The effect of martensitic phase transformation dilation on microstructure, strain–stress and mechanical properties for welding of high-strength steel

The application of low transformation temperature (LTT) wire can effectively reduce residual stress, without the need for preheating before welding and heat treatment after welding. The mechanism reduces the martensitic transformation temperature, allowing the martensite volume expansion to offset some or all of the heat-shrinking, resulting in reduced residual stress during the welding process. In this paper, commercial ER110S-G welding wire and LTT wire with chemical composition Cr10Ni8MnMoCuTiVB were developed to solve the problem of stress concentration. The microstructure of the LTT joint is mainly composed of martensite and a small amount of residual austenite, while the microstructure of the ER110S-G joint is mainly composed of ferrite and a small amount of granular bainite. The micro-hardness and tensile strength of the LTT joint is higher than that of ER110S-G joint; however, the impact toughness of the LTT joint is not as good as that of the ER110S-G joint. The martensitic phase transformation of LTT starts at 212°C and finishes at around 50°C, and the expansion caused by phase transition is about 0.48%, which is much higher than that of the base metal (0.15%) and ER110S-G (0.18%). The residual tensile stress at the weld zone of the ER110S-G joint is 175.5 MPa, while the residual compressive stress at the weld zone of LTT joint is −257.6 MPa.