defined in EN1011-1 and 2.

The rules contained in EN 1993-1-8

WELDED JOINT OF apply for the static assessment of the welded joints of
elements.
HIGH-STRENGTH STEELS
2 FACTORS IN THE DESIGN AND EXECUTION
WELDOX 700 AND OF WELDED JOINTS

COMMON GRADE In welding structural elements from high-strength steel, various

vital factors have to be taken into consideration. One of the

STEEL S 355 important reasons for the use of modern high-strength steels
with yield strengths of 420 to 700MPa is their weldability, as
JAROSLAV KUBICEK, MILAN SMAK, high-strength steels have a lower carbon equivalent value (CEV)
KAMIL PODANY, LIBOR MRNA than standard quality steels (S235, S355). When it is already
necessary to preheat standard quality steel elements because
Brno University of Technology
of the thickness of the welded material, high-strength steels of
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
equivalent thickness can still be welded without preheating.
Brno, Czech Republic
This fact can be of high importance if the welding is carried out
at a construction site because preheating can be technically
DOI : 10.17973/MMSJ.2016_11_2016130
demanding. When welding high-strength steels, preference is
e-mail: [email protected] given to welding without preheating and with limited heat
High-strength steels can be effectively utilized for input. If it is necessary to use preheating (for larger connected
strengthening existing structures or to improve highly stressed elements), the selected temperature usually ranges between
elements or structural details fabricated from lower grade 100 and 150°C. A high level of strength (i.e. yield strength and
steel. When used together with traditional grades of steel, the ultimate strength) is achieved in high-strength steels via the
favourable mechanical properties of high-strength steels open technique used for their production, i.e. heat treatment. When
up a wide range of applications in the steel constructions of this heat is applied to the connected elements during welding,
civil and engineering structures, both in primary structural it causes further local thermal processing of the material
elements and in individual parts. The paper is concerned with (annealing), which can have a significant impact on its strength
butt and fillet welded joints of components made of high- at the locations of welded joints. The choice of welding
strength steel with a yield strength of 700MPa and elements technique and the speed of welding (which is connected with
made of traditional grade S355 and S235 steel. The technique this) have a significant impact on the parameters of welded
for welding materials with different strengths and the choice of joints. The speed of welding, together with the intensity of
additive materials for welding are presented in the melting, affects the weld as well as its immediate surroundings,
experimental research. i.e. the thermally affected zone. Low speed and intensity can
KEYWORDS cause a fault of the cold joint type, i.e. the construction
materials technology, steel structures, strength & testing of elements won´t melt properly at the joint and will fail to
materials connect perfectly. On the other hand, high melting will cause
great changes in the mechanical properties of the materials in
1 INTRODUCTION the HAZ (Fig.1). This factor is particularly important in welded
joints where elements fabricated from standard quality steels
If the yield strength of steel materials exceeds 355MPa, they are combined with those made from high-strength steels, often
are usually referred to as high-strength steels. Currently, with different thicknesses. Based on the performed
steels achieve higher and high strength thanks to the experiments, it can be stated that the critical parts of welded
manufacturing process. The chemical composition of such joints, in which steel structural elements made from materials
materials is the same as that of standard quality steels. During of varying strengths are connected, are the areas of maximum
their production, they are subjected to controlled coarsening at the transitions between welded metal and lower-
thermomechanical rolling and quenching during rolling with strength steel.
subsequent tempering, which reduces the quantities of alloying
substances needed. Accelerated cooling is provided by
intensive jets of cold water. It can be said that a portion of the
alloying elements is replaced by the intensity of the quenching
process. The manufacturing procedure is cost-effective as well
as environmentally-friendly. The end product is a fine-grained
steel with high yield strength, strength and toughness at low
temperatures (down to -60°C). The material has a low carbon
equivalent, which has a beneficial effect on its weldability. At
present, when designing steel structural elements it is possible
to make use of the standard EN 1993-1-1, both for standard
quality steel (S235 to S355) and the higher-strength steels S420
and S460. When designing joints and connectors the document
EN 1993-1-8 applies, in particular for statically loaded
structures made from steel of grade S235 to S460. Standard EN
1993-1-12 supplies additional rules for the option of using steel
of strength grades up to S700 in structures. The use of steels
with strengths above S700 is not supported in today’s
standards documents. Welding of the aforementioned steels is Figure 1.Heat Affected Zone (HAZ)

