The significance of softened HAZs in

high strength structural steels

H G Pisarski and R E Dolby
Paper printed in Welding in the World, Vol 47, No 5/6, 2003 pp.32-40 (May/June
2003).

Synopsis
The development of lean alloyed high strength steels of 500-800 MPa yield strength
has shown that conventional welding processes and procedures can result in
significant HAZ softening. Previous work on the significance of softened HAZ
regions is reviewed and a recent investigation at TWI will be described in which the
importance of HAZ softening in a 550 MPa QT steel has been assessed using fracture
toughness and surface notched mini-wide plate tests. Submergedarc welds at
2.4kJ/mm were made using consumables of different strength level which both
overmatched and undermatched the parent plate yield strength. Softening of
approximately 45 HV 10 was observed in the HAZ and the CTOD fracture toughness
tests showed that the transition temperature of the HAZ for the overmatched weld was
60C higher than the equivalent HAZ in the undermatched weld.
The work shows that overmatching weld metals can concentrate strain into softened
HAZs and if flaws are close to the HAZ, low cleavage resistance can be measured.
This was confirmed by the results of the mini-wide plate tests. The implications of
these findings are discussed in the context of welded steels of 500 - 800 MPa yield
strength.

1. Introduction
Softened zones in the HAZs of TMCP or QT steels have been the subject of concern
for more than 20 years. The issue arose particularly in the late 80s when improved
processing methods were developed to produce tonnage steels in the420-550MPa
yield strength range, using lean low carbon microalloyed compositions. Accelerated
cooling and direct quenching were later developments which resulted in higher
strength grades with very lean compositions, and softened HAZs have been found to
be a feature of most weldments in these grades.
The features and characteristics of HAZ softening in TMCP/QT steels are well
described by Denys. [1] He noted that softening normally occurred in the 650C1100C peak temperature regions of the HAZ corresponding to the subcritical,
intercritical (Ac 1 -Ac 3 ) and fine grained austenite zones. Hardness drops of more
than 25HV5 were found compared to parent material levels. Denys observed that
micro-tensile tests, or tests on simulated specimens, can be used todetermine the
changes in yield and work hardening properties across softened HAZs and discussed
the engineering significance of such zones for a weld metal which either
undermatched or overmatched the parent material yield strength. Figure 1 shows his

schematic view of the likely HAZ fracture propagation paths depending on steel type
and whether undermatching or overmatching is present. He observed that the extent of
the softened zone increased with increasing heat input. His main conclusion was that
the engineering significance of softened HAZs can be determined realistically only by
conducting wide plate tests which assessed the complex interaction between the
various zones(i.e. weld metal, HAZ and parent plate).

Fig.1. Predicted crack propagation paths (Denys - Ref [1] )

Lundin et al [2] studied various high strength TMCP steels to examine the extent of
softening and the width of these zones, and Fig.2 shows that hardness drops ( HV)
can exceed 40HV5, and usually approach a saturation value with increasing t 800-500 .
Softened zone widths increased lineally with t 800-500 for a given steel ( Fig.3). The
hardness drop in the HAZ is a function of steel chemistry as well as steel processing
route and, in the as welded condition, TMCP steels containing Cu or Nb show an
enhanced or reduced HV, respectively. [2,3]

Fig.2. Hardness decrease as a function of cooling time (Lundin, Ref. [2] )

