microstructural characteristics of different sub-regions of heat affected zone (HAZ) of low welding crack susceptibility steel weldment were investigated by using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy equipped with electron backscattered diffraction system. And the focus was put on the correlation between microstructural characteristics and HAZ toughness of the weldment. The results reveal that the toughness of fusion line zone (FLZ) specimens is much lower than that of fine grained HAZ (FGHAZ) specimens. The coarse inclusions in the weld metal and the large martensite-austenite constituents in the coarse grained HAZ (CGHAZ) have an obvious negative effect on the crack initiation energy of FLZ. Meanwhile, the coarse granular bainite with large effective grain decreases the crack propagation energy seriously. By contrast, fine crystallographic grains in the FGHAZ play a key role in increasing toughness, especially in improving crack propagation energy.