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Mehanical Properties of Electron Beam Welded Joints in Thick Gage CA6NM Stainless Steel

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Abstract

Design of hydroelectric turbine components requires high integrity welds (without detectable volumetric defects) in heavy gage sections of stainless steel materials, such as ASTM A743 grade CA6NM—a low carbon 13% Cr-4% Ni martensitic stainless steel that is manufactured in cast form. In this work, 90-mm-thick plates of CA6NM were joined using a single-pass autogenous electron beam (EB) welding process and the mechanical properties were evaluated in the as-welded condition to characterize the performance of the joints. The static tensile properties that were evaluated in two directions—transverse and longitudinal to the EB weld seam—demonstrated conformance of the joints with the requirements of the ASME Section IX standard. The Charpy impact energies of the EB welds—measured at −18 °C on samples with V-notch roots located in the fusion and heat-affected zones—met the minimum requirements of 27 J specified in ASME Section VIII standard. In addition, bend tests that were conducted on the entire weld cross section displayed no discontinuities on the tension side of the bent joints. Hence, the developed EB welding process was demonstrated to render high-performance joints and promises key advantages for industrialization, such as cost savings through reductions in consumable material, production time and labor intensity.

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Abbreviations

BM:

Base metal

CVN:

Charpy V-notch

EB:

Electron beam

EBW:

Electron beam welding

EBZHT:

Electron beam zonal heat treatment

EDM:

Electro-discharge machining

EDS:

Energy-dispersive spectroscopy

%El:

Total percent elongation

FCAW:

Flux-cored arc welding

FZ:

Fusion zone

GL:

Gage length

GMAW:

Gas metal arc welding

HAZ:

Heat-affected zone

HLAW:

Hybrid laser-arc welding

Mf :

Martensite finish temperature

PWHT:

Post-weld heat treatment

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

TIG:

Tungsten inert gas

UTS:

Ultimate tensile strength

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

YS:

Yield strength

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to GE Renewable Energy—Hydro North America (formerly Alstom Hydro), Hydro Quebec and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Advanced Manufacturing Program (Production Cells and Systems Domain) of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) for financially supporting the Consortium de recherche en fabrication et réparation des roues d’eau (CReFaRRE). The authors also thank X. Pelletier, E. Poirier and M. Guerin of NRC for their technical assistance related to welding and mechanical testing. The authors are grateful to M. Sabourin of GE Renewable Energy—Hydro North America and D. Thibault from IREQ for their useful advice and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. École de technologie supérieure, Montreal, Canada

    Sheida Sarafan & Henri Champliaud

  2. National Research Council Canada, Aerospace, Montreal, Canada

    Sheida Sarafan, Priti Wanjara & Javad Gholipour

  3. GE Renewable Energy – Hydro North America, 5005, boul. Lapinière Suite 6000, Brossard, QC, J4Z 0G2, Canada

    Louis Mathieu

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  1. Sheida Sarafan
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  2. Priti Wanjara
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  3. Javad Gholipour
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  4. Henri Champliaud
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  5. Louis Mathieu
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Correspondence to Sheida Sarafan.

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Sarafan, S., Wanjara, P., Gholipour, J. et al. Mehanical Properties of Electron Beam Welded Joints in Thick Gage CA6NM Stainless Steel. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 26, 4768–4780 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2872-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2872-7

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