Effect of Al or Ti addition on the ferrite formation in ultra-low oxygen weld metal of low carbon steel

Effect of Al or Ti addition on the ferrite formation in ultra-low oxygen (about a few tens ppm) weld metal of low carbon steels were investigated. A bead-on-plate welding experiments were performed with a Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding system. The double nozzle was attached to the welding torch used, Ar was passed along the outer nozzle and He is added along the inner nozzle. Optical micrographs showed that primary ferrite appeared along prior austenite grain boundaries and that as the temperature is decreased ferrite side plates were grew into grain interior. Their formation positions were approached to the welding end as the decreasing Al and increasing Ti content. This change in ferrite formation position attributed on the ferrite formation temperature, which was assumed to increase as the decreasing Al and increasing Ti content. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of inclusions showed that Al and Ti were mainly associated with 0, it was obvious that the inclusions in the steels were Al- and Ti- oxide inclusions. Al-oxide inclusions were not favourable acicular ferrite nucleation sites and the inclusions contributing to acicular ferrite formation were Ti-oxide ones. The number density of acicular ferrite was small. This indicated that acicular ferrite formation was suppressed because the number density of inclusions was low under the ultra-low oxygen welding condition.