The Influence of Boron and Titanium on

Low-Carbon Steel Weld Metal

Acicular ferrite formation was found to depend on
a delicate balance of both boron and titanium

BY D. W. OH, D. L. OLSON AND R. H. FROST

ABSTRACT. Gas-shielded flux cored arc

welds containing systematic variation of
boron and titanium were made on A633
Gr. C steel plate. The results indicated that
the largest volume percent of acicular ferrite was obtained in a weld containing 42
ppm of weld metal boron and 420 ppm of
weld metal titanium. Without titanium additions, the effect of boron on the weld
metal microstructure was very small. Titanium additions in the absence of boron
also showed a small effect. This study
provides a thorough characterization of
the microstructural behavior of titanium
and boron contained in low-carbon steel
filler metals.
Introduction
The recent progress in steel plate technology has called for development of new
welding consumables to produce weld
deposits with mechanical properties essentially equivalent to those of the base
metal (Ref. 1). Many investigations over
the past decade have reported that microstructures consisting primarily of acicular ferrite provide optimum weld metal
mechanical properties, both in strength
and toughness. Large volume fractions of
upper bainite, side-plate ferrite or grainboundary ferrite are considered detrimental to toughness, since these structures provide preferential crack propagation paths.
Attempts to control the weld metal acicular ferrite content have led to the introduction of welding consumables containing mixtures of deoxidizer additions and
alloying elements. If the weld metal contains alloy elements such as nickel, it is difficult to get satisfactory low-temperature
notch toughness without producing tensile strengths higher than actually needed.
Several investigators discovered that the
addition of a combination of titanium and
boron into weld metal effectively produces a fine acicular ferrite microstructure
(Refs. 2-12).
Various mechanisms are proposed for

boron hardenability in steels. One suggestion for boron hardenability is that free
boron diffuses to austenite grain boundaries and lowers their energy, thereby
making them less favorable sites for ferrite
nucleation. Ohmori and Yamanaka (Ref.
13) have found evidence of grain boundary enrichment with high sensitivity ion
microprobe analysis. There is also evidence that boron decreases the self diffusion coefficient of iron in austenite (Refs.
14, 15). Since nucleation rate is proportional to the iron atom jump frequency,
this could be an explanation for boron retardation of ferrite nucleation.
Austenite grain boundaries are commonly known as ferrite nucleation sites.
However, if the crystallographic nature of
the grain boundary is considered, one
finds that even in high angle boundaries,
where one would expect nucleation to be
most rapid, there are regions of relatively
high- and low-atom density (Ref. 15). If
regions of low-atom density are favored
sites for nucleation of ferrite, it is possible
that boron poisons them either through
filling up the free volume by segregating
there, or by precipitating on the boundary
as borocarbides (Refs. 16-17). Furthermore, others have observed that Fe23
(B,C)6 precipitation is a precursor to ferrite
formation (Refs. 18, 19). Borocarbides
have been reported to block ferrite nucleation only when they are small, and to

KEY WORDS
Low-Carbon Steel
Weld Metal Toughness
Boron and Titanium
Synergic B+Ti Effect
Flux Cored Arc Welds
Acicular Ferrite
100% C 0 2 Shielding
Effects on Ferrite
Effects on Bainite
Hardenability

