Module 1WLD
Module 1WLD
1
Welding Metallurgy
Objective
Orienting Questions
Helpful Tips
ü You can select the to learn more.
ü If needed, there are CLOSED CAPTION buttons on the YouTube videos that
will enable you to read along while you watch. The Closed Caption buttons are
located bottom right of the video screen.
ü Anytime you see EXPLORE click on link or image to learn about the subject.
ü Anytime you see me, click me and let me read the text to you!
Except where otherwise noted, this work was created by Paul Phelps and is
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view
a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative
Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.
SC ACCELERATE Page |2
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
INTRODUCTION
There are many different base metals and , and many are being developed for
specialty applications all of the time. Each and every metal or alloy has different
characteristics. These characteristics define what it is capable of and therefore what is
suited for in application. We, as welders, must understand the material we are working
with for safety reasons and quality of product. Proper use of welding materials is a must
to ensure that the weld can withstand the application and not fail in its task. As a
welder, we must determine the best way to approach a job. For example, we must take
into consideration things like what type of materials are needed, thickness, work
conditions, equipment available, welding position, distortion, and many other factors that
may affect our quality of work and end product. Knowing and understanding the
material is the first step in developing an approach for the work at hand. With each of
these properties there is a varying degree of each characteristic depending on the
elements in the alloy and you will see an overlap between the characteristics, such as
the harder a material the more brittle it can be. You will find these term in chapter 25 of
our text book “Welding Principles and Applications” (7th edition by Larry Jeffus).
1.1.1 HARDNESS
SC ACCELERATE Page |3
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
EXPLORE:
1.1.2 BRITTLENESS
SC ACCELERATE Page |4
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
1.1.3 DUCTILITY
1.1.4 TOUGHNESS
Explore:
SC ACCELERATE Page |5
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
Figure 1: Illustration of metal materials and durability (NDT Resource Center, 2014)
1.1.5 STRENGTH
SC ACCELERATE Page |6
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
The heat of welding can change its characteristics such as a making a hard material
soft or a soft material hard and therefore affecting its strength.
With most welding electrodes we see the tensile measurement identified in thousands
of pounds per square inch or you’ll see it as KSI. Stick welding with a 6010 electrode
this tells us that it has 60,000 pounds per square inch of tensile strength. 60,000 pounds
of tensile strength tells us he can withstand 60,000 pounds a pulling force. This doesn’t
mean that a single electrode in raw form will withstand this might force. However, It
does mean that one solid inch of welded material can withstand 60,000 pounds of
pulling force.
Tensile is a very important property and there are many additional factors that we need
to consider. Engineers should not work off of the tensile as a final value when designing
a structure. When discussing tensile - we are talking about how much force withstand
until it fails and separates or breaks. If tensile is all the engineer uses to calculate
measurements of strength, he would see a lot more failures of structures. Many times,
what is more important to a design engineer will be yield strength. In other words, what
you should know is that even though many times we reference Tensile strength, in
design, the more important data will be the yield strength. Design to the point the
materials will change under load prior to complete failure to ensure his design works
SC ACCELERATE Page |7
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
under the yield strength to ensure the structure isn’t over or pushing the failure point.
Yield strength is a measurement of how much force of material can withstand before it
permanently changes in shape. Mostly, all materials have what’s known as elasticity.
