Electroslag Welding of Heavy
Section 21/4 Cr - 1 Mo Steel
A high strength, tough 0.85 Mn-0.02 V type weld is
deposited by a new filler metal, and control of Cu
and Mn along with control of stress relief cooling rate are
important for prevention of thermal embrittlement
BY M. OKUMURA, M. KUMAGAI, H. NAKAMURA AND K. KOHIRA
A B S T R A C T . A new e l e c t r o s l a g
welding filler metal was developed for
heavy section pressure vessels of 2Vt
Cr-1 Mo steels. Welds made with the
filler metal displayed strength and
toughness after a long stress relief
heat treatment, followed by q u e n c h -
ing. It was achieved by increasing
manganese content more than nor-
mal and by the small addition of vana-
dium. The quality of weld metal was
maintained at a slow quenching rate
of 9 C / m i n (16 F/min) and also with
variations in p e n e t r a t i o n in base
metals during welding.
T h e r m a l e m b r i t t l e m e n t of w e l d
metals during operation at about 450
C (850 F) was studied by means of an
accelerated embrittling technique
(G.E. Step Cooling treatments). There
was an o p t i m u m content of m a n -
ganese to reduce the embrittlement.
Because of its detrimental effect, it
was necessary to keep the copper
content below 0.10% in weld metals. It
was important, after stress relief heat
treatment, to cool as rapidly as possi-
ble to prevent thermal embrittlement
since loss of the toughness due to
slow cooling still remained after step-
cooling treatments.
A linear relation between tensile
strength at room temperature and at
435 C (815 F) was confirmed, and
an experimental formula was p r o -
posed for the estimation of tensile
strength of electroslag weld metals
with their chemical compositions.
M. OKUMURA, M. KUMAGAI, H.
NAKAMURA and K. KOHIRA are with Nip-
pon Steel Corporation, Japan.
Introduction
Although electroslag welding has
been developed as a high efficiency
p r o c e s s f o r heavy s e c t i o n s t e e l
plates, there have been only a few in-
stances w h e r e it has been suc-
cessfully applied to the fabrication of
high pressure vessels made of low-
alloy steels. There are two reasons for
this:
1, Despite the long hours of stress
relief heat treatment always given to
the welded joint after welding, no
welding material so far developed has
been capable of producing electro-
slag welded joints having sufficient
high temperature strength and t o u g h -
ness for these vessels.
2. Without water quenching, heavy
section low-alloy steel plates do not
develop sufficient toughness, even
when they are subsequently t e m -
pered and s t r e s s - r e l i e v e d , but
electroslag welded pressure vessel
shells are liable to be deformed dur-
ing the water quenching processes.
In Japan, where air pollution is a
major issue, the concentration of S 0 2
in the atmosphere is officially limited
to below 0.05 p p m . As a result, heavy
oil used as fuel in Japan must c o n -
tain less than 1.0% of sulfur at pres-
ent, and only around 0.55% in the
future.
Direct desulfurization processes
have been developed to obtain such a
low sulfur heavy oil from a high sulfur
crude oil. In the process, heavy oil
and hydrogen gas are mixed at a
temperature of 400 to 450 C ( a p -
proximately 750 to 840 F) under a
pressure of 100 to 170 K g / c m 2 or 9.8
WELDING
to 16.7 MPa (1422 to 2417 psi), and
the sulfur is removed to a level of 0.3
to 0.5% as H2S in the presence of a
nickel base catalyzer.
Under t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , in
1972, projects for building large scale
heavy oil direct desulfurization plants
were taken up by many oil refineries
in Japan, and the development of
suitable e l e c t r o s l a g w e l d i n g filler
metals for 2'A Cr-1 Mo heavy section
pressure vessels of these plants was
undertaken to promote the fabrica-
tion of the vessels.
Very little data on electroslag weld-
ing of 2V4 Cr-1 Mo steel (ASTM A
387Gr.22) plates are available (Refs.
1,2). It has been reported by Miyano
et al (Ref. 1) that c o m m m e r c i a l 2Vi
Cr-1 Mo electroslag weld metals have
tensile strength between 55 and 66
K g / m m 2 or 539 and 647 MPa (78000
and 94000 psi) at room temperature
and also absorbed energy at 0 C (32
F) in Charpy V-notch impact tests,
vEo, between 7 and 15 k g - m (50 and
180 ft-lb) within stress relief (SR)
conditions from 19.9 to 20.7 in Lar-
son-Millers temper parameters (T.P.)
which are expressed by the following
formula:
T.P. = T (20 + log t) x 10- 3
where T is the stress relieving
temperature in degrees Kelvin and t
is the holding time in hours. How-
ever, as shown later in Fig. 7, in order
to guarantee a tensile strength above
45 K g / m m 2 or 44 MPa (64000 psi) at
435 C (815 F), the tensile strength
must be over 56.2 K g / m m 2 or 551
MPa (79,900 psi) at room temper-
RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 389-s
 Table 1 — Chemical Composition of Test Welding Wires, wt - %

