Effect of Multiple Thermal Cycles on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AISI 1045 Weldments

Muhammad Atif Makhdoom; Furqan Ahmed; Iftikhar Ahmed Channa; Aqil Inam; Fahad Riaz; Sajid Hussain Siyal; Muhammad Ali Shar; Abdulaziz Alhazaa

doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c05249

Effect of Multiple Thermal Cycles on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AISI 1045 Weldments

ACS Omega. 2022 Nov 9;7(46):42313-42319. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.2c05249. eCollection 2022 Nov 22.

Authors

Muhammad Atif Makhdoom¹, Furqan Ahmed², Iftikhar Ahmed Channa³, Aqil Inam¹, Fahad Riaz¹, Sajid Hussain Siyal⁴, Muhammad Ali Shar⁵, Abdulaziz Alhazaa⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
² Metallurgical & Materials Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemical, Metallurgical and Polymer Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology (UET), Lahore 54000, Pakistan.
³ Department of Metallurgical Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi 75270, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Mechanical & Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, U.K.
⁶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

AISI 1045 medium carbon steel sheets having 10 mm thickness were subjected to the shielded metal arc welding process with three, five, and seven passes. The variations in the microstructure due to multiple thermal cycles in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), base metal (BM), and fusion zone (FZ) have been investigated and correlated with measured mechanical properties. Upon comparing fracture mechanics and mechanical properties with microstructural observations, it is elucidated that samples become ductile by increasing the number of thermal cycles which can be attributed to the transformations in the ferrite morphology in the HAZ. Based on mechanical, microstructural, and fracture analysis, it is concluded that post-weld heat treatment can be avoided if the number of passes during welding is increased.