is materials ability to spring back from a certain amount of force much like
the waistband in your underwear. But there are limitations to how far material can
stretch before can it will no longer rebound. This is just like the waistband your
underwear it can only stretch so far before it will no longer stretch back. Materials are
the same way. Yield strength is that measurement, it measures how for the material can
stretch and still rebound or stretch back. Beyond this point the material begins to
change shaper what’s known as necking down as it reduces in size by cross-sectional
area or to say that the diameter is reduced to become smaller therefore with smaller
size we see a reduction in strength and quicker to fail. When talking about yield strength
we also see yield point. is the point at which the material no longer will
rebound or it loses its elasticity. Many times we also hear the term ultimate
strength… is what we really can talk about when we talk about
tensile. Ultimate strength is the measurement of how much force it takes to take the
material to complete failure, the ultimate amount of force it can withstand. As you can
see the design engineer will be more worried about these other measurements such as
yield strength and yield point more than just the ultimate tensile in design. He needs to
know how much force can withstand before it loses that elasticity and begins to change
affecting its strength (see Figure 2). This strength measurement will be much more
critical for that design rather than the ultimate tensile and knowing how much it can
withstand before failure.
SC ACCELERATE Page |8
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
1.1.5.2 COMPRESSIVE
SC ACCELERATE Page |9
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
force, for what about a just normal one-floor building? Even a one-story building is a
tremendous amount of force on the main structure. Think about a normal industrial /
commercial building, the roof structure itself, the air-conditioning units or heaters, and
then again the time of year where we may see frozen precipitation such as snow and
ice on that rooftop. The designers have to take all of that into consideration to make
sure it can withstand the amount of force and weight that can be applied (see Figure 3).
One small miscalculation and we see collapse structures.
1.1.5.3 SHEAR
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 10
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
or shears. Even though it may use a much longer larger blade and hydraulic force it can
cut through thick materials, steels and stainless steels. But how does that apply to force
and/or design of structures? When designing structures many parts will withstand
shearing force. Some connections may be mechanical connections using bolts or rivets.
Bolts or rivets are rated by their ability to withstand shearing force. When a main beam
is going into a girder, the share of the hardware is critical. If the hardware cannot
withstand this amount of force we conceive this bolted connection completely separate.
This is considered Shear force because the main beam is static it is a fixed structure not
moving. But the girder floor joist or bar joist as it meets that main beam will be under a
tremendous amount of load. These structure pieces support the roof for the floor and all
the force of everything applied onto that. Where these to meet if it is not a solid
connection we can see failure and because of these two pieces going in different
directions (see Explore) it creates a Shear just like a pair of handheld shears the two
blades going in opposite directions. Another time we think of Shear is off-roading. With
many operating vehicles the suspension components are under a tremendous amount
of force is the vehicles go up and over objects in the components twist and turn going in
different directions. If the hardware cannot handle the shearing force, the suspension
components will fail. Many times with hardware you’ll hear the term, especially with off-
roading, hardware a grade 8 bolt.
1.1.5.4 TORSIONAL
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 11
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 12
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
1.2.1 QUENCHING
is a term that defines how the material is cool and there are several
different methods. Each of these methods has different cooling rates. First we have a
molten salt bath. The molten salt bath is the slowest of the quenching methods. The
slower material cools the softer we can maintain it. In its basic form a molten salt bath is
taking a metal part and basically covering it in raw salt. By doing this it helps it to hold
the heat therefore controlling the cooling rate. Next, there is air quenching. Air
quenching is nothing more than air moving across the part. Whether it’s the draft in a
room or a fan directly moving the air, the air movement will help to pull him away from
the part therefore cooling. Oil quenching is just what it sounds like, submerging the
parts in a vat of oil. Done properly oil quenching will produce desirable characteristics
but can be hazardous if done in properly. The part wants immersion oil must be allowed
to fully cool within that oil not just dipped and pulled out quickly. If only dipped and
pulled out quickly we run the risk of hitting the flashpoint of the oil in catching the oil on
fire. Next, water quenching we use it a lot as welders in training and practice. It’s very
inexpensive and safety use, and does an adequate job in quickly cooling the material so
that we can continue to practice our welding techniques. This is okay and practice, but
not for real-world parts. Water quenching as a quickly cools the material cause of
material to harden. The harder the material the more brittle or cracks sensitive and
typically is not good for a metallic component. The fastest cooling technique or
quenching method is Brine quenching. Brine is saltwater. The main difference is how
the water comes in contact with the part when submerged. In just plain water when we
submerge a hot piece of material we find water will boil around that material giving off
oxygen bubbles, so the water does not remain in constant contact with the part. Brine
the saltwater keeps the water in contact with the parting keeps it from boil. Brine
keeping the water in contact with the part therefore cause the part to cool much faster.