No. Si Mn Cu Ni Cr Mo Nb Ti

10 0.131 0.34 0.85 0.011 0.006 0.04 0.06 2.55 1.02 0.011 0.009 —
20 0.163 0.35 0.91 0.008 0.009 0.05 0.06 2.78 1.01 0.025 0.014 —
21 0.133 0.31 0.87 0.008 0.009 0.05 0.07 2.56 0.96 0.025 0.013 —
22 0.126 0.32 0.85 0.008 0.008 0.25 0.06 2.60 0.96 0.025 0.013 —
23 0.133 0.30 1.77 0.011 0.008 0.12 0.05 2.59 0.96 0.017 0.011 —
24 0.126 0.28 0.55 0.012 0.014 0.14 0.12 2.48 1.01 0.025 0.008 —
30 0.125 0.15 0.88 0.013 0.011 0.09 0.10 2.48 1.02 0.009 0.005 0.079
40 0.129 0.15 0.92 0.013 0.014 0.07 0.07 2.46 1.02 0.049 0.006 0.091
41 0.105 0.12 0.98 0.012 0.009 0.10 0.06 276 1.00 0.060 0.005 0.190
42 0.072 0.23 0.93 0.012 0.009 0.10 0.09 2.44 1.04 0.060 0.004 0.089
43 0.125 0.23 1.01 0.008 0.008 0.02 0.22 2.67 1.11 0.042 0.006 0.115
50 0.108 0.25 0.93 0.008 0.008 0.02 0.02 2.79 1.17 0.021 0.013 0.112
51 0.130 0.23 0.95 0.009 0.007 0.01 0.03 2.72 1.14 0.021 0.012 0.067
52 0.098 0.20 0.92 0.010 0.009 0.04 0.04 2.52 1.00 0.024 0.008 0.019
53 0.062 0.17 0.84 0.007 0.012 0.04 0.07 2.60 0.92 0.022 0.016 0.016
60 0.128 0.24 0.92 0.011 0.009 0.05 0.06 2.53 1.04 0.052 0.008 0.078
61 0.075 0.29 0.95 0.014 0.009 0.05 0.06 2.55 1.02 0.058 0.004 0.110
62 0.106 0.18 0.80 0.010 0.008 0.02 0.01 2.76 1.07 0.028 0.010 0.103
70 0.158 0.08 1.21 0.008 0.011 0.05 0.02 2.33 0.96 0.017 0.009 —
71 0.102 0.05 1.40 0.008 0.011 0.09 0.07 2.51 0.87 0.035 0.017 —
72 0.091 0.05 1.05 0.006 0.008 0.04 0.07 2.29 0.94 0.021 0.002 —
73 0.147 0.05 1.07 0.012 0.009 0.13 0.10 2.53 0.92 0.022 0.005 —
74 0.101 0.09 0.75 0.009 0.006 0.10 0.08 2.50 1.00 0.029 0.022 0.021
75 0.119 0.09 1.33 0.007 0.008 0.05 0.27 2.65 0.89 0.060 0.024 —
80 0.155 0.25 1.32 0.008 0.007 0.02 0.08 2.43 1.07 0.010 0.008 —
81 0.129 0.37 1.20 0.005 0.012 0.02 0.01 2.20 1.04 0.007 0.004 —
90 0.104 0.19 0.90 0.013 0.010 0.07 0.09 2.63 0.99 0.031 0.032 —
91 0.151 0.33 1.23 0.008 0.008 0.01 0.24 2.66 1.09 0.041 0.006 —
92 0.140 0.34 1.14 0.012 0.007 0.05 0.01 2.46 0.97 0.023 0.003 —
93 0.142 0.24 1.19 0.012 0.011 0.09 0.02 2.51 0.94 0.045 0.009 —
100 0.111 0.29 1.07 0.010 0.007 0.09 0.10 2.50 0.97 0.035 0.004

Table 2 - - Chemical Composition of Test Flux, wt - -
Grain
Desig. size Si02
MnO
mesh
YF-15 20 x D 42 20
ature. Therefore, electroslag welded
joints p r o d u c e d with conventional
materials are not enough for heavy
section uses. New welding materials
c a p a b l e of p r o d u c i n g e l e c t r o s l a g
welded joints having a tensile
strength 2 to 3 K g / m m 2 or 0.02 to 0.03
MPa (3000 to 4000 psi) stronger than
presently o b t a i n a b l e joints are
needed.
Although the toughness of electro-
slag welded joints p r o d u c e d with
conventional materials seems suf-
ficient for practical purposes, de-
crease in notch toughness of the weld
metal after e x t e n d e d o p e r a t i o n
around 450 C (842 F) should be c o n -
sidered. When the extensive use of
2V* Cr-1 M o steel (e.g., A 542C4
and A542C3) expected in the near
future is taken into consideration,
high toughness is also desirable for a
f . P . value as low as 19.0 to 20.0, and
improvements in welding materials
are also needed for these reasons.
% neutral flux YF-15 (see Table 2 for
MgO CaO Al203 CaF 2
4 17 3 13
Experimental Procedure
With a view to establishing reliable
electroslag welding technology for
A387Gr.22 (2'A Cr-1 Mo) heavy sec-
tion steel plate thicknesses of 150 to
250 m m (5.9 to 9.8 in.), it was aimed
to develop a welding material to
satisfy all the requirements for the
steel. Besides these requirements,
hot tensile strength over 45 K g / m m 2
or 44 MPa (64,000 psi) at 435 C (815
F) and vEo value over 10 kg-m (72 ft-
lb) are also requested after quenched
at a cooling rate [mean cooling rate
from 900 C (1650 F) to 400 C (750 F)]
over 15 C / m i n (27 F/min), and then
stress-relieved under conditions cor-
responding to a temper parameter by
Larson and Miller (T.P.) of 19.9 to
20.7 degrees Kelvin (35.8 to 37.3 de-
grees Rankin).
Experiments were conducted with
experimentally produced wires hav-
ing the compositions shown in Table
1 c o m b i n e d with a c o m m e r c i a l
c o m p o s i t i o n ) under the s t a n d a r d
welding conditions c o m m o n l y used in
actual fabrication. Test welds were
quenched and tempered after weld-
ing, and subjected to mechanical and
metallurgical tests.
In addition, weld specimens were
subjected to the G.E. step cooling
treatment, a widely used accelerated
embrittling treatment, and the c h e m -
ical composition of the weld metal
was s t u d i e d in c o n j u n c t i o n with
postweld heat treatment conditions to
find a way of reducing embrittlement
during the use of these pressure
vessels around 450 C (842 F) for ex-
tended periods.
Results and Discussion
Improvement of Weld Metal Strength
Because the weld metal of electro-
slag welced joints is primarily evalu-
ated by its properties after q u e n c h -
ing or normalizing and tempering or
s t r e s s r e l i e v i n g t r e a t m e n t s , its
strength can be improved by an
a p p r o p r i a t e i m p r o v e m e n t of t h e
hardenability of the weld metal and
p r o p e r utilization of p r e c i p i t a t i o n
h a r d e n i n g t h r o u g h t e m p e r i n g or
stress relieving treatments.