encourage ferrite nucleation on their own

interfaces when they are sufficiently large
(Ref. 20). The assumption is that boron
contamination of the boundary increases
the hardenability.
Mori, ef al. (Ref. 5), proposed that oxide particles with a surface coating of TiO
or those particles that were completely
TiO would be the most potent sites for the
nucleation of acicular ferrite. The 3.0%
lattice disregistry between TiO and ferrite
is the smallest of all the potential nucleating agents (Ref. 5). The compounds that
have high values of disregistry, such as BN
and AI2O3, will not be as likely nucleation
sites for the acicular ferrite.
The role of titanium is mainly to protect
boron from nitrogen (and oxygen) by
forming titanium nitride (TiN) in the liquid
state prior to solidification. The optimum
titanium content will clearly be a function
of the weld metal concentrations of nitrogen and nitride formers (V, Nb and Al). For
normalized vanadium and niobium bearing steel plates, the best impact properties
are obtained when sufficient nitrideforming elements are present to tie up all
of the free nitrogen in precipitates. The
specific alloy condition for optimal toughness has been summarized (Refs. 21, 22)
with the "unbalance" factor U. An unbalance factor of zero defines stoichiometric
relations between aluminum, titanium,
vanadium, niobium and nitrogen concentrations according to the equation:
U = (14/27 Al) + ( 1 4 / 4 8 Ti) + (14/51
V) + (14/93 Nb) - N
However, an excess of aluminum and
titanium above the stoichiometric values is
normally required in order to neutralize all

D. W. OH, D. L. OLSON and R H FROST are

with the Center for Welding and joining Research, Colorado School of Mines, Golden,
Colo.
Paper sponsored by the Army Materials Technology Laboratory and presented at the 70th
Annual AWS Meeting, held April 2-7, 1989, in
Washington, D.C.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1151-s

o
o

Fig. 1 Influence of
variations in weld
metal titanium and
boron contents on
CTOD at -50C
(Ref. 26).

0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.0I0 0.0I2 0.0I4 0.0I6 0.0I8

WELD METAL BORON CONTENT ( w t . - % )

f r e e n i t r o g e n in the w e l d m e t a l . This is r e q u i r e d because of heavy o x i d a t i o n losses

o f these elements in the f o r m o f n o n m e tallic inclusions. T h e l o w e s t C h a r p y V n o t c h transition t e m p e r a t u r e s of microall o y e d gas metal arc steel w e l d deposits are
o b t a i n e d w h e n t h e u n b a l a n c e f a c t o r is
a p p r o x i m a t e l y equal t o 100 p p m .

2) D u r i n g cooling in the austenite range,

titanium p r o t e c t s the remaining b o r o n
f r o m n i t r o g e n b y f o r m i n g TiN. F r e e - b o r o n
segregates t o the austenite grain b o u n d aries. The f o r m a t i o n of n i t r o g e n c o m p o u n d s w i t h b o r o n and titanium b y t h e
a b o v e reactions reduces t h e a m o u n t o f
n i t r o g e n in solution.

O h k i t a , et al. (Ref. 27), suggested the

f o l l o w i n g mechanistic description of n o t c h
toughness i m p r o v e m e n t in the titaniumb o r o n containing w e l d metal:

3) O n t h e f u r t h e r cooling of the austenite t o the ferrite t r a n s f o r m a t i o n range,

active b o r o n , present at the austenite
grain boundaries, reduces the grain
b o u n d a r y energy and retards the nucleation of p r o e u t e c t o i d ferrite.
4) O x i d e inclusions that contain titanium p r o m o t e the nucleation of acicular

1) D u r i n g solidification, highly segreg a t e d b o r o n reacts preferentially w i t h nit r o g e n t o f o r m BN. T h e titanium p r o t e c t s

the boron f r o m oxygen.

Table 1Chemical Composition and Mechanical Properties of the Steel Plate

A633C Gr. C Steel Plate
Chemical Composition (wt-%)
C
0.14
Mn
1.26
P
0.018
S
0.002
Si
0.22
Nb
0.022

Mechanical Properties
YS
37.5 k g / m m 2
UTS
52.2 k g / m m 2

CVN at
-50C

36.4 kg m (longitudinal)

Table 2Welding Procedure Specification for the 25 Experimental Weld Deposits Used in
This Study
Welding Procedure Specification
Flux cored arc welding
Flat
AWS 5.20
E71T-1
C 0 2 (100%)
20 mm
DCEP (Electrode +)
<200C

Welding process
Position of welding
Filler metal specification
Filler metal classification
Shielding gas
Work-to-tip distance
Polarity
Interpass temperature

Pass
No.
1
2
3
4

Wire
Size
(mm)

Welding
Amperes
(A)

Current
Volts
(V)

1.6
1.6
1.6
1.6

260
260
200
260

28
28
25
28

152-s|APRIL 1990

Welding Procedure
Heat
Travel
Input
Speed
(mm/m)
(KJ/mm)
410
205
205
205

1.07
2.13
1.46
2.13

loint Detail

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ferrite w i t h i n austenite grains.

