Combined heating rate and restraint condition effect on stress relief cracking during PWHT of thick-walled Cr–Mo-V steel SAW joints

Abstract Creep-resistant steels such as 13CrMoV9-10 are utilized in the manufacture of thick-walled pressure vessels and are typically joined by submerged arc welding (SAW). However, these materials are susceptible to stress relief cracking (SRC) if the required post weld heat treatment (PWHT) is not applied correctly. Existing PWHT guidelines, encompassing heating rate and dwell (or holding) time at a given temperature, are derived from a synthesis of empirical knowledge and typically free-shrinkage weld experiments to assess the susceptibility to SRC. Therefore, this study discusses the combined effect of the PWHT heating rate under free-shrinkage compared to restrained shrinkage. Welding experiments were conducted (using plates with a thickness of 25 mm) for both shrinkage conditions for a variety of heating rates and maximum temperatures. In-situ acoustic emission analysis was used to locate propagating SRCs during PWHT. Hardness measurements, mechanical property characterization (Charpy impact strength), and microstructure correlation were used to evaluate the SRC susceptibility. The results suggested that the influence of heating rate could not be directly related to SRC formation and that the initial weld microstructure prior to PWHT was more relevant in terms of very high hardness in the coarse grain heat affected zone, especially that of the last beads in the top layer of the welding sequence. This was seen in the form of random, unexpected SRC occurrence in only one specimen at a heating rate commonly used in welding practice (approximately 100 K/h). In this context, the additional effect of an external shrinkage restraint on SRC must be considered in the form of increasing mechanical loads during welding, which are typically not within the scope of welding practice. To mitigate the probability of SRC during PWHT, it is imperative to reduce the welding heat input and to restrict the structural shrinkage restraint of the weld joint.