390-S I D E C E M B E R 1976
 The hardenability of weld metal can precipitate coherently within the fer- they do not grow into coarse carbide
be effectively improved by increas- rite matrix. However, coherent grains.
ing its carbon and manganese con- precipitation of titanium carbide has Figure 2 shows the relation be-
tents. As shown in Fig. 1, the strength not yet been reported. These fine co- tween the tensile strength of electro-
of the weld metal of 2V* Cr-1 Mo steel herent precipitation carbides pro- slag weld metals and variations in V
was found to increase when its car- duced during the tempering process or Ti content. As can be seen, an in-
bon content was increased. It was of quenched martensite are ex- crease of 3 to 4 Kg/mm 2 or 0.028 to
concluded that as long as toughness pected to contribute substantially to 0.041 MPa (4000 to 6000 psi) in ten-
did not deteriorate excessively, the the improvement in strength, unless sile strength was achieved by adding
carbon content should be increased
up to approximately 0.14%. Man-
ganese was also found to contribute
to improve strength up to 1.0%; how-
ever, a further increase was not only
ineffective, but also caused a sub-
stantial reduction in toughness. A Table 3 — Comparison of Toughness Among Weld Metals of Various Compositions
noteworthy aspect of the effect of the (0.25Si - 0.8Mn type)
manganese content is that an in-
crease in the content from 0.65% to
Minor alloying content
0.75% resulted in an improvement in
toughness. This is considered to indi-
cate that there is a certain optimum Stress relief
manganese content at which the weld condition in
temper Less than 0.015Ti-
metal becomes its toughest, so that in parameter, 0.01V 0.015Ti- 0.020V- 0.02Ti-
order to secure maximum toughness °K(°R) (0.95Mn) 0.015V 0.03V 0.010V 0.010Nb 0.03V
in such a weld metal, the addition of
an optimum amount of manganese is Average absorbed energy in CVN tests, kg-m (ft-lb)
necessary.
19.0(34.2) — 16.5(119.2) — 3.8(27.5) 4.3(31.1) 1.7(12.3)
Carbide producing elements such
19.8(35.6) 18.3(132.2) 19.2(138.7)
as V, Nb and Ti are said to be effec- 20.7(37.3) 16.5(119.2) 20.3(146.7) 4.8(34.7) 6.1 (44.1)
tive in increasing the precipitation 20.9(37.6) 16.5(119.2) 21.7(156.8) 6.4(46.3)
hardenability of the weld metal.
According to Tanino (Ref. 3), NaCI
type carbides such as V4C3 and NbC {a) Average values of three test specimens.

(ft-lbs)
(kg-m)

19.0 19.5 20.0 205 21.0 in Kelvin

(34.2) (35.1) (36.0) (36 9) (37.8) ( | n Rankm)
Temper Parameter
Fig. 1 — Effects of carbon and manganese contents on tensile strength and toughness of 2VA Cr-1 Mo weld metals (0.25Si-
0.015V-0.01Nb type by No. 20-24 filler metals)

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 391-S

 mm" (ksi)
80- Cooling Rate at Ouencung: - 13 C mm
(900-400C)'
-110 (35.8m c R) (37.3in'R)
19.9 20.7
Pratical Range of P W H T -

-100
70-

oc

-90 0.12C-0.25S.-0.8Mn type

O 0 02 V

t 60- •Less than 0.01 V ( 0 95M

00
_o

-X 0.01V - 0 . 0 1 5 T
o
I-

~L
19 0 19.5 20.0 21 0 in Keh •
.34.2) (35.1) v36.0') •..36.9 : ( 3 7 . 8 ) ( m Rank.n;
Temper Parameter
Fig. 2 — Influences of V and Ti on tensile strength of 2'A Cr-1 Mo weld metals (0.12C-0.25Si-0.8Mn rype by No. 10, 80, 81,
100 and 30 filler metals)

(kj-m) ft-lbs) (k,.™f)

o -150 O (ksi) T P.'. 20 65(37.17in R)
o 20- O o
o Ton Ic Stronnth
O
o o
-100
o
10- o
50
TYPICAL 0 Si MM P S CM Cr Mn V
WELD 0 12 0 25 0.84 0.007 0 005 0 06 2.43 0.96 0.027
C0MP.( '-.)

I krj mm'
80-

200 400 600

Tost T e m p e r a t u r e
a ) Hot Tensile P r o p e r t i e s
mr ksi '
T.P. = 2l.O
ASTMA387Gr 22 (37.8m - R)
L I bu 70 o — o
o -
50 30
-70
oat 460C ( 8 4 0 ' F )
1
19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 in kelvin • ai 500C (930" F)
(35.1) (36.0) (36.9) (37.8)(m Rankin) I0'- 10' to :
Temper Parameter Rupture Time (hours)
b) Creep Rupture Properties
Fig. 3 — Tensile strength and toughness of the newly developed
0.85Mn-0.02V type weld metal, depending on the temper param- Fig. 4 — Hot tensile and creep rupture properties of the newly
eter (No. 100 filler metal) developed weld metal (No. 100 filler metal)