Bonnet and Charpentier (Ref. 23) correlated the effect o f titanium o n acicular
ferrite f o r m a t i o n . T h e y f o u n d w e l d metal
additions o f titanium a b o v e 0.0045 w t - %
titanium are essential t o p r o d u c e large
v o l u m e fractions o f acicular ferrite. It
should be n o t e d that titanium in v e r y high
c o n c e n t r a t i o n s (typically > 0 . 0 5 - 0 . 1 0 w t % Ti) can lead t o a d e t e r i o r a t i o n in t o u g h ness (Refs. 2 4 , 2 5 ) . This w a s r e p o r t e d (Ref.
25) t o b e caused b y precipitation o f finely
dispersed, c o h e r e n t TiN particles in the
ferrite, w h i c h o v e r s h a d o w s t h e beneficial
effect of titanium o n gross m i c r o s t r u c t u r e .
T h e influence of titanium and b o r o n
c o n t e n t s o n C T O D of steel w e l d metal at
- 5 0 C ( - 5 8 F ) is s h o w n (Ref. 26) in Fig.
1. It can b e seen that t h e r e are o p t i m u m
c o n t e n t s o f b o t h titanium a n d b o r o n t o
achieve the m a x i m u m toughness. T h e
o p t i m u m range o f w e l d metal titanium
w a s f o u n d (Ref. 26) t o b e 0 . 0 3 - 0 . 0 5 w t - %
a n d the o p t i m u m b o r o n c o n t e n t s w e r e
a b o u t 0.007 w t - % .
T h e p u r p o s e of this study is t o characterize in greater detail the effects o f b o r o n
and titanium o n t h e m i c r o s t r u c t u r e a n d
properties of gas-shielded flux c o r e d arc
w e l d metals.
Materials and Experimental
Procedure
T w e n t y - f i v e experimental flux c o r e d
wires ( C 0 2 - s h i e l d e d t y p e ) designed t o
p r o d u c e systematic variations in the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of w e l d metal titanium and b o r o n w e r e p r e p a r e d b y H o b a r t Brothers
C o m p a n y . These tubular flux c o r e d w i r e s
had diameters o f a b o u t 1.6 m m (V16 in.),
and c o n t a i n e d a b o u t 17 w t - % flux. Titanium and b o r o n w e r e a d d e d t o the flux in
the f o r m of f e r r o - t i t a n i u m a n d f e r r o boron powders.
A total o f 25 e x p e r i m e n t a l w e l d s w e r e
p r e p a r e d o n 2 5 - m m (1-in.) thick A S T M
A 6 3 3 Gr. C steel plates using t h e 25
experimental flux c o r e d wires w i t h 100%
C O 2 shielding. T h e chemical c o m p o s i t i o n
and mechanical p r o p e r t i e s of the plate are
s h o w n in Table 1. A s i n g l e 1 2 . 5 - m m (Vi-in.)
deep
V-groove
was
machined
on
610 X 90 X 24-mm
(24 X 3.5 X 1-in.)
plates. Four passes w e r e m a d e t o fill the
g r o o v e at 2 0 0 - 2 6 0 A , 2 5 - 2 8 V , a n d 3.4 t o
6.8 m m / s (8 t o 16 i n . / m i n ) in o r d e r t o get
g o o d p e n e t r a t i o n a n d satisfactory final
b e a d g e o m e t r y . A high current (about 260
A) a n d a high travel speed ( a b o u t 6.8
m m / s ) w e r e chosen t o p r o v i d e sufficient
p e n e t r a t i o n in the r o o t pass. T h e w e l d i n g
conditions f o r the s e c o n d pass w e r e c h o sen t o fill the g r o o v e t o a level a b o u t 2 m m
(0.08 in.) b e l o w the plate surface. L o w
current w a s c h o s e n f o r the third pass in
o r d e r not t o retain the n a r r o w g r o o v e f o r
the final pass a n d t o a v o i d i n c o m p l e t e f u sion discontinuities. The w e l d i n g c o n d i tions s h o w n in Table 2 w e r e used f o r all 25

