Effect of Dynamic Reheating Induced by Weaving on the Microstructure of GTAW Weld Metal of 25% Cr Super Duplex Stainless Steel Weld Metal

The importance of the additional growth and/or transformation of the austenite phase that occurs in weld metals of super duplex stainless steel upon reheating is known. However, the effects have not been fully investigated, especially with respect to reheating induced by weaving during single-pass welding. In this work, bead-on-pipe gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was conducted on super duplex stainless steel to understand the effect of weaving on the microstructure of weld metal. Microstructural analysis, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and focused ion beam transmission electron microscopy (FIB-TEM) were carried out to investigate the relationship between weaving and microstructural change. The weaving of GTAW produced a dynamic reheated area just before the weld bead during welding. It was revealed that extensive reheated weld existed even after one welding pass, and that the content of the austenite phase in the reheated area was higher than that in the non-reheated area, indicating the existence of a large quantity of intragranular austenite phase. In addition, the Cr2N content in the reheated area was lower than that in the non-reheated area. This reduction of Cr2N was closely related to the reheating resulting from weaving. TEM analysis revealed that Cr2N in the non-reheated area was dispersed following heating and transformed to secondary austenite.