392-s I D E C E M B E R 1976
a small amount of these elements.
The strength was substantially i m -
proved still further when V, Nb, and Ti
were added together.
A noteworthy point in this regard
was that the toughness of the weld
metal differed substantially, d e p e n d -
ing on the added elements. Weld
metals containing Ti with or without V
and Nb were comparatively low in
toughness as shown in Table 3. On
the other hand, weld metal to which
only vanadium was added exhibited
favorable impact values vEo over 10
kg-m (72 ft-lb) for a wide range of T.P.
From the above results, it was c o n -
cluded that when the heavy section
weld metal contained as much car-
bon as the base metal (up to approx.
0.14%), as m u c h as 0.85% Mn, and
around 0.02% V, its strength and
toughness could be satisfactorily i m -
proved.
Figure 3 shows the tensile strength
at room temperature and the ab-
sorbed energy at 0 C in CVN tests of
the weld metal obtained using the
newly developed filler metal as plot-
ted against T.P. With the practically
e m p l o y e d heat t r e a t m e n t r a n g e
shown somewhat extended towards
high T.P. for safety, the weld metal is
seen to satisfy ASTM specifications.
The impact value is seen to lie above
10 kg-m (72 ft-lb) for a wide range of
T.P.
Figure 4 is a plot of the hot tensile
and creep rupture properties. High
pressure vessels for the heavy oil d i -
rect d e s u l f u r i z a t i o n p r o c e s s are
normally designed based on hot t e n -
sile s t r e n g t h , and m i n i m u m limit
values are specified in A S M E Stan-
dards. However, values somewhat
lower than these have been adopted
because these values are difficult to
guarantee in practice. The value of 45 e x p l a i n e d as r e s u l t i n g f r o m i n -
K g / m m 2 or 44 MPa (64,000 psi) is creased transfer of silicon from the
generally accepted as the design hot flux and increased loss of c h r o m i u m
tensile strength at 435 C (815 F), and in the welding wire both caused by
the newly developed welding filler the increased slag pool size. It should
metal is seen to amply satisfy this re- be noted that, in weld metal B, the
quirement. oxygen c o n t e n t was s i g n i f i c a n t l y
higher than in weld metal A. This may
Influence of Welding Procedure be interpreted as an oxygen enrich-
On Mechanical Properties ment p h e n o m e n o n caused by an in-
crease of weld heat input, such as
As is well known, in electroslag
that of the SES welding process (Ref.
welding the fusion of base metal be-
4).
comes excessive when welding volt-
The results of tensile tests at room
age is raised above an o p t i m u m level.
To clarify the influence of the welding
conditions on the mechanical p r o p -
erties of the weld metal, specimens
were welded under the two sets of
welding conditions shown in Table 4,
and two weld metals with 38 and 64%
base metal dilution ratios were o b -
tained. The cross sections of weld
metals are shown in Fig. 5 and their
chemical compositions are shown in
Table 5.
The weld metal under condition B
had higher silicon content and lower Fig. 5 — Cross sections of weld metals
c h r o m i u m c o n t e n t than the w e l d with different penetrations: a — 38%, dilu-
metal under condition A. This can be tion ratio; b — 64%, dilution ratio
Table 4 — Welding Conditions'3'
Upward Distance
Base metal welding between Weaving Dilution
Sym- thickness, No. of Current, Voltage, speed, electrodes, width, ratio,
bol mm electrodes A V mm/min mm mm %
480 42 11.5 55 45 38
-500 -43
150
550 54 17.5 55 10 64
-560 -56
(a) 1 in. = 25.4 mm

Table 5 — Chemical Compositions of Weld Metals and Test Materials, wt - %

Sampling
Symbol position Si Mn Cu Ni Cr Mo Nb

Plate
surface 0.140 0.22 0.88 0.009 0.008 0.03 0.03 2.42 1.02 0.031 <0.005 0.0087 0.0083
A
Mid.
thickness 0.138 0.22 0.88 0.009 0.008 0.04 0.04 2.43 1.02 0.033 <0.005 0.0089 0.0085
Plate
surface
0.136 0.29 0.86 0.010 0.012 0.02 0.04 2.29 1.01 0.025 <0.005 0.0088 0.0145
Mid.
thickness
Base metal' ' 0.139 0.28 0.83 0.010 0.012 0.02 0.04 2.32 1.01 0.029 <0.005 0.0087 0.0133
(150mm
thick.)
Welding wire (a) 0.121 0.25 0.56 0.010 0.006 0.02 0.04 2.45 1.01 0.010 <0.005 — —
(3.2 mm
diam.) 0.155 0.25 1.30 0.007 0.009 2.43 1.07 0.042

(a) 1 in. = 25.4 mm

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 393-s

temperature and elevated temper-
ature given in Table 6 show that the
tensile strength at r o o m temperature
a n d h i g h t e m p e r a t u r e was not
appreciably influenced by the dilu-
tion ratio nor by the original position
of the specimens in the thickness
direction of the plates. On the other
hand, as shown in Fig. 6, while the i m -
pact value varied little at a dilution
ratio of 38%, toughness deteriorated
considerably and the impact value
also changed greatly for a dilution
ratio of 64%. This m a r k e d decrease
in toughness accompanying an in-
c r e a s e in the d i l u t i o n ratio was
thought to be primarily caused by an
increase in the oxygen content.
From the above, it was evident that
the impact value remained within the
range normally considered satisfac-
tory for heavy s e c t i o n p r e s s u r e
vessels (vE 10 or vE 20 _> 4.8 kg-m)
when the dilution ratio was main-
tained within a deviation of ± 1 0 to
20% f r o m the value (40 to 50%) cor-
responding to the standard welding
conditions. On the other hand, to
secure a high toughness value and to
prevent acceleration of thermal e m -
brittlement caused by increased sili-
con content during operation as de-
scribed later, dilution by the base
metal had to be kept at the lowest
possible level. The macrostructure
and microstructure of the weld metal
under standard welding conditions
are shown in Fig. 7.
Influence of Postweld Heat
Treatment Conditions
In f a b r i c a t i n g p r e s s u r e vessels
from heavy section steel plates, the
plates are quenched (normalized)
and t e m p e r e d either after the hot
bending process of the steel plates or
after t h e i r e l e c t r o s l a g w e l d i n g .
Quench cooling rate has a consider-
able effect on the toughness of the
plates, and toughness is substantial-
ly reduced in 21/4 Cr-1 Mo plates,
when the cooling rate between 900 C
(1650 F) and 400 C (750 F) is lower
than 10 C / m i n (18 F/min).
Although no report has been p u b -
lished on this subject for electroslag
weld metals, quenching experiments
have been performed with weld metal
specimens made with the newly de-
veloped welding material at various
cooling rates. Results showed that,
while the vEo value remained rela-
tively u n c h a n g e d , the f r a c t u r e
appearance transition temperature
(FATT or vTrs) gradually increased as
the cooling rate of quenching was de-
creased as shown in Table 7. How-
ever, toughness was still in the satis-
factory range for practical purposes

Tables 6 — Influence of Dilution Ratio on Tensile Strength of Weld Metals

Normal tensile test Hot tensile test (a)

Original location
(b)
of specimens 0.2% Y.S.V U.T.S.(b) 0.2% Y.S.(b) U.T.S.(b)
Dilution Heat Temper (depth from rj02, kg/mm 2 ,, kg/mm
2
Elong. R.A. a02, kg/mm 2 rrB, kg/mm 2 Elong. R.A (b)
ratio treatment parameter surface) (ksi; (ksi) <W<T B (%) (%) (ksi) (ksi) (%) (%)