Fig.3. Softened zone width as a function of cooling time (Lundin, Ref. [2] )
The effects of softening on joint tensile strength, fatigue strength and buckling have
been studied in Japan. [4,5] The only deleterious effect found was at high heat input (14
kJ/mm) where softening caused a 10% reduction in joint tensile strength using small
test pieces. However, using wide plates, no reduction in joint tensile strength was
found for the same high heat inputs due to the expected constraint effect on the soft
zone of surrounding high yield strength material. This Japanese work was extended to
examine the effect of weld overmatching using finite element analysis. It was shown
that for an overmatch (weld metal yield to parent metal yield ratio, M), of 1.2, the
applied CTOD at the tip of the surface flaw for a given overall strain of 0.4% on a
butt weld was 0.15mm, whereas, for an undermatch situation (M=0.9), the applied
CTOD was 0.30mm. The conclusion was that a degree of overmatch was desirable in
butt welds to give protection against fracture from HAZ flaws close to softened zones.
Recently, softened HAZs have been studied in some detail in a Japan National Project
which is targeted at developing 800 MPa steels of 1m grain size. These
developments are using very lean chemistries and employ processing schedules which
create much heavier deformation in the steel bars or plate than would normally occur
in controlled rolling. These routes have been successful in producing very finegrained steels in the laboratory. Subsequent welding tests have shown that these steels
exhibit softened HAZs to varying degrees and microstructures and hardness changes
as affected by changes in welding process and procedure have been investigated. [6,7]
In summary, the features of HAZ softened zones are well understood. Such zones
must be expected in most TMCP steels, but HV will depend on detailed chemistry
and steel processing route and the softened zone width will depend on welding
process and procedure. The engineering significance of softened zones depends on a
complex interaction of the mechanical behaviour of the weld metal, HAZ and parent
metal, and must be assessed by tests which assess this interaction.
Despite this understanding, there have been few published investigations which have
studied mechanical properties such as the fracture toughness of HAZ softened zones.
It is clear that a key factor which must be considered in such an investigation is the
degree of mismatch in strength between the weld deposit and the parent steel. The
schematic diagrams of Denys, shown in Fig.1, indicate that the degree of overmatch
or undermatch will have a major effect on the detailed variation of yield strength

across the weld and on the width and actual hardness drop in the softened zone. In
very high strength steels, the degree of weld deposit overmatch (or undermatch)
depends critically on the choice of welding process or consumables, and so, in any
realistic assessment of the properties of softened zones in high strength grades,
mismatch must be an experimental variable.
Measurement of softened zone HAZ toughness is an important first step in the
procedure for determining the significance of flaws in real structures. The most
widely used flaw assessment procedure in Europe and elsewhere is BS7910:1999. In
this version of the standard, detailed changes in yield strength across the weld and
HAZ are not taken into account in the analyses, and it is assumed that the flaw tip is
present in homogeneous material of uniform yield strength. For flaws with their tips
in the HAZ, the guidelines recommend that the yield strength of the lowest strength
region be used in the calculations, since this gives more conservative answers for
critical flaw size calculations. However, new assessment procedures have been
recently developed to enable strength mismatch between weld metal and parent metal
to be considered, [8] and these procedures are now coming into more general use.
HAZ softening is an additional complexity and before assessment procedures can be
developed which take into account the complete strength mismatch between weld
metal, HAZ and parent metal, there is a requirement for much more workon
numerical analysis methods and the generation of appropriate toughness data. A start
has been made in this area and TWI and EWI have recently managed a study on
strength mismatch in a 550 MPa QT steel grade which showed HAZ softening
following submerged arc welding. The aim was to determine how fracture toughness
and flaw assessment procedures for HAZ cracks were affected by strength mismatch.
The approach adopted was to vary the deposit strength level for the same parent steel.
The steel selected was a QT grade of nominally 550 MPa yield and HAZ softening
was anticipated. The HAZ toughness was measured using both small-scale bend
specimens and mini-wide plate tests, and the work is described in Sections 2 and 3.
Section 4 reviews the results of a parallel and related project in a 700 MPa QT steel in
the UK, and Section 5 discusses the findings and the implications of both studies in
the context of tests for assessing the toughness of soft HAZ regions and the
engineering significance of flaws sited in soft HAZs, with varying strength mismatch
between weld metal and parent plate.