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 13
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
1.2.2 ANNEALING
(see Figure 4) is the process of taking metal material to its soft point. As a
heat treatment technique it is heated in an oven to a specific temperature, held there for
a specific amount of time, but the important part is how it’s cool. It is cooled in the oven
or furnace at the lowest possible rate to control the grain structure. In other words, the
smaller the grains the softer the metal material and the softer the metal material the
more the metal become ductile. This whole process is called the annealing process.
As we talked earlier about our welding wires being drawn into shape, the making of that
welding wire is a long process. Welding wires stretches and becomes hard when it is
cold worked. There is a point at which the metal material is too hard to continue to be
drawn. At this state, it must undergo heat treatment to fully anneal the material. Once
annealed or taking metal to its soft point we then continue the process of drawing the
welding wire down to size. This process will be repeated as many times as required in
order to get it down to his proper size.
As you can imagine this can be an expensive process. The expense is fueling the
oven/furnace and holding the item to be annealed in the oven/furnace for a designated
amount of time and controlling the rate of cooling. Note, this is a slow as possible that
may take hours to reach room temperature. Therefore we run the oven and furnace for
an extended length at reduced temperature to begin metal cooling process. This entire
process is economical when done at a large scale.
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 14
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
Figure 4: Image of full annealing temp range (image provided by George lade, 2008, Wikipedia)
1.2.3 NORMALIZING
(see Figure 10) is a process that is very similar to annealing. It is a heat treatment
process. We are not trying to take it to its fully soft state. We do want to continue to heat up in an
oven/furnace to a designated temperature of 1700-1800 degrees Fahrenheit. Hold the metal in
oven/furnace for the required amount of time…the amount of time depends on the thickness and size of
the item and could range from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. Keep in mind that the main difference is
how the metal cools. Normalizing allows metal materials to cool in open air until it reaches room
temperature. By doing this we would get higher strength measurements than if we annealed the item
(tensile), hardness and less ductile than annealing.
EXPLORE: Normalization
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 15
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
1.2.4 TEMPERING
(see Figure 6) is the process of reheating the part that has been hardened
through heating and quenching. Tempering is a big part of many operations and tools
and products. By tempering a metal item, such as a pair of pliers, we are able to keep
the strength and hardness along with controlling the amount of toughness that reduces
brittleness. For example, common hand tools are tempered. This is very important to
ensure that the metal materials or tools can have hardened jaws to perform tasks and
not break. This is seen in common tools like pliers, hammers, and many other tools
used daily. Without tempering the tools, we would find them too hard, cracked, or fall
apart when being used.
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 16
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
So many times in welding class, students will wear out a chipping hammer. Wearing out
chipping hammers is completely understandable but once we grind in trying to reshape
the hammerhead…we lose the toughness and hardness. A reused and reshape
hammerhead will no longer hold its strong point. To regain the temper it would not be
economical to do so as we would have to put an end of an oven, heated to the required
temperature, hold it at that temperature for the specified amount of time, and control the
rated will at which it cools. After this process we would have to reheat the material to a
lower temperature and again control the rated, which it cools. For a use tool, this would
be way too expensive and exceed the value of that tool. But we can attempt to regain
some of the characteristics manually. It won’t be as good as a brand-new hammerhead
but will be better than if we did not attempt to re-harden the metal materials. We can do
this by heating the material with the torch after reshaping the head until we see it cherry
red in color. Once we see the cherry red color we need to water quench the
hammerhead, which hardens it as it cools it quickly. But this is not enough in itself; we
must then slightly reheat the part just shy of being cherry red in color. Then we will want
to let the hammerhead air cool to the touch. By doing this we remove some of the
hardness but regain some toughness so that the hammerhead will hold up longer. As I
said before, the process will not make a brand-new product but it can lengthen the life of
the tool.