930 CX4h 68.2 0.81 25 72 46.1 54.9

10 m/m 55.5 17 68
(A.C.) (78.9) (97.0) (65.6) (78.1)
(5.5 C/min) 32 55.9 68.3 0.82 25 65 47.5 55.9 16 68
665 CX7h 19.98 (79.5) (97.1) (67.6) (79.5)
(A.C.) 53 56.2 68.5 0.82 25 71 46.4 55.2 17 68
685 CX6h (79.9) (97.4) (66.0) (78.5)
(50 C/H) 75 46.7 54.9 16 68
(66.4) (78.1)
930 CX4h
38%
(A.C.) 57.9 0.73 30 74 35.0 46.4
10 42.0 19 69
(5.5 C/min) (59.7) (82.4) (49.8) (66.0)
665 CX7h 0.74 29 73 35.7 46.6
32 42.8 58.2 69
(A.C.) (50.8) (66.3)
(60.9) (82.8)
720 CX19h 0.74 29 73 35.2 46.4
21.13 53 42.9 58.2 20 66
(50/H) (50.1) (66.0)
(61.0) (82.8)
75 35.7 47.1 19 60
(50.8) (67.0)
10 56.6 68.6 0.83 24 70 45.8 54.2 16 66
(80.5) (97.6) (65.1) (77.1)
32 56.6 68.6 0.83 23 70 46.3 54.6 15 68
Same as 1 19.98 (80.5) (97.6) (65.9) (77.7)
53 56.3 68.2 0.83 24 71 46.2 54.0 16 69
(80.1) (97.0) (65.7) (76.8)
75 46.3 54.4 16 67
64% (65.9) (77.4)
10 42.6 57.6 0.74 29 73 34.7 45.3 21 70
(60.6) (81.9) (49.4) (64.4)
32 42.4 57.5 0.74 29 70 35.0 46.0 19 70
Same as 2 21.13 (60.3) (81.8) (49.8) (65.4)
53 42.0 57.2 0.73 30 74 34.7 45.5 19 70
(59.7) (81.4) (49.4) (64.7)
75 35.1 45.4 19 71
(49.9) (64.6)
_>31.5 52.7 <0.83 >18 >45 2.29.0 _>45 >15 >50
-70.3
Typical requirements (>44.8) (75.0-100.0) (>41.2) (>64.0)

(a) Test temperature: 435 C diam of specimen; 10 mm , G.L. - 50mm

(b) Y.S. — yield strength; U.T.S. — ultimate tensile strength; R.A. — reduction in area; ksi x 1000 = psi

394-s I D E C E M B E R 1976
w h e n the c o o l i n g rate w a s r e d u c e d to ing to the d i a g r a m , to s e c u r e a tensile o r 55 M P a ( 8 0 , 0 0 0 p s i ) o r g r e a t e r is
a r o u n d 9 C / m i n (16 F/min). The s t r e n g t h a b o v e 45 K g / m m 2 or 44 M P a o b t a i n e d at r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e .
s t r e n g t h of t h e w e l d m e t a l w a s a l s o a t 4 3 5 C ( 6 4 , 0 0 0 p s i a t 8 1 5 F). t h e T h e r e q u i r e d s t r e n g t h f o r 21A C r - 1
satisfactory, showing stable values c o m p o s i t i o n of the w e l d m u s t be s u c h M o steel plates to k e e p the hot t e n -
for c o o l i n g rates a b o v e 9 C / m i n (16 t h a t a t e n s i l e s t r e n g t h of 5 6 K g / m m 2 s i l e s t r e n g t h is a r o u n d 5 4 K g / m m 2 o r
F/min).
A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r in p o s t -
w e l d h e a t t r e a t m e n t is t h e c o o l i n g Table 7 — Effects of Quench Cooling Rate on Toughness of 2 1 ACr-1Mo Weld Metals
r a t e in t h e s t r e s s r e l i e v i n g p r o c e s s . (0.8Mn-0.01V type)
B e c a u s e this w a s f o u n d to have a
significant relation to thermal e m -
Mean cooling rate v E o ( v E a t 3 2 F) vTrs
brittlement characteristics during the
(900 - 400 C or 1650 - 750 F)
o p e r a t i o n of p r e s s u r e v e s s e l s m a d e
o f 21/4 C r - 1 M o s t e e l , a d e s c r i p t i o n is 9 C/min (16 F / m i n ) 18.0 k g - m (130 ft-lb) - 2 5 C ( - 1 3 F)
given later in r e l a t i o n t o em- 14 (25) 17.5 (127) -30 (-22)
brittlement. 17 (31) 18.5 (134) -35 (-31)

Influence of Alloying Elements

On Weld Metal Strength
(krj-m (ft-lbs) Dilution by Base Metal
To enable electroslag welding pro- 38? 0
c e s s e s t o b e a p p l i e d t o 21/4 C r - 1 M o o T P.: 19.98
steels with strength higher than that 160 64% (35.96in'R)
of A 3 8 7 G r . 2 2 , s u c h a s A 5 4 2 C 4 , C 3 o r
-x-
S 20
C 1 , t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n r a t e of e a c h
a l l o y i n g e l e m e n t t o t h e s t r e n g t h of t h e p
w e l d metal m u s t be k n o w n so that a o 120
proper composition may be de-
signed for a given strength re-
quirement. Weld metal specimens
w e r e m a d e f r o m t h e 18 t y p e s of w e l d -
UJ -80
ing wires e x p e r i m e n t a l l y produced - 10
e x c e p t f o r T i - b e a r i n g w i r e s in T a b l e 1 .
These were heat treated under c o n -
s t a n t c o n d i t i o n s ( T . P . = 2 0 . 9 in d e -
grees Kelvin), and the tensile < •40
s t r e n g t h w a s e x p r e s s e d in a f o r m u l a
in w h i c h t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n of e a c h e l e - : Rate at Normalizing -5.5 C min
ment was added using the multire- 2 3 (m!
I
gression analysis m e t h o d . The results
20 40 60 80(mm)
a r e s h o w n in F i g . 8 w h e r e t h e d e v i -
a t i o n r a n g e s of a l l o y i n g elements D i s t a n c e from the S u r f a c e of Plate
w e r e as f o l l o w s : C — 0 . 1 0 t o 0 . 1 6 % ; S i
Fig. 6 — Change of the absorbed energy of weld metal in CVN tests by orig-
— 0.11 t o 0 . 2 8 % ; M n — 0 . 6 3 t o 1 . 1 5 % ;
inal location of specimens. (Notched at the middle of weld by No. 80 filler
Cr — 2.25 to 2.46%; V — 0.005 t o metal)
0.034%; Nb — 0.002 to 0.015%.
i -
A l t h o u g h t h e i n f l u e n c e s of s u c h -
e l e m e n t s as m o l y b d e n u m w e r e a l s o
obviously important and required
c l a r i f i c a t i o n , t h e e x t e n t of t h e i r
c o n t r i b u t i o n o n t h e p r o p e r t i e s of t h e i — i

