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Hybrid Welding Possibilities of Thick Sections for Arctic Applications

Article  in  Physics Procedia · December 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.phpro.2015.11.019

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Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83

15th Nordic Laser Materials Processing Conference, Nolamp 15, 25-27 August 2015,
Lappeenranta, Finland

Hybrid welding possibilities of thick sections for arctic applications

Ivan Bunaziva*, Odd M. Akselsena,b, Xiaobo Renb, Antti Salminenc,d
a
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Engineering Design and Materials, Richard Birkelands vei 2B, NO-7043
Trondheim, Norway
b
SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, P.O. Box 4760 Sluppen, NO-7465 Trondheim, Norway
c
Lappeenranta University of Technology, Laboratory of Laser Materials Processing, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland
d
Machine Technology Centre Turku Ltd. Lemminkäisenkatu 28, 20520, Turku, Finland

Abstract

The arctic shelf contains about 20% of all undiscovered hydrocarbons on our planet, therefore oil and gas industry
requires advanced steels to be used which withstand appropriate fracture toughness up to -60 °C and suitable welding
technologies. High brightness laser with combination with arc source can be appropriate joining process even for very
high strength advanced steels above 700 MPa for low temperature applications. Hybrid welding has improved each
year becoming more standardized and reliable welding process. However, until now, its application was limited to
shipbuilding and pipeline industry. Due to many reasonable advantages, hybrid welding, especially when it is
combined with MIG/MAG, can be used in every possible industry. Inherent filler wire addition from the MIG/MAG
source can improve fracture toughness at lower temperatures and increase overall productivity. This paper provides
information about recent breakthrough in hybrid welding of thick section high-strength steels.
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under
Peer-review under responsibility
responsibility ofLappeenranta
of the the Lappeenranta University
University of Technology
of Technology (LUT) (LUT).

Keywords: Hybrid welding; laser welding; welding parameters; high strength steel; impact toughness

1. Introduction

The first reported combination of arc with laser beam welding process was published in the late 1970’s. However,
it was overshadowed for many years by well-established arc welding and rapidly growing laser beam welding in

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +47- 45795269.

E-mail address: ivan.bunaziv@ntnu.no

1875-3892 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT)
doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2015.11.019
 Ivan Bunaziv et al. / Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83 75

1990’s processes. The reason for that was lack of reliability, large costs investments and process control. From 2000’s
high power brightness lasers became available and provided further hybrid welding enhancement in order of
productivity and reliability. (Steen 1980)
Nowadays, large amount of research has been done in the hybrid welding field. However, due to many welding
parameters existing in this process, only few variables were studied. Most of the research reports have been utilized
CO2 and Nd:YAG laser systems combined with various arc sources. In recent years, high brightness laser combination
with arc sources gaining more interest since they are replacing CO2 and Nd:YAG systems in various industries due to
the fact that high brightness laser systems are more reliable, mobile, using less space, require less maintenance, and
most importantly provides higher productivity overall. Therefore there is a high demands in high brightness laser
welding research in welding of various types of materials.