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When materials are divided and welded that is the case for 3.1 Butt welds on joints of structural members from Weldox
steels of standard strength, since high-strength steels are more 700 and S355
sensitive to the intensity of thermal stress. The microstructure The butt welding of construction elements – metal sheets of
of steel in the HAZ changes very significantly according to the the same thickness – was carried out via the MAG – 135
effect of heat and simultaneous changes in toughness and welding method using the Fronius TPS 4000 device and short
hardness. circuit transfer. Manual welding was performed to simulate the
The most important parameter defining the welding process is real welding of steel structures in different positions and to
the cooling time t8/5. The cooling time is the period when minimize heat input in the welded joint when carrying out short
materials cool down at the location of a weld from 800 to arc welding (short circuit transfer). Weld is cut to see various
500°C. In the case of non-alloyed steels, austenite transforms HAZ and five layers (Fig.2).
into disintegration structures, i.e. ferrite, pearlite or martensite.
If the weld cools too fast it causes high hardness of the material Table 1. Basic properties of electrodes OK Autrod 12.51
in the HAZ. The risk of the creation of martensite and the
occurrence of cold cracking during weld cooldown is standardly product Rm Rp0,2 A5 KV (J)/oC
stated to be t8/5 ≤ 6s. Excessively slow cooling, on the other [MPa] [MPa] [%]
-20 -40
hand, mainly increases the risk of a drop in the strength and
OKAutrod 560 480 26 130 90
toughness of the material in the HAZ below required values. 12.51
The t8/5 values verified in practice range between 6 and 20s
depending on the type of material and its thickness. The Weldingparameters:
cooling time t8/5 in the HAZ of welded steels can be reliably
determined via CCT diagram analysis (anisothermal Electrode:
decomposition of austenite), including the resultant structure OK Autrod 12.51: heat input of welding Q = 0,65kJ.mm-1
of material in the HAZ of steels. Welding parameters can be WELDOX 700: CET= 0,31%, HD = 5ml/100wm
prescribed according to the required structure of the material S355J0: CET = 0,40%
in the HAZ (heat input, i.e. mainly the current and speed of Tp(S355) = 697 . CET + 160 .tanh(d/35) + 62 . HD0,35+ (53 . CET –
welding) so that the required strength and hardness can be 32) .Q – 328(°C);Tp = 96°C
achieved after welding. According to the hardness to be t8/5(2D)= (0,043 – 4,3 . 10–5 . T0) . Q2/d2 [(1/500 – T0)2 – (1/800 –
achieved, the welding procedure is supplemented via the use of T0)2] . F2; t8/5= 6,6s
interpass temperature (150 to 225°C) and subsequent heat
processing (over 300°C). The maximum acceptable hardness
values in the HAZ are defined by the EN ISO 15614-1 standard
in the following way: 380HV for steels with an ultimate strength
of up to 890MPa, and 450HV for steels with an ultimate
strength of over 890MPa. Excessively high hardness in the HAZ
can be lowered by subsequent annealing at temperatures of
300 to 440°C with a significantly lower delay for the lowering of
residual stress. However, during annealing a drop occurs in the
yield strength of material below the values stated in the
material sheet. The higher the strength of the material, the
more the heat input influences the mechanical characteristics
in the area of the welded joint. This factor is particularly
significant in the case of manual welding, when the speed of
welding is completely dictated by the welder. Generally, if it is
possible to implement measures during production (welding)
that will eliminate the necessity of annealing to remove
tension, it is beneficial to include them in the production
process.
Figure 2. Joint welded using wire electrode OK Autrod 12.51 – five weld
beads
3 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
The experimental research described here was conducted at a
laboratory at Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic. It
focused on issues concerning fillet and butt welds in elements
fabricated from high-strength steels as well as welds in
combined elements made from standard quality steel and high-
strength steels.
Following the completion of high-quality welded joints
comprising elements from high-strength steels (or when
combining elements from standard quality and high-strength
steels) the preheating temperature, interpass temperature and
joint cooling time t8/5 need to be determined with regard to the
required levels of hardness and fracture toughness. An increase
in the size of grains in the thermally affected zone of the
welded joints can be expected, and thus the lowering of plastic
properties in such areas. Figure 3. Tensile tests of filling metal, parent metal and welded
structural elements from steels Weldox 700 and S355

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The tensile testing (Fig.3) of butt welds in adapted samples saw achieving the full load-bearing capacity of the joint needs to be
fractures occur at the expected location, i.e. the weakest point considered. The weld with the OK Autrod 13.31 wire reached
of the welded joint. The initiation site for all fractures was the the ultimate strength Rm = 833MPa, or 808MPa. Both tested
area of maximum grain roughening in the HAZ on the interface samples were torn in the base material and the strength of the
between the base material and the weld metal. In all tensile given joint exceeded the minimum ultimate strength of the
tests performed for joints combining Weldox700 steel with base material guaranteed by the producer. According to the
S355 steel, the fracture surface was situated in the steel with results of the tensile test it can be concluded that a quality
lower strength (Fig.4). The resultant strength corresponds to weld was created (Fig.5).
the kinds of steel: In the case of S355 steel, the table value of
the ultimate strength is Rm 470 to 630MPa and the test values
are 754, 688 and 434MPa. The last test weld had a bubble-
shaped flaw in the weld metal; the resultant strength reached
was only 434MPa.