Table 3Chemical Composition of the Weld Metals

Deposit
Composition
3
8
9
11
12
17
18
19
20
21
10
13
14
15
16
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
35
36

Si

C
wt-%

B
ppm

Ti
ppm

O
ppm

N
ppm

Mn
wt-%

wt-%

Ni
wt-%

Nb
wt-%

0.0731
0.0846
0.0986
0.0954
0.0999
0.0906
0.0770
0.0959
0.0858
0.0936
0.0855
0.0798
0.0916
0.0945
0.0882
0.0793
0.0758
0.0876
0.0953
0.0838
0.0719
0.0730
0.0781
0.0808
0.0795

8
6
11
11
7
25
28
21
24
28
44
39
42
45
44
49
55
62
56
73
69
70
76
87
91

80
227
425
644
764
78
205
328
423
645
77
191
421
490
728
80
200
321
428
695
76
234
376
477
671

359
271
303
272
283
318
299
300
291
306
276
318
283
301
296
332
317
279
290
296
359
303
279
303
291

63
87
75
113
137
78
123
111
96
102
76
122
101
126
146
68
64
76
99
104
82
73
77
98
106

1.3648
1.4410
1.4970
1.5787
1.5312
1.4170
1.4958
1.3914
1.3879
1.4975
1.4876
1.3817
1.4883
1.4740
1.5276
1.4438
1.5241
1.4617
1.3880
1.5427
1.4545
1.5097
1.3877
1.4867
1.6400

0.4329
0.4926
0.5114
0.5985
0.5824
0.4341
0.4430
0.4510
0.4650
0.5440
0.4775
0.4045
0.5369
0.5269
0.5876
0.4761
0.4661
0.4676
0.4518
0.5850
0.4508
0.4942
0.4414
0.5188
0.6280

0.0526
0.0546
0.0632
0.0578
0.0548
0.0567
0.0548
0.0552
0.0533
0.0523
0.0573
0.0539
0.0551
0.0537
0.0557
0.0546
0.0541
0.0531
0.0539
0.0527
0.0542
0.0543
0.0555
0.0530
0.0546

0.0056
0.0053
0.0092
0.0067
0.0055
0.0066
0.0071
0.0063
0.0056
0.0050
0.0061
0.0061
0.0058
0.0056
0.0066
0.0059
0.0055
0.0054
0.0060
0.0047
0.0061
0.0054
0.0067
0.0058
0.0064

weld specimens in order to avoid any kind

of procedural effects.
The chemical analyses of the 25 welds
were performed with a Baird Emission
Spectrometer. The weld metal oxygen,
nitrogen, carbon and sulfur were determined using Leco Interstitial Analyzers.
Each specimen was sectioned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the welds at
the point of 50 mm (2 in.) away from the
start and examined with the light microscope. The specimens were prepared by
polishing through one micron alumina
abrasive followed by etching for 15-20 s
in a solution of 2% nitric acid in methanol
(2% Nital). Light micrographs were taken
at 100X, 500X and 1000X at the final pass
weld (fourth pass) and at a point located
at the middle of the weld. A standard
point counting technique was used to determine the volume fractions of primary
ferrite, acicular ferrite, side-plate ferrite
and upper bainite at a magnification of
500X. The microstructural constituents
were classified based on the guidelines
suggested by Pargeter and Dolby (Ref.
28). One-thousand point counts were
performed over the weld area.

stant between 271 and 359 ppm and between 63 and 146 ppm, respectively.
These variations in the weld metal titanium
and boron contents were sufficient to
cause a wide variation in the weld metal
microstructure.
Increasing the weld metal boron content from 6 to 91 ppm at five different
levels of titanium content caused refinement of the weld metal microstructure by
increasing the acicular ferrite content and
by decreasing the primary ferrite content,
as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Figure 2 shows
that increasing the boron content without