2. Fracture toughness of softened heat affected zones

2.1 Materials and welding procedures
The parent steel selected was a commercial, 25mm thick roller quenched and
tempered grade, RQT 501, produced by CORUS, with a nominal yield strength of 550
MPa ( Table 1). The plate was welded by the submerged arc process at a heat input of
2.4kJ/mm, and it was decided to post weld heat treat the welds before testing in order
to simplify the numerical analyses by reducing the residual stresses substantially.
Table 1 - Chemical analysis of 25mm thick parent plate (RQT 501)
Element, wt%

C Si Mn P
S Cr Mo 5i Al Cu V
0.11 0.28 1.29 0.012 0.003 0.02 0.18 0.01 0.022 0.01 0.05
The target mismatch levels between weld metal and parent plate were 0.75 and 1.25,
where mismatch is defined as the ratio of room temperature weld metal yield strength
to parent steel yield strength. Butt welds were made using Oerlikon S2 wire and
OP121TT flux to achieve undermatching and a cored wire (Oerlikon Fluxochord 45)
with OP121TT flux to produce the overmatched deposit. The joint preparation was
designed to facilitate testing of the HAZ. One sidehad a machined square edge, and
the other a 20 bevel. A backing bar was used to support the weld root bead, and a
typical macrosection is shown in Fig.4. After welding the panels were given a PWHT
of 580C for one hour.

Fig.4. Typical macrosection

2.2 Weld property assessment

Tensile tests conducted after PWHT showed that the average parent steel yield
strength at room temperature was 566MPa and that the actual mismatch ratio, M,
achieved, was 0.65 and 1.51 for the undermatched and overmatched situations,
respectively.
Hardness tests carried out on macrosections are shown in Fig.5. HAZ softening is
apparent from the traverses with a maximum hardness drop of ~45HV10 for the
overmatched and undermatched welds.

Fig.5. Hardness traverses, 11mm below weld cap

The room temperature tensile properties of the HAZ were established using Gleeble
simulation. The specimens were cycled to simulate grain coarsened HAZ, intercritical
HAZ and grain refined HAZ microstructures, and the results after PWHT at 580C for
one hour are shown in Table 2. The results confirm the hardness traverses, with the
HAZ undermatching the plate yield strength.
Table 2 Tensile results (at RT) from HAZ Gleeble simulation tests after PWHT
at 580C for 1 hour
Peak temperature* Lower yield strength, Tensile strength,
HAZ region
C
5/mm 2
5/mm 2
simulated
Grain coarsened
1339
451**
632
Intercritical
768
483
597
Grain refined
952
436
542
Notes:
* Cooling time, 800-500C, 32s
** Best estimate of 0.2% proof stress
Square section single edge notch bend specimens (SENB BxB where B=25mm) to BS
7448 : Part 2 : 1997 were notched from the original plate surface into the HAZ
adjacent to the vertical side of the weld. Notching and fatigue cracking were
conducted to try and place the final crack tip into the grain coarsened HAZ. To
achieve this, the crack depth varied in each specimen and a/W ratios ranged from 0.27
to 0.50.
Post test metallography was carried out to check on the fatigue crack tip position and
fracture initiation microstructure. In undermatched welds, some fatigue cracks were
found to grow away from the HAZ and into softer weld metal. Additional tests were
carried out in order to increase the dataset for fatigue cracks in the HAZ.
The fracture toughness specimens were instrumented with a double clip gauge
arrangement mounted on knife edges. This enabled crack mouth opening
displacement (CMOD) to be estimated. CMOD was then used to calculate J in
accordance with the draft annex to ASTM E1290. CTOD at the initiation of fracture
was estimated from J, taking strength mismatch into account.
CTOD (mismatch) was calculated from J using equations developed by Wang and
Pisarski on this project. The general equation is:-

m is dependent on a/W and strain hardening, whilst nom is a function of tensile

properties of the mismatched weld.
m = -0.111 + 0.817 (a o /W) + 1.36R

R = UTS / Y , where UTS is the average of the weld metal and parent plate tensile
strengths, and Y , is the average of the weld metal and parent plate yield strengths.

The partitioning parameters are given by:-

2.3 Fracture toughness test results

The test data for the surface notched specimens are shown in Fig.6 in terms CTOD
(mismatch). All results are for specimens in which post weld metallography showed
that cleavage fracture initiation was from the HAZ. Results from tests initiating in the
weld metal are excluded.