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 17
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
As mentioned earlier in the heat treatment section, metallurgist engineers and other
professionals over time have developed phase diagrams and heat charts. A phase
diagram and heat chart details what happens to a material at different temperatures,
some materials will soften and even lose their magnetic properties. This concept is hard
to imagine when we think of most steels as we normally think of them as being
magnetic. But at certain temperatures steels do lose their magnetic properties. So
again, as welders, we must understand how the heat we introduce into the base metal
effects that base metal and if we introduce too much heat what we might expect so that
we can put corrective actions in place which may require post weld heat treatment to
regain the proper characteristics. The area near weld in the base metal that is affected
by the heat is known as HAZ or the Heat Affected Zone. The
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 18
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
is where we typically will see the changing characteristics of the base metal and the
internal structure.
The phase diagram and or heat chart (see Figure 7) gives us a full picture of what
happens to the material at the different temperature ranges. With this knowledge we
can understand the temperatures we must be cautious not to get near or cross, and if
we do what it will do to the material. We can monitor the materials temperature through
the welding process with a number of tools:
• Temp Sticks - most common and inexpensive
• Infrared Temperature guns
• Thermocouples
EXPLORE: Click here or image below and explore
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 19
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
Figure 7: Heat Chart (Map provided by Tempil in The Hendrix Group, 2013)
In a phase diagram (see Video 3) you will see and hear different terms you may be
unfamiliar with. Terms such as pearlite, cementite, austenite, martensitic, ferrite are all
terms referring to the crystal structure and grain size of the crystals and from this we
can understand the different characteristics or the materials ability to absorb alloying
elements. As welders, our day-to-day duties normally don’t have us using these terms.
However, we must have a general understanding of what the terms mean in order to
converse with Engineers on the jobsite.
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 20
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
Video 3: Understanding and interpreting phase diagrams (By Khan Academy ,2014)
Have you ever seen a piece of metal under a ? What kind of structure
when magnified does a metallic piece of material have? The truth is, the structure of the
material, is crystalline. It’s hard to believe that a metal would resemble crystal when
magnified (see Figure 8). Most of us would not imagine a metal to have a crystal form;
the two structures don’t seem to work together. I think of crystal is being very brittle
almost like glass unlike what I expect out of a metal object. But the internal structure as
it is crystalline in form, changes its structure at different temperatures and then again in
the way that it cools. These changes alter the physical characteristics of that base
metal. The smaller the crystal grain structure the softer it is considered, in the softer the
more ductile. The larger the crystal grain structure the harder that material as the larger
the grains the more surface area and contact the individual crystals have with one
another. These phase diagrams document what we can find with different alloys. An
alloy is a material that is a mixture of different elements and not pure in form. Most
materials today are alloys and more are being developed every day for different
applications by changing its chemistry in the percentages of the elements that comprise
that base metal. With all of these new alloys new welding electrodes are being
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 21
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
developed to work with them. When thinking of an alloy I think of an old science
experiment when I was a kid. The science teacher walked in with a bucket full of
baseballs and asked the question to the class is it full? Of course all the kids said yes,
but the teacher then proceeded to take a bucket full of marbles and poured it into the
bucket of baseballs. The marbles filled all the spaces in between the baseballs. The
teacher then asked the question is the bucket that is now full of baseballs and marbles
fall? Most times the students are catching on they would say no. And the teacher
proceeds to fill it full now with sand. The sand again will fill the spaces in between the
baseballs and the marbles. The teacher again asked the question, is it full. The students
still wise to the trick answer no, and the teacher then fills the bucket full of water. This is
a demonstration of what we find with our point of metals. The different elements in their
purest form at the atomic level, when their mixed together the atoms of one element
merge with the other filling gaps in its structure and changing its characteristics.