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The chemical compositions of the 25

experimental flux cored arc welds made
on the microalloyed steel plate are summarized in Table 3. The weld metal titanium and boron contents vary from 76 to
728 ppm and from 6 to 91 ppm, respectively, while the weld metal oxygen and
nitrogen contents remain relatively con-

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423
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- 80
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-425
-644
- 728 A

Fig. 2 Summary
plot of the variation
in acicular ferrite
content as a
function of the weld
metal boron
concentration at five
different levels of
the titanium
concentration.

ZD

a
Results and Discussion

Ti content in
weld metal (ppm)

00

sufficient titanium causes a small increase

in the acicular ferrite content from 75 to
8 1 % . Figure 2 also indicates that there is an
optimum boron content depending on
the titanium level. The optimum boron
content moves from 30 to 60 ppm as the
titanium content drops from 700 to 200
ppm. Maximum acicular ferrite content
and minimum primary ferrite content are
obtained when boron content is about 42
ppm and titanium content is about 420
ppm. Figure 3 indicates that there is a significant reduction in primary ferrite when
boron is added with titanium.

84

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BORON

20

40

60

80

I00

CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1153-s

u.

28 -

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cc
vr.

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Ti content in
weld metal (ppm)

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76
191
321
423
645

- 80 - 234
- 425 _
- 644
-728 _

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Fig. 3Summary
plot of the variation
in primary ferrite
content as a
function of the weld
metal boron
concentration of five
different levels of
the titanium
concentration.

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40

20

60

80

100

BORON CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

The effect of boron on the side-plate

ferrite and upper bainite contents is shown
in Figs. 4 and 5. The side-plate ferrite content decreases from 2 to 0% with boron
additions, while the upper bainite content
increases from 0 to 8%. Hindrance of the
nucleation and growth of grain boundary
and side-plate ferrite by boron additions is
evident and is consistent with the model
of Mori, et al. (Ref. 5). The microstructural
evidence that acicular ferrite forms a
maximum in Fig. 2, and the mechanical
property results in Fig. 1 are consistent
with the suggestion that acicular ferrite
promotes the toughness. The reduction in
toughness with increasing boron concentration above the optimum content can
be related to the role of bainite on the
degradation of weld metal properties. It is

rx
co

expected that variations in hardenability

additions, such as manganese and carbon,
will cause changes in the boron and titanium contents that achieve the optimum
amount of acicular ferrite and maximum
toughness.
Effects of Titanium
Increasing the weld metal titanium content up to 728 ppm at five different levels
of boron contents caused refinement of
the weld metal microstructure by increasing the acicular ferrite content and by decreasing the primary ferrite content. These
effects are illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. As
discussed in the section on boron effects,
increasing the titanium content without a
sufficient boron content does not cause a

significant change in acicular ferrite content, as shown in Fig. 6. Figure 6 also indicates that the acicular ferrite content
passes through a maximum at about 450
ppm of titanium content when boron
content is less than 45 ppm, and that this
maximum ferrite content shifts to approximately 200 ppm titanium when the boron
content is larger than 50 ppm. The maximum acicular ferrite content is found at
about 42 ppm boron. Figure 7 shows that
there is a significant reduction in primary
ferrite content when more than 200 ppm
of titanium is used with a sufficient boron
content.
The effects of titanium on the side-plate
ferrite content and the upper bainite content are similar to those of boron, as
shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The side-plate ferrite content decreases with increasing
titanium, while the upper bainite content
increases. The welds containing sufficient
levels of boron and titanium show no
side-plate ferrite. Figure 9 illustrates the
elimination of upper bainite when titanium
and boron are less than 400 and 10 ppm,
respectively.