Fig.6. HAZ mismatch CTOD data and mini-wide plate results

The results show that the specimens taken from the overmatched weld generally gave
lower fracture toughness and higher transition temperatures than those from
undermatched welds. There is substantial scatter but the shift intransition temperature
is of the order of 50C.
The data were analysed further to establish toughness distributions, and to find the
median (50 th percentile), allowing a better comparison of shift in transition
temperature. This was done by converting J CMOD to K J values using:

Applying the Master Curve maximum likelihood (mml) procedure [8] which assumes
that fracture toughness data follow a Weibull distribution (shape factor 4 and shift
parameter 20MPam 0.5 ), the data were replotted in Fig.7. This shows that the 200
MPam 0.5 HAZ transition temperature is approximately 40C higher in the
overmatched weld compared to the undermatched weld.

Fig.7. HAZ K J data with predicted median (P f = 0.5) curves

It is interesting to compare the CTOD values obtained using the procedure developed
in this work which allows for mismatch, i.e. from J & CMOD, with those obtained
according to the procedures currently recommended in BS 7448 :Parts 1 and 2 which
assume homogeneous material. In the latter case, the highest yield strength material
present was used to calculate the elastic component of CTOD. Figure 8 compares the
two methods, where all the surface notched and through thickness notched data have
been included with a / W ratios varying from 0.27 - 0.5, even though BS 7448 requires
a
/ W 0.45.

Fig.8. Comparison of CTOD (mismatch) with CTOD (BS 7448)

In general, there is little difference between the two methods of determining CTOD,
below values of 0.3mm. At higher CTOD values, the BS:7448 procedures tend to
underestimate CTOD by up to 20%.

3. Assessment using mini-wide plate tests

Welded specimens of 100mm width and 485mm length were prepared for testing to
check the behaviour observed in the fracture toughness tests. Specimens were
produced for both the undermatched and overmatched types and a semi-elliptical
notch was introduced, positioned so that the final fatigue crack tip could be located in
the HAZ close to the fusion boundary. The initial notches were made by electrodischarge machining and these were extended byfatigue in four point bending to grow
the cracks to final size. Crack depths were monitored using ultrasonic time of flight
diffraction equipment. The average crack depth to thickness ratio achieved was 0.24
with an average crack depthto length ratio of 0.18.
CTOD values were estimated using a pair of clip gauges mounted on knife edges and
adopting the following equation:
CTOD = V1 - [(V2 - V1)x(Z1 + a o )(Z2 - Z1)]
V1 and V2 are lower and upper clip gauge openings
Z1 and Z2 are lower and upper knife-edge heights
a o is original crack depth
The mini-wide plate specimens were tested at -70C where the mode of fracture from
the HAZ was expected to be cleavage. The temperature also took account of the lower
constraint of the tension specimen compared to the fracture toughness bend
specimens.
The results are included in Fig.6 and support those of the CTOD tests described
earlier, with the overmatched weld giving the lowest HAZ toughness.

4. Related work
In a closely related UK project at CORUS, the effect of mismatch on the HAZ
toughness of a different QT steel was studied by Harrison. [9] He used a nominal 700
MPa QT grade of 25mm thickness which exhibited HAZ softening but, in contrast to
the work described in Sections 2 and 3, he produced overmatched and undermatched
welds by using a constant strength weld deposit and a parent steel in two heat
treatment conditions, QT and normalised.
In experiments using the flux cored arc welding process at 1.25 kJ/mm, he achieved
an undermatched weld (M=0.95) when the steel plate was in the QT condition and an
overmatched weld (M=2.15) after the steel plate had beennormalised, both panels
being in the PWHT condition. Based on a previously established hardness-strength
correlation, the average yield strengths for the different regions are shown in Fig.9 for
the undermatched and overmatched panels, after PWHT.

Fig.9. Yield strength of weld regions for undermatched and overmatched panels
(Harrison, Ref. [9] )
Through thickness notched HAZ CTOD tests to BS 7448: Part 2 were carried out and
the results are shown in Fig.10. This indicates that, in this case, the overmatched weld
had a consistently higher HAZ toughness than the undermatched weld. Surface
notched HAZ CTOD tests gave a similar result, but with more scatter.

