A Study of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Grade 91 Steel A-TIG Weld Joint

In the present study, A-TIG welding was carried out on grade 91 steel plates of size 220 × 110 × 10 mm using the in-house developed activated flux to produce butt-joints. The room-temperature impact toughness of the A-TIG as-welded joint was low due to the presence of untempered martensite matrix despite the low microinclusion density caused by activated flux and also low δ-ferrite (<0.5 %) content. Toughness after postweld heat treatment (PWHT) at 760 °C-2 h was 20 J as against the required value of 47 J as per the specification EN: 1557:1997. However, there was a significant improvement in impact toughness after PWHT at 760 °C for 3 h. The improvement in toughness was attributed to softening of martensite matrix caused by precipitation of carbides due to tempering reactions. The precipitates are of type M₂₃C₆, and they are observed at grain boundary as well as within the grains. The A-TIG-processed grade 91 steel weld joint was found to meet the toughness requirements after PWHT at 760 °C-3 h. Observations of fracture surfaces using SEM revealed that the as-welded joint failed by brittle fracture, whereas post-weld heat-treated weld joints failed by decohesive rupture mode.