A Comparative Analysis on Microstructure and Fracture Mechanism of X100 Pipeline Steel CGHAZ Between Laser Welding and Arc Welding

The objective of this study is to compare and contrast the differences in microstructure and fracture mechanism between CGHAZ of laser welding and submerged arc welding in X100 pipeline steel. The single-pass welding thermal simulation test of laser welding and submerged arc welding was carried out in MMS-200 thermal simulation test machine using self-made fixtures. The results indicated that the microstructure of laser welding CGHAZ and submerged arc welding CGHAZ was lath martensite and granular bainite, respectively. The impact energy of laser welding CGHAZ was 27 J, and the fracture mode was ductile fracture; the impact energy of submerged arc welding CGHAZ was 7.7 J, and the fracture mode was brittle fracture. The nucleation and propagation mechanism of cracks in different welding modes was established. Microcracks nucleated at the position of dislocation accumulation and remained austenite suppressed crack nucleation in laser welding CGHAZ. The nucleation site was at the M–A constituents in submerged arc welding CGHAZ. The main crack of laser welding CGHAZ was formed by one or a small number of microcracks. The main crack in submerged arc welding CGHAZ was formed by a large number of microcracks. The difference between crack nucleation and propagation mechanism is the reason why the impact energy of laser welding CGHAZ is higher than of submerged arc welding CGHAZ.