Fig.10. CTOD mismatch data from Corus (Harrison, Ref. [9] )

5. Discussion
5.1 Toughness of softened HAZs
The TWI/EWI experimental work reported here shows that measured HAZ toughness
values in a 550 MPa QT steel exhibiting HAZ softening, are affected significantly by
the mismatch in strength between the weld deposit and the parent plate. Taking the
closely related CORUS work on a 700 MPa steel into account, the effect of the
strength mismatch on HAZ toughness is seen to depend on the method of achieving
the mismatch.
In the TWI/EWI project, weld metal strength was varied and the plate strength was
constant, whereas in the CORUS work, the weld strength was constant and the plate
strength varied. In the former case, an overmatch of the weld metal strength to the
parent steel strength led to the lowest HAZ toughness whilst, in contrast, an
undermatch situation in the CORUS experiments led to lowest HAZ toughness.

How can these differences be reconciled? The simplest explanation lies in the
qualitative explanation given by Denys. [1] The results in the present work support the
argument that where the flaw is sited close to the fusion boundary or HAZ of a steel
showing HAZ softening, strain will be concentrated in local regions of lower yield
strength.
There are three main cases to be considered:1. The weld deposit undermatches in strength both the HAZ and parent steel.
2. The plate undermatches both the HAZ and weld deposit.
3. The HAZ undermatches both the weld deposit and the parent steel.
The experimental work described covers all three of these scenarios and both the
TWI/EWI and CORUS investigations showed that the lowest HAZ toughness was
associated with case (c) above. Thus, where distinct HAZ softening is apparent,
relative to both plate and weld deposit, the lowest HAZ toughnesses have been
recorded. The issue of whether the weld deposit overmatches or undermatches the
parent steel strength is not the determining factor.
The explanation for case (c) being the worst case appears to fit Denys' explanation for
likely crack paths in mismatched welds, i.e. locally soft regions will concentrate strain
during deformation and increase the risk of cleavage fracture. In cases (a) and (b), a
lower strength weld deposit or parent plate will absorb strain preferentially, reducing
the risk of cleavage fracture in the HAZ, leading to higher HAZ toughness values.

5.2 Defect tolerance of softened HAZs

The implications of the toughness results on defect tolerance are now considered. A
number of defect assessment procedures, such as BS 7910:1999, are based on a
failure analysis diagram (FAD) which considers failure with respect to both fracture
and plastic collapse. These recognise that failure may not be completely brittle or
completely ductile, but a mixture of both failure modes. Strength mismatch between
the weld metal and parent material will affect theestimation of plastic collapse, and
usually a conservative approach is taken with plastic collapse being assumed to be
governed by the lower strength material present. Consequently, in normal situations
where the weld metal has ahigher strength than the parent material, the plastic
collapse assessment is based on the strength of the parent material irrespective of the
crack location.
When the HAZ strength is less than that of the parent plate, the situation is less clear.
One could base the assessment on the tensile properties of the softened HAZ and
follow the principle of employing the lower strength materials, but estimating tensile
properties of softened HAZs is difficult and impractical in most cases. Furthermore, in
the opinion of the authors this is unnecessary because if a flaw is present in a narrow
softened zone, constraint provided by stronger material either side would elevate its
yield strength and inhibit further yielding. Consequently, plastic collapse is likely to
be governed by the weld metal or parent material, whichever has the lower yield
strength.

It is possible to estimate plastic collapse for a strength mismatch condition, but such
procedures are not yet in common use and can be complicated to apply. Nevertheless,
in TWI-EWI project mentioned earlier, finite element analyses were undertaken to
estimate limit loads for mismatched welds. On the basis of these studies, a simplified
mismatch correction factor was developed which can be applied to the plastic collapse
axis of the FAD (i.e. L r ) axis, (see Fig.11).