2. Hybrid welding process and analysis of welding parameters

The coupling of the laser beam and the electric arc has very complex physics and has been studied by many
researchers (Steen 1980; Hayashi et al. 2003; Sugino et al. 2005; Le Guen et al. 2011; Abe et al. 1997; El Rayes et al.
2004; Mahrle et al. 2011; Ono et al. 2002; Ishide et al. 2003; Fukami and Setoda 2013; Li et al. 2010; Hu and den
Ouden 2005a; Hu and den Ouden 2005b; Swanson et al. 2007; Zhiyong et al. 2013; Victor et al. 2009; Travis et al.
2004; Huang and Zhang 2010). Abovementioned research activities reported very similar hybrid effects: stabilization
of electric parameters of the arc, reduced arc resistance, arc rooting effect, increased thermionic emission, increased
melting efficiency, keyhole stability, and increased penetration depth. Mahre at el. (2011) has reported the unique
phenomena, where low power fiber laser combined with plasma arc, tends to switch to the keyhole welding mode
from the conduction welding mode at very low laser power beam. This effect can have a significant effect in industries
where thin sheet metal is welded due to much lower power consumption. On the other hand, additional energy from
laser beam delivered to filler wire as supplementary detaching force with negligible heat delivery to the droplet (Huang
and Zhang 2010), that means short-circuit metal transfer mode can be transformed to spray or streaming metal transfer
mode El Rayes et al. (2004). However, at some welding parameters the source coupling also has some negative effects
as laser beam absorption by arc plasma (Hu and den Ouden 2005a) by utilizing very high arc power, and destabilization
of detaching droplets from the filler wire (Sugino et al. 2005; Victor et al. 2009; Zhang et al. 2014a; Zhang et al.
2014b). Laser beam absorption by arc is not a significant problem, especially when high brightness laser are used, due
to shorter wavelength almost all laser beam power is applied for welding (Schuocker 1998). Destabilization of droplets
in the arc, when the process is one-drop-per-pulse mode, occurs because the laser-induced plasma thermally reacts
with filler wire electrode and consequently destabilizes the process by changing forces in the arc and bringing
additional heat (Sugino et al. 2005). Destabilization can be suppressed by optimizing welding parameters, control heat
input to the droplet and reduction in arc voltage. The synergistic effects are established only when both processes all
well-merged, which means they have the so-called hybrid plasma. To achieve this, the laser beam and electric arc
must participate in generating the weld pool at the same time, which means that the sources are not separated by a
long distance.
Laser beam power and welding speed. In hybrid welding, the laser beam power is the main parameter which
controls penetration depth. Therefore through laser beam power welding speed is selected, similarly to laser beam
welding. As a result, laser beam power and welding speed are major parameters, likewise in laser welding, and the
other parameters are adjusted accordingly. (Vollertsen and Thomy 2005; Ream 2004; Liu et al. 2006)
Focal point position. As a rule, in the laser welding focal point position is at workpiece surface or below to achieve
maximum penetration depth. In hybrid welding, the situation is similar. However, on the arc power should be also
taken into account (Qin et al. 2007). The major difference from the laser beam welding is that in hybrid welding the
changes in the focal point position are not reduce penetration depth significantly (Victor et al. 2009). Changes in the
focal point position can occur due to the heating of optics, which very likely to occur in welding of long plates used
in oil and gas industry.
Torch arrangement. Arrangement of the arc torch in relation to the laser beam can have a significant effect on
productivity and overall weld quality due to variation in arc position and changes in welding forces produced from
the arc. There are not many published studies devoted to this phenomenon. Molten metal flow in hybrid welding
depends on the arc position (see Fig. 1) and shielding gas composition. It was demonstrated by Tsukamoto et al.
76 Ivan Bunaziv et al. / Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83

(2008), that a trailing arc process is more favorable for delivering microalloying elements from filler wire to root of
the weld by adding oxygen into shielding gas to promote inward molten metal flow as we all strong arc plasma force,
and therefore better fracture toughness was achieved throughout the weld, at the expense of penetration depth.
However, in leading arc arrangement mixing of filler metal wire is improving by increasing air gap (Tsukamoto et al.
2008). Some studies (Victor et al. 2009; Hong and Lee 2007) contradict to the advantages of trailing arc configuration
providing better mechanical properties. However, this study was based on specific conditions like zero air gap
configuration and different separation distance. Therefore, it can be concluded that not only torch arrangement and
driving forces affect filler wire metal mixing, but also depends on other parameters.

Fig. 1. Comparison of molten metal flow in carbon steel with different torch arrangement caused by arc forces and resulting width of the welds in
the upper part. Inward molten metal flow in trailing arc arrangement is promoted by adding oxygen into shielding gas. (Tsukamoto et al. 2008;
Weman 2006)

The torch arrangement has an effect on weld quality and tendency to create certain defects due to the molten metal
flow. A leading arc configuration produces undercuts more frequently, especially during high speed welding when
the MIG/MAG process cannot melt edges properly due to lack of time, and there is a high bead reinforcement. Another
reason for undercut is that during hybrid welding the arc is narrower (or more constricted) and not capable to melt
edges (Steen 1980; Reisgen et al. 2008). Moreover, there is higher probability that droplet from the filler wire can
strike the keyhole and destabilize the welding process (see Fig. 2). On the contrary, the trailing arc setup tends to
produce sagging, primarily when large air gaps are implied (Fellman and Salminen 2007).
 Ivan Bunaziv et al. / Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83 77

