On Mechanical Properties of Welded Joint in Novel High-Mn Cryogenic Steel in Terms of Microstructural Evolution and Solute Segregation

Abstract

There is a growing demand for high-manganese wide heavy steel plate with excellent welding performance for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank building. However, studies on welding of high-Mn austenitic steel have mainly focused on the applications of automotive industry for a long time. In the present work, a high-Mn cryogenic steel was welded by multi-pass Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), and the microstructural evolution, solute segregation and its effect on the properties of welded joint (WJ) were studied. The yield strength, tensile strength and elongation of the WJ reached 804 MPa, 1027 MPa and 11.2% at −196 °C, respectively. The elongation of WJ was reduced with respect to the BM due to the poorer strain hardening capacity of weld metal (WM) at −196 °C. The WM and coarse-grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ) had the lowest cryogenic impact absorbed energy of ~55 J (at −196 °C). The inhibited twin formation caused by the higher critical resolved shear twinning stress ( ${\tau }_{\mathrm{T}}$ ) in the C-Mn-Si segregation band, the inhomogeneous microstructure caused by solute segregation, and the hardened austenite matrix deteriorated the plastic deformation capacity, finally resulting in the decreased cryogenic impact toughness of the CGHAZ. To summarize, the cryogenic toughness and tensile properties of the WJ meet the requirements for LNG tank building.