Fig.11. Strength mismatch corrected FAD for a 4mm deep flaw

The equation developed for through-thickness cracks located at the fusion boundary
of a middle crack tension specimen is:-

where,
P h is the homogeneous material (based on parent material properties) reference stress
solution (such as can be derived from equations in BS 7910:1999). M is the strength
mismatch ratio (ratio weld metal to parent material yield strengths) h is the half weld
width W is half the specimen width a is half the through-thickness crack length
No general solution could be found for semi-elliptical surface cracks. However, a
simple modification to the above equations was found to work reasonably well for
long semi-elliptical cracks in the materials and specimen geometries considered in the
project. This involved replacing the 'W' term by material thickness, and the 'a' term by
surface crack depth.
The above discussion centres on considerations of failure by plastic collapse in
mismatched welds with softened HAZs. The assessment of failure by brittle fracture
in, say, BS 7910:1999, is based on the fracture toughness of the material in which the
flaw is present. In the case of softened HAZs, the worst case toughness will be found
when the weld deposit overmatches the plate in strength as discussed in Section 5.1.

The fracture toughness tests used for the assessment must of course match the
practical situation. Thus, if the weld metal undermatches the plate, the test specimen
for measuring HAZ toughness must match the anticipated strength mismatch in the
final weld.

5.3 Influence of softened HAZs on structural integrity

The overall effect of strength mismatch on the behaviour of cracks in softened HAZs
can be best illustrated by the following example. This considers the significance of an
axial surface crack in the HAZ of the longitudinal seam weld of a pipe with a
diameter of 900mm and wall thickness of 25mm. The weld width is assumed to be
25mm. The pipe material is assumed to have a yield strength of 566MPa and
overmatching and undermatching weld metal are considered with yield strengths of
850MPa and 373MPa, respectively. These give mismatch ratios of 1.51 and 0.65,
respectively, and are assumed to be the same materials as those considered in Sections
2.1 and 2.2 above. For the purpose of the example, the HAZ contains a reference flaw
4mm deep and 50mm long. In the overmatched weld (M = 1.51), the HAZ is softened
with respect to the parent pipe, as in Fig.5. A lower bound estimate of fracture
toughness from the Master Curve mml procedure (see Fig.7), based on a lower 5th
percentile (P f = 0.05) provides K mat values at -40C of 193MPam 0.5 and 253MPam
05
for the HAZ in material where M = 1.51 and M = 0.65, respectively.
Using the mismatch corrected FADs in Fig.11, together with the Level 2A flaw
assessment procedure in BS 7910:1999 (facilitated using TWI software Crackwise 3),
estimates were made of the maximum allowable hoop stress in the pipe containing the
reference flaw.
Five conditions were considered and the results are presented in Table 3. Since the
seam weld is as-welded, yield magnitude residual stresses were assumed to be
initially present. These were relaxed to lower stresses, depending on the level of
applied stress in accordance with BS 7910:1999.The first two conditions in Table 3
ignore strength mismatch and assume parent material strength. (This is the same as a
standard defect assessment where the weld overmatches the strength of the parent
material). As expected, the HAZ with the higher fracture toughness (K mat =
253MPam 0.5 ) can tolerate a higher hoop stress without failure (539MPa). However,
as this higher fracture toughness was measured in an undermatched weld, an
overestimate (non-conservative) of the failure stress isobtained. Repeating the
analysis and assuming that plastic collapse is controlled by the undermatched weld
metal, the hoop stress at failure is predicted to be lower at 389MPa. As pointed out
earlier, this is a conservative estimate. Abetter estimate is obtained if allowance is
made for strength mismatch by using a mismatch corrected FAD. In this case, the
maximum hoop stress is predicted to be 419MPa. This is lower than the maximum
hoop stress predicted using the mismatch corrected FAD for the overmatched weld
(613MPa), despite fracture toughness being lower.

Table 3 Maximum allowable hoop stress for an axial flaw 4mm de ep and 50mm
long

Condition

Case

193
253

Pm
Max,
MPa
496
539

253

389

193

613

253

419

K mat
MPam
0.5

1
2
3
4
5

Homogeneous, based on parent material tensile properties

Homogeneous, based on parent material tensile properties
Homogeneous, based on lowest weld metal material tensile
properties
Mismatch correction, applied to overmatched weld, M=1.51
Mismatch correction, applied to undermatched weld,
M=0.65