Fig. 2. The change in the axial filler wire deposition trajectory of molten droplets at relatively high welding speeds

The studies on arc torch arrangement effect on maximum penetration depth are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Results of various studies on maximum penetration for various steels according to torch arrangement.
Research group
Naito and Mizutani 2003
Joo et al. 2004
Victor et al. 2009
Cao et al. 2011
Ishide et al. 2003
Nielsen et al. 2002
Abe et al. 1997
Hayashi et al. 2003
Torch arrangement
Leading arc (>2 mm separation)
Leading arc (>2 mm separation)
Leading arc
Leading arc
Leading arc
Trailing arc (10%)
Trailing arc
Leading arc (>2 mm separation)
Leading arc (>0 mm)
Notes on welding parameters and configuration
Nd:YAG laser-TIG hybrid welding of 304 type stainless steel, bead-
on-plate
Nd:YAG laser-TIG , 3 kW, AH 32, bead-on-plate
Fiber laser-MAG, 10 kW, any process distance, butt joint
Fiber laser-MAG, 5 kW, HSLA-65, butt joint
Nd:YAG-MIG, 3 kW, 140 A, 24 V, 1 m/min, bead-on-plate
CO2-MAG, 17 kW, AH 36 steel
CO2-MAG, 7 kW, 3 m/min, any process distance
CO2-MAG, 5 kW, 0.6 m/min, 200 A, 25 V
CO2-MAG, 30 kW, 500 A, 1 m/min, butt joint

According to the aforementioned analysis and the Table 1, it can be concluded that the penetration depth is higher
with leading arc configuration. The reason could be that before laser impinged a material it is already molten and
requires less power to generate keyhole. The preheating from arc welding also makes better laser power absorption.
Moreover, it agrees with arc welding process, where pulling set-up provides narrow and deeper penetration. However
also at some extend depends on the material, laser and arc power level (transfer mode), process distance, arc process
type (gas metal arc, tungsten inert gas, or submerged arc), groove type and air gap.
Arc power. Optimized arc power/wire feed rate slightly can increase penetration depth and it also controls the upper
part (width, microstructure, arc-related imperfections) of the hybrid weld. Arc is the major contributor to (it was
already discussed in problem related to torch arrangement) forces which are produced during welding (Katayama et
al. 2006), therefore appropriately selected arc power can decrease weld flaws such as undercuts.
Process distance. Process distance determines the proximity of both processes to facilitate advantages of both
processes (Hayashi et al. 2003). As a rule, if the distance between laser beam and arc is less than 3-5 mm, welding
penetration depth increases and common plasma is generated. However, if the separation distance falls between 0 and
1 mm, the welding process can be destabilized, especially if filler metal wire is used (MAG/MIG), since laser beam
starting to impinge the filler wire and reflects/absorbs a large portion of the energy. On the other hand, with trailing
arc configuration it is more likely to have a stable process due to favorable inclination of trajectory of molten droplets
from the filler wire. In Table 2, typical set-ups are summarized, for short wavelength lasers only.
78 Ivan Bunaziv et al. / Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83

Table 2. Results of various studies on minimum laser-arc distance giving maximum penetration for various steels. BOP is bead-on-plate
configuration.
Research group Laser type and Arc Steel type, Joint type Process Other notes and used
power source thickness distance parameters
Joo et al. 2004 Nd:YAG, 3 kW TIG AH 32 BOP 2 mm Leading arc

Reutzel et al. 2008 Nd:YAG, 4.5 MAG AH 36, 10 mm I- square 2 mm (4 At 16 mm distance

kW and V mm highest
penetration occurs again
Fellman and Fiber, 5 kW MAG S355, 6 mm I-square 2 mm Trailing arc showed much
Salminen 2007 better results
Kim et al. 2008 Disk, 4 kW MAG A grade, 10 mm V 2 mm The lowest penetration occurs
at 4 mm
Liu and Kutsuna Fiber, 2 kW MAG HSLA 590 BOP 0 mm Trailing arc
2008 MPa, 6 mm