weld metal w a s not clarified since b • 25/u

t h e i r d e v i a t i o n s w e r e s m a l l in t h e
s p e c i m e n s e m p l o y e d in t h e e x p e r i -
ments. '.
The strength evaluation formula
g i v e n in F i g . 8 d o e s n o t h a v e a s a t i s -
factorily high multiple correlation
c o e f f i c i e n t , a n d it r e q u i r e s f u r t h e r
refinement through the incorpora- c 25/A
t i o n of m o r e d a t a .
H i g h t e m p e r a t u r e s t r e n g t h is a m a -
j o r c r i t e r i o n in t h e d e s i g n of p r e s s u r e
v e s s e l s a n d is g u a r a n t e e d b y t e s t i n g
actual weld metal s p e c i m e n s . With
21/4 C r - 1 M o s t e e l s , a h i g h d e g r e e o f
c o r r e l a t i o n is o b s e r v e d b e t w e e n t e n -
s i l e s t r e n g t h a t 4 3 5 C ( 8 1 5 F) a n d t e n - 6 : 25^
s i l e s t r e n g t h at r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e . A
similar correlation experimentally o b - Fig. 7 — Macro- and microstructures of weld metal deposited under standard welding
t a i n e d for e l e c t r o s l a g w e l d m e t a l s of conditions: a — macrostructure; b — near surface; c — one-quarter of thickness from sur-
t h e s t e e l is p l o t t e d in F i g . 9. A c c o r d - face; d — at one-half the thickness

WELDING RESEARCH S U P P L E M E N T ! 395-s

 530 MPa (77,000 psi) at room temper-
ature, a value slightly lower than that
for weld metal. This would serve to
show the difficulty of guaranteeing
high temperature strength for weld
metals.
Thermal Embrittlement of
Weld Metal
Changes in toughness of various
high temperature pressure vessels
after extended operation has been
investigated, and a deterioration of
t o u g h n e s s — especially in w e l d
metals — has been attracting atten-
tion (Ref. 5).
{ ki) mm1) (ksi)
84
= 1741C + 0 6 4 S . + 0 t l M n + O O T C ' + 2 5 0 V + 1 5 4 V
Mull
0 45
C + 064Si-r-0.11Mn + 0.03Cr + 2.50V-f- 15.4ND {%)
Fig. 8 — Influences of alloying elements on tensile strength of weld metal
With 21/4 Cr-1 Mo steels, this type o':
loss of toughness has also been o b -
served at a temperature range be-
tween 400 and 450 C (750 and 840 F)
c o r r e s p o n d i n g to t h e o p e r a t i n g
temperature range of the heavy oil di-
rect d e s u l f u r i z a t i o n p r o c e s s . Al-
t h o u g h the e m b r i t t l e m e n t p h e n o -
menon is generally regarded as a
type of temper embrittlement by most
researchers, there are some features
that made it difficult to be regarded
simply as temper embrittlement. It is,
therefore, referred to as embrittle-
ment during high temperature oper-
ation (or simply, thermal embrittle-
T P =209(376'
- 164
Correlation Coefficient R = 0 8 7 0
0 50 0 55 0 60
ment) in this paper.
An accelerated embrittling techni-
que (Ref. 6) proposed by A. E. Powers
of the General Electric (popularly re-
ferred to as the G.E. Step Cooling
treatment) is generally employed as a
method of experimentally producing
the embrittlement in a comparatively
short time. A step cooling cycle c o m -
prising 593 C (1100 F) for 1 h, 538 C
(1000 Fl for 15 h, 524 C (975 F) for 24
h, 496 C (925 F) for 60 h, 468 C
(875 F) for 125 h, and 316 C (600 F)
air cooling, was adopted in the pres-
ent series of experiments.
The p r o p e n s i t y to e m b r i t t l e is
usually measured in terms of the shift
in the FATT observed in CVN tests,
AFATT or AvTrs. The value is thought
to have little physical meaning be-
cause the fracture mechanism is dif-
ferent between the metal before and
after the embrittling treatment. S i m -
ple cleavage brittle fracture prevails
before the treatment, but grain b o u n -
dary brittleness is also involved after
the treatment. Therefore, the ab-
solute values of toughness after e m -
brittling treatment were considered to
be more important theoretically, as
well as for practical purposes.
The FATT (vTrs) after the embrittl-
ing treatment (as well as the value
R)
given by the following formula that
may be called thermal embrittlement
parameter (TEP) proposed by the
Gulf) was employed in addition to
.AFATT (AvTrs) for evaluating e m -
brittlement:
vTr 40 (SR) + 1.5 (vTr 40 (GESC)
- v T r 4 0 (SR))
where vTr 40 (SR) is transition temper-
ature for 40 ft-lb (5.5 kg-m) before

( k , mrrr) (ksi)
( c »( V )
70- -too 50-
Si + M n - I 2
o

o /
U.
" Correlation Cocflioionl 0.990
o JJ
Regression Coefficient 0 793
P 60-
m
CO O H i g h Si Type
5 -80
c
A L o w Si Type Si + M n = 1 . 0
CT
C
0)
CO .A-
DQS O
o 50-
-70 JJcT o <
o rr n (n • = 0 793rJ,.,< i, + 0 4 2
c jy o u.
f-
'—A- Si+Mn=09
CT5°TO

-60 C.
.A- Si + M n = 10
40H
I ASTM A 3870r 22 I 0-0

70
!
80; 90 IOO 110 (ksi) _l_ _1_ _L
562 60 80 (k»" 7 8 9 10 II 12 13
Tensile Strength at Room Temperature 10P + 5 S l ) + 4 S n + A s
Bruscato's Embrittlement Factor.;< = (i).p.m.)
Fig. 9 — Correlation between tensile strength of weld metals
at room temperature and at 435 C (815 F) Fig. 10 — Influences of impurity elements on thermal embrittlement