Figure 5. Tensile tests of filling metal, parent metal and welded

structural elements from steels Weldox 700and Weldox 700

3.3 Results of hardness tests of butt weld specimens

Hardness HV10 was measured during the metallographic
Figure 4. Specimen failure – fracture in the HAZ on S355
analysis of the welds. The measuring points were arranged
3.2 Butt welds on joints of structural members from Weldox from the first base material via the HAZ into the axis of the
700 to Weldox 700 weld and symmetrically via the HAZ into the second base
The welding of butt ends of construction elements (metal material.
sheets of identical thickness) fabricated from Weldox700 steel
was performed with the alternate use of two kinds of electrode
with different mechanical properties, i.e. the OK AUTROD 13.31
wire electrode, and the OK AUTROD 13.29 electrode. The
welding was carried out via the MAG mechanized method using
the Fronius TPS 4000 device. The burner travelled on an FRC 4
mechanized trolley.

Table 2. Basic mechanical properties of OK Autrod 13.29 and 13.31

Rm Rp0,2 A5 KV (J)/oC
product
[MPa] [MPa] [%] +20 -20
OK Autrod 13.29 820 750 19 70 50
OK Autrod 13.31 890 850 17 70 60

Figure 6. Hardness tests of the Weldox 700 and S355 steels welded
OK AUTROD 13.31: heatimputofweldingQ = 0,21kJ.mm-1 joints
OK AUTROD 13.29: heatimputofweldingQ = 0,35kJ.mm-1
The hardness of the weld is one of the important mechanical
WELDOX 700:
properties. The hardness measurement result of HV10
CET = 0,31%., HD = 6ml/100wm, thickness =8mm
demonstrates the different hardness of the base materials.
Tp (W700) = 697 . CET + 160 . tanh(d/35) + 62 . HD0,35 + (53 . CET
Steel S355 and Weldox700 steel has a hardness (Fig.6) of
– 32) .Q – 328(°C); Tp = 6,5°C approximately 272HV in the combination S355-W700. The
t8/5 (2D) = (0,043 – 4,3 . 10–5 . T0) . Q2/d2 [(1/500 – T0)2 – (1/800 hardness of the HAZ is slightly lower for W700 then weld metal.
–T0)2].F2 The hardness values for the weld metal in the thermally
OK Autrod 13.31: t8/5= 2,56s affected area as well as in the basic material in both
OK Autrod 13.29: t8/5= 8,53s combinations are surprisingly uniform. The hardness
The welded joint with OK Autrod 13.29 wire reached the progression of the Weldox700 steel welds corresponds to the
ultimate strength Rm= 753MPa, or 719MPa. The weld created higher strength of the OK 13.31 wire electrode and the lower
with this electrode did not attain the strength values of either heat input during welding of approx. 0.14kJ.mm-1. The hardness
the basic or the additional material. The weld fractured in the 450 HV is on the borderline of the permitted value for high-
HAZ. The welding of WELDOX700 material using this electrode strength steels according to document ISO 15 614-1.
can nevertheless be recommended, but the impossibility of

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 at the level of the upper strength limit for combinations of
standard quality steels S 355 with Weldox700 material. With
regard to the very favourable hardness progression in welded
joints it can be assumed that the welds also have good
toughness. Pre-heating to 80 to 90°C was calculated for the
welding of steel S355J0. Preheating to temperatures lower than
100°C is not commonly used, however it is recommended to
increase the heat input. Steel Weldox 700 can be welded
without preheating. The cooling time t8/5 is calculated to be
greater than 6s. For welding of elements of Weldox 700 only, a
high-speed cooling with cooling time t8/5 = 2.6s is calculated.
This fact is confirmed by the high level of hardness: 450HV.

The performed experimental measurements – tensile tests of

Figure 7. Hardness tests of the Weldox 700 welded joints welds and steel hardness tests of in the area of welds -
confirmed that desirable properties of welds can be achieved
4 CONCLUSIONS by proper choice of additive materials (electrodes) and welding
technology even if the joints are made from materials with very
Basic advantages of modern high-strength steels include their different strengths.
high level of strength and favourable technological parameters,
primarily their very good weldability. These positive properties
open up wide possibilities for the use of high-strength steels in ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
the areas of building construction, engineering and for military This paper was created with the financial support of project
purposes. Therefore they can be considered building materials GACR 14-25320S “Aspects of the use of complex nonlinear
with a bright future. material models” provided by the Czech Science Foundation
At present, a drawback of high-strength materials in the field of and Technological Agency of Czech Republic, project No.
load-bearing building structures, in comparison with the most TA04020456
commonly used steels of standard quality, is mainly the higher
(or high) price of the material, the narrow range of products, REFERENCES
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CONTACTS
Ing. Kubicek Jaroslav
Brno University of Technology
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Technicka 2896/2
616 69 Brno
Czech Republic
Tel.: 541142506
e-mail: [email protected]
websites: www.fme.vutbr.cz

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