Thomy et al. 2007 Fiber, 1 kW MAG X70, 12 mm BOP 4 mm 1.5 mm distance showed less
depth
Qin et al. 2007 Nd:YAG, 2 kW MAG Low carbon BOP 1-3 mm Trailing arc
steel, 10 mm
Victor et al. 2009 Fiber, 10 kW MAG AISI 1018 BOP 3 mm Leading arc gave higher depth
(carbon steel)
Piili et al. 2008 Fiber, 5 kW MAG S355, 6 mm I-square 0-2 mm Not depending on torch
arrangement
Naito and Mizutani Nd:YAG, 1.7 TIG AISI 304, 5 mm BOP 1 mm Trailing arc
2003 kW
Ishide et al. 2003 Nd:YAG, 3 kW MIG SUS 304 - 2 mm Coaxial hybrid welding

As seen from Table 2, the optimal process distance is about 2 mm. However, it slightly varies due to different laser
power, arc source type, material, and joint configuration.
Air gap. One of the most significant advantages of hybrid welding compared to laser welding, is lower sensibility
to the air gap variation, so-called bridgeability. Gap bridgeability can be further extended by applying scanning optics
to the process (Rethmeier et al. 2008). According to many studies (Hayashi et al. 2003; Ishide et al. 2003; Tsukamoto
et al. 2008; Hong and Lee 2007; Piili et al. 2008; Fellman and Salminen 2007; Cao et al. 2011; Grünenwald et al.
2010; Vollertsen and Grünenwald 2008) the air gap has a significant effect on productivity and quality. It is related to
the fact that less metal should be melted by joining two workpieces, therefore welding speed can be increased or laser
level power can be reduced. An increase of the weld quality is also favorable to the weld metal toughness, through
better element distribution in the entire weld, including the root region (Tsukamoto et al. 2008). However, it should
be noticed that the torch arrangement also must be taken into consideration (Hong and Lee 2007).

3. Hybrid welding application for low temperature environment and high strength steels

Normally, the steel weldability is deteriorated with increasing base metal strength. Recent research (Laitinen et al.
2007; Laitinen et al. 2013; Siltanen et al. 2011) shows that even advanced high strength steels (AHHS) could be
appropriately welded without preheating or post weld treated by utilizing high brightness lasers in combination with
MAG arc source.
Ren et al. (2011) showed that hybrid welding is more suitable for low temperature compared to conventional arc
welding due to much lower residual stresses which affect toughness significantly. It was associated with the fact that
hybrid welding requires minimum passes, mostly one pass, to weld plates in 10-20 mm thickness, whereas an arc need
3-4 passes. In combination with low level of diffusible hydrogen during welding process (Blomquist et al. 2009),
hybrid welding can be superior process for arctic solutions.
Laitinen et al. (2009) reported successful fiber- and disc-laser MAG hybrid welded 10 mm S690 QL (quenched
and tempered designed for low temperatures) HSS in the range of reasonably high welding speeds equal to 1.6-2.0
m/min. After welding, the steel had minimum 20 J in impact toughness at -40 °C in weld metal zone and the HAZ
(with heat input of 0.43 kJ/mm with fiber laser parameters and 0.51 kJ/mm with disc laser parameters), small hardness
variation from base metal, and very narrow softening zones.
Studies conducted by Laitinen et al. (2013), where disk laser-MAG hybrid welding was applied on butt joints of
 Ivan Bunaziv et al. / Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83 79