396-s I D E C E M B E R 1976
 5 Cc) CF)
v. Criterion
e 40- ---3910 (100V)
O T.P ~21.0C37.8iri R
• T P =20 0(36 0m"R)
E •
05 I -
£ .i-40
01
Silicon Content in Weld Metals(%)
(C)FFT
60-
O T P =21 0(37 8m'R)
• T.P =20 0(36.0in"R)
0 1
Silicon Content' in Wold Metals(%)
Fig. 11 — Effects of silicon on thermal embrittlement. The upper
is rating by the TEP; the lower is rating by AFATT
the embrittling treatment (SR c o n d i -
tion) in CVN tests. vTr 40 (GESC) is
transition temperature for 40 ft-lb af-
ter the G.E. Step Cooling treatment.
According to Bruscato (Ref. 7), the
thermal embrittlement of 2V* Cr-1 M o
weld metal produced by covered
electrodes was influenced not only by
the total amount of silicon and m a n -
ganese in the weld metal, but also by
the total content of the four elements
as expressed by X = (10P + 5Sb +
4Sn + A s ) / 1 0 0 (ppm). The relation-
ships between the X values and the
t h e r m a l e m b r i t t l e m e n t ratings of
electroslag weld metals are shown in
Fig. 10. The increment of FATT after
GESC is seen to increase somewhat
with an increase of X value in the
figure but the degree is not much.
Welding materials i n d u s t r i a l l y p r o -
duced today have X values around
10, so that making an effort to re-
duce impurities such as P, Sb, S n ,
and As further for the purpose of
reducing the embrittlement may be
s a i d t o b e of l i t t l e practical
significance.
As to the effects of silicon and
manganese on the embrittlement of
weld metal, there is agreement that a
smaller amount of these elements
4f Criterion
• • 3 8 t (100T)
02
06 0.8 1.0
Manganese Content in Weld Metals(%)
CC> ( T )
1 • n)
//
-160
80 • TP.7 200(36.0in"R)//
-120 y /
60
<
l±-
-80
4 S L
" '» X
40
20
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
02 06 0.8 1.0
Manganese Content in Wold Metals(%)
Fig. 12 — Effects of manganese on thermal embrittlement. The
upper is rating by the TEP; the lower is rating by AFATT
results in smaller e m b r i t t l e m e n t . ITFT
E x p e r i m e n t s in this r e g a r d c o n - 160
ducted with electroslag weld metal 0 12C-025Si-075Vln
-001V TypeOC^
showed that both the AFATT and the
TEP increased nearly in proportion to
the silicon content as in Fig. 11.
As to manganese, as shown in Fig.
12, it was discovered for the first time
that there was a certain o p t i m u m
value at which thermal embrittlement
was m o s t r e d u c e d . A l t h o u g h the
cause for this has not been clarified,
similar o p t i m u m contents are also
confirmed in weld metals produced
by other processes (such as shielded
metal arc welding). The o p t i m u m
manganese content (0.7 to 0.85%)
that resulted in the smallest thermal
embrittlement nearly coincided with
the o p t i m u m content for keeping the
high tensile strength. Copper Content in Weld Metals (%
A m o n g other alloying elements
Fig. 13 — Influence of copper content on
and impurity elements having an ef- thermal embrittlement susceptibility
fect on thermal embrittlement of weld
metals, copper is particularly impor-
tant. Although the element has not ing the c o p p e r c o n t e n t was not
been noticed for its influence so far, it advantageous in guaranteeing hot
was discovered that, as shown in Fig. tensile strength. However, when its
13, a reduction in the copper content negative effect on thermal embrittle-
resulted in a substantial reduction in ment is taken into consideration, c o p -
thermal embrittlement. Up to now, per should be reduced and other ele-
general opinion has been that reduc- ments such as C and V should be util-
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 397-s
ized to achieve a guaranteeable high
temperature strength.
Studies on the influence of C, Cr,
Mo, and V on the thermal embrittle-
ment of weld metal revealed that
these elements had no appreciable
effect within the content ranges of
0.08 to 0.16% for C, 2.25 to 2.55% for
Cr, 0.93 to 1.07% for Mo, and 0.005 to
0.037% for V.
Various embrittlement mechan-
isms, such as equilibrium segrega-
tion (Ref. 8), nonequilibrium segre-
gation (Ref. 9), and carbide rejection
theories (Ref. 10), have been offered
to explain the phenomenon involved,
but at present, none are able to c o m -
prehensively explain the observed
phenomena. Apart from embrittle-
ment mechanism considerations, the
fracture surfaces were observed and
segregation of elements around the
fracture surfaces was studied.
Some intergranular fractures were
observed in high manganese type
weld metals (1.15% Mn) in SR c o n d i -
tions as shown in Fig. 14. After the
GESC treatment, however, the inter-
granular fracture extended over the
entire s u r f a c e . The c o n c e n t r a t i o n
distribution of the major elements on
the fracture surface was studied in
the surface layer of 50 to 100 A thick-
ness by means of an ion microanaly-
zer (IMA). Typical results are shown
in Fig. 15. The b o m b a r d i n g time is
nearly proportional to the distance
from the surface in the depth direc-
tion in the IMA measurement, but no
exact depth can be obtained. While
elements such as Si, V, Cr, and Mn
were found to decrease towards the
surface, copper alone was found to
increase through this measurement.
This observation was thought to
have some relation with the accelerat-
ing effect of copper in thermal e m -
brittlement as shown in Fig. 13. How-
ever, further study is needed for a
more exact clarification.
The fractured surfaces of the new-
ly developed Mn-V type weld metal
are shown in Fig. 16. The surface in
SR conditions exhibits a quasi-cleav-
age and after the GESC treatment it
changes into a mixture of quasi-
cleavage and i n t e r g r a n u l a r f r a c -
tures. In a weld metal in which silicon
content was reduced to an extreme
degree with a sacrifice in strength, the
fractured surface was mostly quasi-
cleavage even after the GESC treat-
ment as shown in Fig. 17, and ther-
mal embrittlement was reduced to a
great extent.
Discussion here has centered on
the influences of alloying elements
and impurity elements on thermal
e m b r i t t l e m e n t . It w a s , h o w e v e r ,
further observed in the experiments
that when the cooling rate in SR treat-
ment was increased, not only the
toughness of as-stress-relieved weld
metal, but also its toughness after the
GESC :reatment was improved, as
shown in Fig. 18. The improvement in
toughness after SR treatment can be
explained by the shorter time during
which the metal goes through the e m -
brittling temperature range resulting
from quicker cooling. However, the
fact tha* toughness is improved even
after GESC treatment is impossible to
explain at the present level of knowl-
edge. This observation is very i m -
portant for practical purposes. In or-
der to improve the thermal embrittle-
ment tendency of pressure vessels,
manufacturers of pressure vessels