Figure 8: Metal seen through the lens of a microscope (image provided by Olympus Corporation, 2014)
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 22
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
There are a number of different types of crystal structures that we expect and know that
are common with metal. As welders, we must understand crystal structure do lead to
metal characteristics. The heat from welding can change metal structure, therefore,
changing characteristics. Our goal, as welders, is to minimize the effect of welding like
heat input into metal material to minimize change in characteristics. You may ask why
do we even need to know this but the truth is we need to be able to converse
intelligently with the design engineers and the metallurgist with new products or alloys
that we are unfamiliar with to ensure the quality of product we are working on. In its
basic sense we need to understand when we hear these terms what are we talking
about, and the truth is when you hear body centered cubic unit cell (see Explore), face
centered cubic unit cell (see Explore), or hexagon all close packed cubic unit cell are all
different crystalline structures that we find in metal. Below you will see a list of different
structures of crystals as seen in metals.
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 23
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
MAJOR CONCEPTS
KEY CONCEPTS
• Physical characteristics
o Brittleness
o Ductility
o Toughness
o Hardness
o Strength
§ Tensile
• Yield Strength
• Yield point
• Ultimate Tensile
§ Compressive
§ Torsional
§ Shear
§
• Structure of material
• Heat from welding can affect physical characteristics
• Why heat treatment is used
KEY TERMS
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 24
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 25
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
ASSESSMENTS
MODULE REINFORCEMENT
WLD 204 Physical Characteristics
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. ____ is the ease with which a metal will crack or break apart without noticeable deformation.
a) Hardness
b) Toughness
c) Brittleness
d) Strength
a. Hardness
b. Brittleness
c. Toughness
d. Strength
____ 3. ____ is the property that allows a metal to withstand forces, sudden shock, or bends
without fracturing.
a. Hardness
b. Brittleness
c. Toughness
d. Strength
a. Tensile
b. Compressive
c. Shear
d. Torsional
a. Tensile
b. Compressive
c. Shear
d. Torsional
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 26
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
____ 6.____ strength is a measure of how well a part can withstand forces acting to cut or slice it apart.
a. Tensile
b. Compressive
c. Shear
d. Torsional
____ 7.____ is defined as the maximum load, per unit of area, to which a material will respond with a
deformation directly proportional to the load.
a. Elastic limit
b. Elasticity
c. Tensile strength
d. Yield limit
____ 8. The phases and temperatures at which an alloy exists is summarized in a (n) ____.
a. crystal diagram
b. WPS
c. phase diagram
d. phase graph
Completion
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 27
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
ANSWER KEYS
ANSWERS TO ASSESSMENT
MULTIPLE CHOICE (Answer Key)
1. ANS: Ductility
2. ANS: Tempering
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 28
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
DISCUSSIONS
QUESTION 1
With each of the physical properties discussed in this module, name each property in
relation to where it is considered critical to the property, product or application.
(Example: Compressive strength critical in high rise buildings)
With each of the characteristics listed below from this module, please discuss each
property in relation to an application where that property is critical in consideration for
the product or application and why. (Example: Compressive strength critical in high rise
buildings)
• Brittleness
• Ductility
• Toughness
• Hardness
• Strength
• Tensile
• Compressive
• Torsional
• Shear
QUESTION 2
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 29
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
ATTRIBUTION TABLE
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 30
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
Figure 6: Tempering
Zaereth Standards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ CC BY-SA 4.0
Tempering_(metallurgy)
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 31
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012
SC ACCELERATE WLD 204
This workforce solution was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of
Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The solution was created by the
grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of
Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any
kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on
linked sites, and including, but not limited to accuracy of the information or its
completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability or ownership.
SC ACCELERATE P a g e | 32
Version │ Course ID │ Rev 1 2012