Investigation on Mechanical Properties of 9%Cr/CrMoV Dissimilar Steels Welded Joint

Advanced 9%Cr steel with good heat resistance and CrMoV with good toughness were chosen as candidate materials to fabricate combined rotor for steam turbine operating at over 620 °C. But the great difference in base metals properties presents a challenge in achieving sound defect-free joint with optimal properties in dissimilar welded rotor. In this paper, appropriate selection of filler metal, welding parameters, and post-weld heat treatment was combined to successfully weld 1100-mm-diameter 9%Cr/CrMoV dissimilar experimental rotor through ultra-narrow gap submerge arc welding. Some properties such as hardness, low-cycle fatigue (LCF), and high-cycle fatigue (HCF) combined with microstructural characterization qualify the integrity of the weld. Microstructural analysis indicated the presence of high-temperature tempered martensite as the phase responsible for the improved properties obtained in the weld. The Coffin-Manson parameters were obtained by fitting the data in LCF test, while the conditional fatigue strength was derived from the HCF test based on S-N curve. Analysis of hardness profile showed that the lowest value occurred at heat-affected zone adjacent to base metal which represents the appropriate location of fracture for the samples after LCF and HCF tests.