Microstructural, mechanical and nondestructive characterization of X60 grade steel pipes welded by different processes

Abstract

In this paper, the welding quality of API 5L X60 steel pipes was investigated after the application of three different welding scenarios by applying submerged arc welding (SMAW), tungsten inert gas (TIG) and hybrid (TIG + SMAW) welding methods with an average heat input of ca. 1 kJ mm-1 for all passes. For this purpose, the ultrasonic and radiographic tests were done to detect possible discontinuities such as crack and porosity in the welding zones. In addition, the macro and microstructures of weld zones were made to examine different zones in terms of weld quality and phases. Moreover, the hardness, impact toughness and tensile tests were carried out to determine the mechanical properties of the weldments. The tensile strength of the pipe weldments was recorded to be similar to 603, 610 and 625 MPa after the welding of pipes by SMAW, TIG + SMAW and TIG welding, respectively. In addition, the impact toughness of the welds was obtained to be 48, 76 and 66 J, for these welding methods, successively. According to the experimental findings, all three welding plans were successfully applied to the steel pipes and found to be suitable regarding the relevant international standards.