HOT CRACKING DURING WELDING

by Nabeel Ahmed Qureshi 21 Sep 2011, 04:27

What is this \Hot cracking phenomena during welding.Which alloys are susseptible to this kind of issue during welding. How to control/avoid Hot cracking during welding ?? Regards nabeel
Nabeel Ahmed Qureshi Core Member Posts: 215 Joined: 04 Apr 2010, 09:38 Area of interest: Mechanical Engineering T o p

Re: HOT CRACKING DURING WELDING

by ben 21 Sep 2011, 05:46

Hot cracking is a phenomena where weld starts cracking within the solidification range (at higher temperature - > 1200 C). It can occur in all metals. Following are the main reasons: a. Restrained piping (already under stress) b. High welding current c. Pre-heating non-compliance d. Incompatible filler material e. Travel speed (too fast)
ben Senior Member Posts: 423 Joined: 24 Aug 2010, 03:11 Area of interest: Mechanical Engineering T o p

Re: HOT CRACKING DURING WELDING

by irish 22 Sep 2011, 07:46

"Hot Cracking" as the term depicts itself is formation of cracks when the metal is hot (during welding just at the solidification state). Reasons have been correctly identified by ben. I have seen formation of cracks normally when performing welds with incompatible / wrong filler or when carbon steels are welded to stainless steels with a filler resulting in a structure prone to cracking. These cracks also appear when pipe is not adequately or over supported causing stress at the joint location. These cracks can appear in all metals but due to filler these are most commonly seen in welding of stainless steels when martensite formation takes place.
irish Senior Member Posts: 214 Joined: 27 Nov 2010, 09:04 Area of interest: Mechanical Engineering T o p

Re: HOT CRACKING DURING WELDING

by mechcolor 22 Sep 2011, 18:14

Hot cracking is a welding defect that occurs with temperature higher than 1200C and its due to the presence of impurities with lower melting point than the base metal. The cooling is higher on the side of the weld and its from there that grain grows (dendrite) oriented to the center of weld thats the last to become solid. On this stage, occurs a formation of an impurity film, that promotes a reduction of melting point of the weld. Meanwhile, weld doesnt sustain the tensions due to the material contractions during solidification process, originating the center line crack on the weld. Factors Temperature > 1200C Carbon (C), sulphur (S), phosphorus (P) Prevention Material with some percentage of delta ferrite in case of austenitic stainless steels (300 series) Control on sulphur and phosphorous contents (impurities) Manganese, chromium, molybdenum addition
mechcolor Senior Member Posts: 411

Joined: 17 May 2010, 18:05 Area of interest: Manufacturing Engineering T o p

Re: HOT CRACKING DURING WELDING

by octane 23 Sep 2011, 02:09

As the name implies, these cracks form while the weld temperature is high and are usually related to solidification; crack growth is typically assisted by cooling stresses induced in the weld. Solidification cracking occurs when there is low solubility for alloying elements in the primary phases that solidify during cooling. As the solidifying grains grow, they exclude the impurities and/or minor alloying elements and push them towards the center of the weld. The impurities/alloying elements often do react with the dominant element to form low melting phases that generally have poor strength. Typical examples would be Iron-Sulfur compounds in steels and Aluminum-Copper compounds in Aluminum alloys. Hot cracks typically occur in the throat of the weld and can extend along the length of the weld, producing longitudinal cracks. In some fusion weld applications, such cracks can also form at the end of the weld line and produce a star-shaped pattern of cracks radiating outwards; such cracks are referred to as crater cracks. In some Aluminum alloys, hot cracks form in the HAZ (heat affected zone) adjacent to the fusion zone. Since the segregation of phases occurs along grain boundaries, hot cracks grow intergranularly. Common alloy systems that suffer from hot cracking are steels and aluminum alloys. Carbon steels with excessive sulfur are prone to hot cracking and such tendencies can be reduced by using either steel with low sulfur or with high enough Manganese that can combine with sulfur and render it inactive. Hot cracks are also found in laser welded 316 austenitic stainless steels that solidify as primary austenite. Weld cracking can be avoided by using a filler such 304 or 308 that provides enough ferrite stabilizers; solidifying ferrite has a greater solubility for impurity sulfur and keeps it out of trouble. Aluminum 6061 suffers similar problems that can be remedied in the fusion zone by mixing with 4047/4043 Al alloys. Hot cracks can also form when the weld is too weak to support the two components and have been observed as root cracks. Analysis of the cracked region under and SEM to identify elemental segregation is the first step in evaluating hot cracks.