two extra-high strength steels (called Optim 700 QL and Optim 700 MC), revealed that quenched HSS has experienced
difficulties in welding, namely excessive weld metal hardening, more severe zone softening and lower impact
toughness at fusion line. On contrary, Optim 700 MC Plus steel showed minor softening of the HAZ since softening
is the limiting factor for low cooling rate or maximum heat input. As a result, decreased heat input by increasing
welding speed can reduce softening of the HAZ and increase the impact toughness, as well as yield and tensile strength,
and accompanied by slower austenite grain coarsening. Both welded steels had the minimum 20 J impact toughness
at weakest zone, the fusion line, performed at -40 °C when heat input was about 0.5-0.6 kJ/mm.
Siltanen et al. (2011) reported that fiber laser-MAG hybrid welding of 6 mm ultra-high strength steels (direct
quenched and tempered) Optim 960QC and S960QL, is applicable to weld with adequate impact toughness at -40 °C
temperature. Various filler wires have been utilized (matching and undermatching (alloyed and non-alloyed)), and
revealed that both wire types are capable to provide adequate impact toughness. Non-alloyed undermatching filler
wire provided very low hardness scattering throughout the weld and a slight softening in the HAZ, therefore it is
possible to reduce production costs. Moreover, non-alloyed wire provided more desired weld metal and the HAZ
microstructure, the acicular ferrite, than alloyed wires (containing 0.25-0.45% Cr, 0.25-0.55% Mo and 1.3-2.35% Ni)
which produced bainitic-martensitic microstructure at the same heat input (0.31-0.63 kJ/mm), and as a result better
impact toughness in welds.
Acicular ferrite is the desired weld metal microstructure for low temperature applications, due to its extreme fine
grain size (typically grain size of 3 μm) which causes a frequent fracture deflection. Laths of acicular ferrite should
have high angle grain boundaries in order to provide more difficult crack propagation paths (Bhadesia 2006;
Mazancova et al. 2005).
Together with deoxidization and alloying practice, welding parameters and performance are major contributors to
achieve the proper impact toughness in high strength steels.
High welding speeds are preferable due to less possibility to significantly alter mechanical properties through lower
heat input. However, the cooling time between 800 and 500 °C (Δ t 8/5) is reduced, which leads to the formation of
martensite with an associated high hardness due to faster cooling rate. Therefore, it is important to find balance in
welding speed according to heat input in order to avoid necessity of preheating and post weld heat treatment
procedures for costs reduction.
Optimization of filler wire, through alloying welded joint, can be also very useful and have more vital role then
fracture toughness for lower temperatures is needed. Alloying elements from filler wire is essential to get acicular
ferrite. First of all high quality filler wire should be utilized, that means significant reduction in P (< 0,015 %) and S
(< 0,012 %) (Gorynin et al. 2009). Microalloying elements which can trigger acicular ferrite formation through
nonmetallic inclusions (nitrides, oxides, sulfides) and increase austenitic grain size in favor of acicular ferrite
formation within (Bhadesia 2006; Mazancova et al. 2005):
- Small addition of titanium can be essential and already has been proven, which is linked to the formation of Ti-
oxides and/or nitrides which both may be favorable for acicular ferrite formation (Hong and Lee 2007; Fattahi et
al. 2013), and hence, grain refinement. The titanium amount should be strictly controlled, since adding more than
0.02% has the opposite effect (Gorynin et al. 2009);
- Fluxes with high basicity level containing ferroalloys, very low hydrogen content are favorable for microalloying
and deoxidation (Gorynin et al. 2009);
- Nickel alloying, about 1.4-1.5% nickel promotes acicular ferrite formation and grain refining due to lowering of
phase transformation temperatures. Nickel alloying often is implemented in combination with manganese (Mn 1-
1.2%). If nickel is added in large amounts martensite occurs due to the reduction in grain boundary ferrite
formation (Zhang and Farrar 1997);
- Oxygen addition (through flux-cored wire or gas) is excellent for acicular ferrite formation, 300 parts per million
(ppm) is optimal (Easterling 1983);
- Addition of molybdenum, in the range of 0.5% gives maximum acicular ferrite (Babu and Bhadesia 1990);
- Addition of vanadium, maximum about 0.15%, promotes acicular ferrite and grain refinement (Gorynin et al.
2009);
- Adidition of chromium, in the range from 0.7 to 0.8% gives maximum acicular ferrite content (Babu and Bhadesia
1990);
80 Ivan Bunaziv et al. / Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83

