Effect of Sulfur Contents and Welding Thermal Cycles on Reheat Cracking Susceptibility in Multi-pass Weld Metal of Fe-36%Ni Alloy

This study has been conducted to clarify the effect of sulfur content and welding thermal cycles on reheat cracking susceptibility in the multi-pass weld metal of Fe-36%Ni alloy. Reheat cracking occurred in the preceding weld pass reheated by subsequent passes. Microscopic observations showed that reheat cracking propagated along grain boundaries which resulted in intergranular brittle fractures. The region where reheat cracking occurred and the number of cracks increased with the increase in sulfur content of the alloys. These experimental results suggested that reheat cracking was associated with the embrittlement of grain boundaries, which was promoted by sulfur and subsequent welding thermal cycles. AES analysis indicated that the sulfur segregation occurred at grain boundaries in the reheated weld metal. On the basis of these results, the cause of reheat cracking in multi-pass welding can be attributed to hot ductility loss of weld metals due to sulfur segregation which was accelerated by the reheating with multi-pass welding thermal cycles.