Combined Effects of Boron and

Titanium
Titanium a n d b o r o n additions influence
w e l d metal microstructures a n d t h e m e chanical p r o p e r t i e s as m e a s u r e d b y h a r d ness (indicating strength) a n d toughness.
Figure 10 s h o w s a p l o t o f R o c k w e l l B
Hardness c o n t o u r s as a f u n c t i o n o f titan i u m a n d b o r o n c o n t e n t s . T h e data indicates a gradual hardness increase w i t h increasing titanium a n d b o r o n c o n t e n t s f r o m
a base hardness o r a r o u n d RB 55 t o a
hardness o f near RB 7 0 at high levels o f
b o t h elements.

Ti content in

weld metal (ppm)

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76 -- 80
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Ti

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40

60

80

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BORON CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

Fig. 4 Summary plot of the variation in side-plate ferrite content as a
function of the weld metal boron concentration at five different levels
of the titanium concentration.

154-s|APRIL 1990

CL

I00
BORON CONTENT IN WELD METAL(ppm)

Fig. 5 Summary plot of the variation in upper bainite content as a function of the weld metal boron concentration at five different levels of the
titanium concentration.

B conlent in
LL.

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200

400

600

800

TITANIUM CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

LU
O
CC
LU
CL

Fig. 6Summary plot of the variation in acicular ferrite content as a

function of the weld metal titanium concentration at five different levels
of the boron concentration.

200

400

600

800

TITANIUM CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

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12

"

LU

0
cc
UJ

1
1
B conlent in
weld metal (ppm)

0
A

6 - - 11
21 - 2 8

39 - 4 5
49 - 7 3
69 - 9 1

<

8 _

OD

r~
UJ

Fig. 8 Summary plot of the variation in side plate ferrite content as a

function of the weld metal titanium concentration at five different levels
of the boron
concentration.

CC
LU
Q_

4 -

CL

200

400

600

800

TITANIUM CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

Fig. 7Summary plot of the variation in primary ferrite content as a
function of the weld metal titanium concentration at five different levels
of the boron concentration.

3
tLU
CJ>
CC
LU
Q_

800
TITANIUM CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)
Fig. 9 Summary plot of the variation in upper bainite content as a function of the weld metal titanium concentration at five different levels of
the boron concentration.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1155-s

0
BORON CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)
Fig. 10 Combined effects of weld metal boron and titanium on the
Rockwell B hardness of the weld metal.
Excessive amounts of boron and titanium are detrimental to the weld metal
toughness; thus, boron and titanium contents must be controlled to produce the
desired microstructure. If acicular ferrite is
considered to improve toughness and
primary ferrite to reduce toughness, the
optimum boron and titanium contents for
better toughness can be determined from
contour plots of the volume fractions of
acicular ferrite and primary ferrite as
shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The solid lines
indicate the specific volume fractions of

50

100

BORON CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

Fig. Tl Combined effects of weld metal boron and titanium on the volume fraction of acicular ferrite.

acicular ferrite and primary ferrite.

The Charpy toughness was measured
for all 25 weld metal materials as a function of temperature and reported in Figs.
13 through 17. Each figure contains a
grouping of the weld metal toughness
data for a given range of weld metal boron content. The lower and upper shelf
levels and the ductile-brittle transition temperature can be obtained from these
plots. A thorough analysis indicates a
strong synergistic effect between boron
and titanium. It suggests an optimum com-

positional range for maximum toughness,

which correlates with the amount of acicular ferrite. The reduction of toughness
with excessive boron and titanium contents can be directly related to the formation of upper bainite in the weld metal microstructure. Figure 18 illustrates the detrimental influence of weld metal bainite
on the toughness.
Even though primary and side-plate
ferrite is suppressed with excess additions
of boron and titanium, the volume fraction of acicular ferrite decreases because

'

I40 -

' 'o '^

zV ^^

-n

X>

__-2?

%'
30
60

- I20 -

i I00

1/

/1

o
-

| D 0.0008 B-0.0080 T i I m 0.0006 B -0.0227 Ti

-^
40

0/

m.'/
>'-"u ^

S*

o 0.00II B - 0.0425 Ti A 0.00II B-0.0644Ti

0.0007 B -0.0764 Ti ~

'

20

-I00

-80

-60

-40

-20

20

40

60

80

I00

TEMPERATURE (C)

Fig. 13 Influence of variation in weld metal titanium content on weld

metal notch toughness at 8-11 ppm of boron.