- Addition of niobium, in very small amounts (0.06%), provide grain refinement and acicular ferrite formation
(Gorynin et al. 2009).
Addition of Nb, Mo, V is not good when multipass welding is used due to precipitation, which is inevitable.
However, they may be positive in one pass since they push the C curve in the CCT (Continuous Cooling
Transformation) diagram to the left which means that higher heat input is available during welding with reducing the
risk of martensite formation. (Fattahi et al. 2013)
According to the Hyblas (Economical and safe laser hybrid welding of structural steel) project, hybrid welding
already has been proven as joining process for single pass (without preheating and post weld heat treatment) and
multipass thick sections up to 30 mm. However, fracture toughness testing was not applied at low temperatures and
only CO2 laser was applied. (Petring et al. 2007)
In the Fiblas (Improvement in steel utilization and manufacturing by recent break-through in high-power fibre laser
welding) project, high brightness lasers have been successfully applied for hybrid welding process. Grünenwald et al.
(2010) reported excellent results of welding X65 and X70 of 9.5 mm with single pass and 14 mm with two pass with
very high toughness even in weld metal. However, the test temperature was only -20 °C.
Rethmeier et al. (2008) applied fiber laser-MAG hybrid welding for root welding of high strength steel of X80
grade. Published results contain evidence of hybrid welding suitability to produce high quality welds with appropriate
ductile-to-brittle-transition by using only metal cored wire when heat input was about 0.9-1.0 kJ/mm, where solid wire
provided very scattered properties as shown in Fig. 3. The identified major problem was the distribution of wire in the
root since the produced welds had high height-to-width ratio which is difficult to change by applying a modified arc.
Akselsen et al. (2013) performed experiments with fiber laser-MAG of 20 mm 420 MPa high strength steel for low
temperature applications where double-sided with Y-grooves welding were produced. The results revealed severe
solidification cracking problem in the laser region at centerline associated with too high welding speed (Wiklund et
al. 2014), improper workpiece preparation for welding, low width-to-depth ratio, and impossibility of filler wire to
reach laser part due to zero air gap configuration. The fusion line had excellent impact toughness at -30 °C (heat input
was approximately equals to 1.7-1.9 kJ/mm), however, the weld metal showed minimum values, the same trend
revealed CTOD tests at -30 °C. Such low toughness values were due to martensitic microstructures both in laser and
arc parts. Implementation of lower welding speeds, air gap and increased nickel alloying from 0.9% to 1.4-1.6% could
provide more appropriate results in toughness and in overall quality of welds.

Fig. 3. Results of Charpy impact toughness tests for X80 high strength steel. (Rethmeier et al. 2008)

Another problem in welding of thick plate sections can be associated with their initial inhomogeneity with respect
to grain size throughout the thickness and different microstructure development due to large scatter in the austenite
grain sizes. In the center of the slab, about 50% of total thickness, the grains are almost twice as large as those near
the outer surfaces. (Gorynin et al. 2009)
The above stated studies demonstrate insufficient weld quality under the prevailing conditions. Substantial
improvement of the fracture toughness requires not only better steel and consumables, but also better hybrid welding
process and performance.
 Ivan Bunaziv et al. / Physics Procedia 78 (2015) 74 – 83 81

Another issue is related to residual stresses, which have not been considered very extensively in laser hybrid
welding. Due to the narrow zones normally existing in laser welding, the residual stresses should also be different
than in conventional arc welding. This may have a considerable effect on the structural integrity in laser hybrid welds.

4. Conclusions

In the present study, the laser-arc hybrid welding has been reviewed with respect to use in the oil and gas industry.
The conclusions are as follows:
x Hybrid welding may provide appropriate results in achieving adequate fracture toughness without
preheating and/or post weld heat treatment of joints even for advanced high strength steels when process
variables and workpiece preparation are optimized.
x The only adequate hybrid welding process in this respect is high brightness laser-MAG due to inherent
filler wire deposition which can refine microstructure, higher welding speeds, deeper penetration, and
higher bridgeability.
x According to many studies, the HAZ usually gives excellent toughness results and the most problematic
weld region is the weld metal. However it still requires substantial work for applications at low
temperatures, especially in thick steel section welding with thickness beyond 20 mm. Moreover, there is a
large lack of studies on residual stresses and their effects on fracture toughness. This is a crucial point for
implementing the hybrid process for low temperature applications in the oil and gas industry.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Research Council of Norway for funding through the Petromaks 2 Programme,
Contract No.228513/E30. The financial support from ENI, Statoil, Lundin, Total, Scana Steel Stavanger, JFE Steel
Corporation, Posco, Kobe Steel, SSAB, Bredero Shaw, Borealis, Trelleborg, Nexans, Aker Solutions, FMC
Kongsberg Subsea, Marine Aluminium, Hydro and Sapa are also acknowledged.

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