Thus, for the particular example chosen, it is shown that local HAZ softening in
overmatched welds can result in a significant reduction in fracture toughness.
However, defect tolerance is not necessarily compromised because of the beneficial
effects of overmatching on the assessment of plastic collapse.
Nevertheless, the sensitivity of the assessment to the choice of fracture toughness
cannot be over emphasised. Figure 12 shows how the maximum allowable hoop
stress changes with fracture toughness for both the overmatched and undermatched
conditions. The maximum hoop stress for the overmatched condition may be higher
or lower than that for the undermatched condition depending on the relative measured
HAZ toughness for the two situations. Inspection of the fracture toughness transition
curves in Fig.7 shows that fracture toughness values below 115MPam 0.5 become
increasingly likely at temperatures below -40C in the overmatched weld (M=1.51).
Indeed, the results from two mini-wide plate tests at -70C (see Fig.6) confirm that
fracture is the dominant mechanism in the overmatched weld (M=1.51) since fracture
occurred at a lower fracture toughness (in this case CTOD) and stress than in the
undermatched weld (M=0.65).

Fig.12. Maximum allowable hoop stress versus softened zone HAZ toughness

6. Conclusions

The HAZ fracture toughness of a nominal 550 MPa QT steel showing HAZ softening
( HV~45) has been assessed using bend specimens and mini-wide plate tests. Two
sets of welds were made giving weld metal yield strength overmatch (M=1.51)
andundermatch (M=0.65) compared to the parent plate. The results were compared
with related UK work on a 700 MPa QT steel.

The fracture toughness of softened HAZ regions depended on the mismatch in

strength between the weld deposit and parent plate.

The worst-case fracture toughness of the softened HAZs occurred when the
HAZ undermatched in strength both the weld deposit and the parent plate.
Higher toughnesses were measured when either the weld metal or the parent
steel undermatched the HAZ in strength.

The lower HAZ fracture toughness in overmatched welds in TMCP/QT steels

which have HAZ softening does not necessarily compromise the flaw
tolerance in structures such as pipelines, where plastic collapse is the dominant
failure mode.

However, a sensitivity analysis has shown that the tolerance to flaws in

softened HAZs depends critically on the fracture toughness of the HAZ region
and tolerance reduces rapidly in situations where cleavage is the dominant
failure mechanism.

In assessing the toughness of softened HAZs, the test specimen must match
the practical situation in terms of yield strength mismatch between weld
deposit and parent steel.

7. References
1. Denys, R 'The effect of HAZ softening on the fracture characteristics of
modern steel weldments and the practical integrity of marine structures made
by TMCP steels' EVALMAT 89, Kobe, Japan, 20-23 November 1989, ISIJ
1989 vol 2 pp 1013.
2. Lundin, C D, Gill, T P S and Qiao, C Y, 'Heat affected zones in low carbon
microalloyed steels'. Recent trends in Welding Science and Technology
Proceedings, 2nd International Conference, Gatlinburg, May 1989. Eds S A
David, J M Vitek, A S M International 1990.
3. Shiga, C 'Effects of steelmaking, alloying and rolling variables on the HAZ
structure and properties in microalloyed plate and line pipe'. The Metallurgy,
Welding and Qualification of Microalloyed (HSLA) Steel Weldments
Proceedings International Conference, Houston, November 1990. Ed J T
Hickey etc.al. AWS 1990.
4. Komizo, Y 'Performance of welded joints in TMCP steel plates'. Welding
International 1991 5 (8) p 598.
5. Yurioka, N, 'TMCP steels and their welding'. Welding in the World 1995, 35
(6) p.375
6. Otani, T, Tsukamoto, S, Arakane, G, Ohmori, A 'HAZ characteristics of Ultrafine grained high strength steel welded by high power CO 2 Laser'. 7th
International Welding Symposium, November 2001, Kobe, JWS p.773.

7. Ito, R, Hiraoka, K, Kosugai, T, Shiga C 'Microstructural characteristics of

welding HAZ in Ultra-fine ferrite grained steel', Ibid.
8. SINTAP - Structural Integrity Assessment Procedures for European Industry'
Final Procedure, November 1999, Brite Euram Project BD95-1426. Contract
BRPR-CT95-0024
9. Harrison, P L 'Weld Strength Mismatch Effects - multipass weld evaluation'
SI/TAP report BS/24, March 1999.