Unravelling Microstructure Evolution and Grain Boundary Misorientation in Coarse-Grained Heat-Affected Zone of EH420 Shipbuilding Steel Subject to Varied Welding Heat Inputs

Microstructure evolution and grain boundary misorientation in coarse-grained heat-affected zone of EH420 shipbuilding steel have been investigated at different welding heat inputs. As heat input increases, main constituents transform from lath bainites to granular bainites, and to acicular ferrites as a result of reduced cooling rate. Corresponding fraction of high angle grain boundaries decreases from 28.24 to 20.04 pct as heat input is raised from 50 to 150 kJ/cm but reverses to 29.04 pct at 200 kJ/cm.