Condition of Measurement ;Prtmary Ion :0L> ,Dia of Ion Bcam:500/;

02
Effective Voltage: 15KV—3KV, Current in Specimen: 10nA
nbont50- 100A from Surface
Cu

-as SR after G.E. stop coolmp,

,after G.E Step Cooling

11 j ^ r t r f r W ^ w W ^
^Mry^rW*4r^>\^>l»J^*^^ V^N^-V

.A-;si»
1 2 3
Fig. 14 — Scanning electron micro- Bombarding Time ( m m )
graphs of fractures in high Mn type weld
metal: a — as SR conditions; b — after SR Fig. 15 — Results of IMA measurement of fractures of weld metal before and
and GESC treatment after GESC treatment. (No. 23 filler metal)

398-s I D E C E M B E R 1976
must give careful consideration to the
cooling speed of the pressure vessels
in the furnace during stress relief
treatment.
Conclusions
A new electroslag welding filler
metal was developed for heavy sec-
tion pressure vessels of 21/< Cr-1 Mo
steels and reliable electroslag weld-
ing technology was established. The
main conclusions are as follows:
1. W e l d metal c o m p o s i t i o n s of
0.85% Mn - 0.02% V type showed hot
tensile strength over 45 K g / m m 2 or 44
MPa (64,000 psi) at 435 C (815 F)
and absorbed energy over 10 kg-m
(72 ft-lb) at 0 C (32 F) in Charpy V-
notch impact tests, together with
satisfaction of requirements for A387
Gr. 22, after quenched and stress re-
lieved conditions corresponding to a
temper parameter by Larson and
Miller of 19.9 to 20.7 in degrees Kel-
vin (35.8 to 37.3 in degrees Rankin).
The weld metal was obtained with a
1.20% Mn - 0.035% V type filler metal
and a neutral flux of S i 0 2 - C a O - M n O -
CaF 2 type.
2. The quality of weld metal was
maintained even at a slow quenching
rate of 9 C / m i n (16 F/min) and also
at variation in penetration in base
Fig. 16 — Scanning electron micrographs
of fractures in newly developed Mn- V type
weld metal: a — as SR conditions; b — af-
ter SR and GESC treatment
metals during welding.
3. Copper was a detrimental ele-
ment to the thermal embrittlement of
weld metals, confirmed by means of
the G.E. Step Cooling treatment. The
content should be kept less than
0.10% in weld metals. There was an
o p t i m u m content of manganese to re-
d u c e the e m b r i t t l e m e n t . and the
amount of 0.7 to 0.85% nearly coin-
cided with the o p t i m u m content for
keeping the high tensile strength
without loss of the toughness.
4. It was important to make cool-
ing after holding at stress relief heat
treatments as fast as possible for the
prevention of thermal embrittlement
since loss of the toughness to slow
cooling still remained after the step
cooling treatment.
5. It was possible to estimate a hot
tensile strength at 435 C (815 F) fair-
ly accurately with a linear relation to
tensile strength at room temperature
(Fig. 9).
6. An experimental formula was
p r o p o s e d to estimate a tensile
strength of weld metal with its c h e m -
ical compositions (Fig. 8).
This technology has been actually
employed with considerable success
in the fabrication of reactor vessels of
heavy oil direct desulfurization plants
in Japan. Further application to other
Fig. 17 — Scanning electron micrographs
of fractures in extra low Si type weld
metal: a — as SR conditions; b — after SR
and GESC treatment
WELDING
types of C r - M o steels is being c o n -
sidered.
References
1. Miyano, K. et al, "Electroslag weld-
ing materials of 2'A Cr-1 Mo steels," The
44th Welding Metallurgy Res. Commis-
sion, 1 to 21, (1971) (in Japanese).
2. Ishikawazima-Harima Heavy Indus-
try's Res. Labo., "Welding tests of heavy
section 21A Cr-1 Mo steels" IHI Tech. Re-
port, Vol. 12, No. 3, 259 to 268, (1972) (in
Japanese).
3. Tanino, M., "Crystalline structures
and precipitation features of carbides in
steels," Bulletin of the Japan Inst. Metals,
Vol. 11, No. 3, 203 to 220, (1972) (in
Japanese).
4. Morigaki, O. et al, "A study of tough-
nesses of weld metals by consumable
guide electroslag welding process (SES
welding process)," Preprints of the Na-
tional Meeting of JWS, No. 16, 144 to 145,
(1975) (in Japanese).
5. Swift, R. A., "Temper Embrittlement
of Pressure Vessel Steels," Welding Jour-
nal, 52 (2), Feb. 1973, Research Suppl.,
57-s to 68-s.
6. Powes, A. E., "The influence of
molybdenum and tungsten on temper em-
brittlement," Trans. ASM, Vol. 48 (1956),
149 to 164.
7. Bruscato, R., "Temper Embrittle-
ment and Creep Embrittlement of 2% Cr-1
Mo Shielded Metal-Arc Weld Deposits,"
Welding Journal, 49 (4) April, 1970, Re-
search Suppl., 148-s to 156-s.
8. McLean, D., "Grain boundaries in
metals," Oxford Univ. Press., London
(1957).
9. Joshi, A., and Stein, D. F., "Temper
embrittlement of alloy steels," ASTMSTP
499 (1971).
10. Rellick, J. R., Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of
Pennsylvania (1973).
0 1 2 0 - 0 25Si--n85Mn -0025V r yi..
r P = 2 0 9 ( 3 7 6,ii n)
20 40
Cooling Rate at Stress Relief Heal Treatment
Fig. 18 — Influence of the SR cooling rate
on the toughness of weld metal in SR
conditions and after SR and GESC treat-
ment. (No. 100 filler metal)
RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 399-s