50

I00

BORON CONTENT IN WELD METAL (ppm)

Fig. 12 Combined effects of weld metal boron and titanium on the
volume fraction of primary ferrite.

156-s | APRIL 1990

Z
i

140

120

~^r

#r

cr 8 0

cc

60

40

to
CD

<

a.
O

" tf

'

>
UJ

x
o
tr
<

/ /

> ^

_j
UJ

--A-

rr? # * A ^

1 0 0

CO

UJ

rcc=rrr=T=rzy

^5

LlJ

/ ^

0.0025 B- 0.0078 Ti-

0.0028 B-0.0205 Ti
0.0021 B-0.0328 T i 00024B-0.0423Ti
0.0028 B-0.0645 Ti"

20

-80

-60

-40

-20

20

40

60

80

UJ

tn

z
UJ

100

a.
O

Fig. 14 Influence of variation in weld metal titanium content on weld

metal notch toughness at 21-28 ppm of boron.

UJ

-100

TEMPERATURE CC)

1
D

'

I40

J'^* -~*

IPO

a
o
cr
<
UJ
tn
UJ
tr

1
~-t

>

Cl

>

cc

80

-40

I 0 0

UJ

/ "

"A _

-z.
60
O
111

cr
CO
LU

<

/
40

/ >
7. z-

!\,

20

40

60

80

I00

Fig 17 Influence of variation in weld metal titanium content on weld

me tal notch toughness at 69-91 ppm of boron.

"S

20

0.0039 B 0.0191 Ti
0 . 0 0 4 2 B 0.0421 Ti -

0.0045 B 0.0490Ti

0 . 0 0 4 4 B 0.0728 Ti "

-80

-60

40

-20

20

40

60

80

I
20

n
20

Fig. 15 Influence of variation in weld metal titanium content on it<

metal notch toughness at 39-45 ppm of boron.

o
IT
<
UJ

100

TEMPERATURE CC)

_J

>

-100

o.
o
UJ

0 . 0 0 4 4 B -0.0077 Ti -

a, //*

C z

-20

TEMPERATURE C O

tr

UJ
40

Ddp

60

a.
O

_i
UJ

>

UJ
I

a
o
a:
<
UJ

UPPER

BAINITE PERCENT

F,g 18 - Influence ol the weld metal upper bainite content on the 50",
FATT.

tn

H
Z

LL

2
a
C
- i

Ui
-40

-20

>

20

z
o
tr

TEMPERATURE CC)
Fig. Ib - Influence of variation in weld metal titanium content on weld
metal notch toughness at 49-73 ppm of boron.

UJ

tn
Ui
tr

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1157-s

t h e increase in hardenability is e n o u g h to
p r o m o t e the f o r m a t i o n of ferrite w i t h an
aligned s e c o n d phase (mostly u p p e r bainite). In o r d e r t o maximize hardenability in
w r o u g h t steel, w h i c h is usually austenitized f o r an h o u r or m o r e , the o p t i m u m
c o n c e n t r a t i o n of b o r o n is said t o b e
b e t w e e n 3 a n d 3 0 p p m . B o r o n additions
a b o v e this value decrease hardenability
b y the f o r m a t i o n of b o r o c a r b i d e s , M 2 3
(B,C)6, w h i c h act as the preferential nucleation sites for the austenite t o ferrite
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n at prior austenite grain
boundaries. C o n t r o l l e d additions of b o t h
b o r o n a n d titanium are essential t o achieve
higher v o l u m e fractions of acicular ferrite.
T h e o p t i m u m b o r o n and titanium c o n tents d e p e n d o n the various factors such
as the levels o f o t h e r alloy additions and
the welding procedures.
Conclusions
1) T h e influence of b o r o n o n increasing
acicular ferrite in w e l d metal microstructures w a s v e r y small w i t h o u t a sufficient
titanium a d d i t i o n . T h e influence of titanium w a s also v e r y small w i t h o u t sufficient
levels of b o r o n .
2) A large v o l u m e f r a c t i o n of acicular
ferrite ( u p t o 95%) can b e o b t a i n e d b y
maintaining b o r o n and titanium c o n t e n t s
b e t w e e n 4 0 - 4 5 p p m and b e t w e e n 4 0 0 500 p p m , respectively. This is based o n a
2.23 k j / m m (57 k j / i n . ) heat input o n
2 5 - m m - t h i c k m i c r o a l l o y e d steel plate.
3) T h e decrease in l o w - t e m p e r a t u r e
toughness w i t h excess b o r o n a n d titanium
c o n t e n t s can b e explained b y an increased
v o l u m e c o n t e n t of u p p e r bainite.

