Low Heat Input Welding to Improve Impact Toughness of Multipass FCAW-S Weld Metal

Multipass self-shielded flux cored arc welding with different heat inputs (1.3–2.0 kJ/mm) was conducted to determine the effects of the heat input on the proportion of the reheated region, impact toughness, and diffusible hydrogen content in the weld metal. The reheated region showed twice the impact toughness of the as-deposited region because of its fine grained ferritic-pearlitic microstructure. With decreasing heat input, the proportion of the reheated region in the weld metal became higher, even if the depth of the region became shallower. Accordingly, the greatest impact toughness, 69 J at −40℃, was obtained for the lowest heat input welding, 1.3 kJ/mm. Irrespective of the heat input, little difference was observed in the hardness and diffusible hydrogen content in the weld metal. This result implies that low heat input welding with 1.3 kJ/mm can be performed to obtain a higher proportion of reheated region and thus greater impact toughness for the weld metal without the concern of hydrogen cracking.