A ckno wledgments
T h e authors a c k n o w l e d g e a n d a p p r e c i ate the s u p p o r t of the U n i t e d States A r m y
Research O f f i c e , Hyundai H e a v y Industries, H o b a r t Brothers C o m p a n y and the
Lukens Steel C o r p o r a t i o n .

References
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H. B., 1975. Properties of submerged arc weld
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4. Mori, N., Homma, H., Ohkita, S., and
Asano, K. 1980. The behavior of B and N in
notch toughness improvement of Ti-B bearing
weld metals. IIW Doc. IX-1158-80, American
Council, American Welding Society, Miami, Fla.
5. Mori, N., Homma. H., Ohkita, S., and
Wakabayashi, M. 1981. Mechanisms of notch
toughness improvement in Ti-B bearing weld
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6. Mori, N., Homma, H., Wakabayaski, M.,
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8. Brownlee, ). K. 1985. Effects of aluminum
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Golden, Colo.
9. Fleck, N. 1984. The effect of filler wire and
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M.S. Thesis T-2942, Colorado School of Mines,
Golden, Colo.
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WRC Bulletin 336

September 1988
Interpretive Report on Dynamic Analysis of Pressure ComponentsFourth Edition
T h i s f o u r t h e d i t i o n r e p r e s e n t s a m a j o r r e v i s i o n of W R C B u l l e t i n 3 0 3 i s s u e d in 1 9 8 5 . It r e t a i n s t h e t h r e e
sections on pressure transients, fluid s t r u c t u r e i n t e r a c t i o n and seismic analysis. Significant revisions
w e r e m a d e to m a k e t h e m current. A new section has been included on Dynamic Stress Criteria which
e m p h a s i z e s t h e i m p o r t a n c e of t h i s t e c h n o l o g y . A n e w s e c t i o n h a s a l s o b e e n i n c l u d e d o n D y n a m i c
R e s t r a i n t s t h a t p r i m a r i l y a d d r e s s e s s n u b b e r s , b u t a l s o d i s c u s s e s a l t e r n a t i v e s t o s n u b b e r s , s u c h as l i m i t
stop devices and flexible steel plate e n e r g y a b s o r b e r s .
P u b l i c a t i o n of t h i s r e p o r t w a s s p o n s o r e d b y t h e S u b c o m m i t t e e o n D y n a m i c A n a l y s i s of P r e s s u r e
C o m p o n e n t s of t h e P r e s s u r e V e s s e l R e s e a r c h C o m m i t t e e of t h e W e l d i n g R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l . T h e p r i c e o f
W R C B u l l e t i n 3 3 6 is $ 2 0 . 0 0 p e r c o p y , p l u s $ 5 . 0 0 f o r p o s t a g e a n d h a n d l i n g . O r d e r s s h o u l d be s e n t w i t h
p a y m e n t t o t h e W e l d i n g R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l . S u i t e 1 3 0 1 , 3 4 5 E. 4 7 t h S t . , N e w Y o r k , NY 1 0 0 1 7 .

158-s | APRIL 1 9 9 0