Study on Hydrogen Embrittlement of Cracks in Cold Weld Seams Marcelo Yamaguti, Dorotéa Vilanova Garcia, Emmanuelle Sá Freitas Feitosa

Abstract

Hydrogen embrittlement cracking has been studied for several years due to its harmful consequences on weld seams and welded joints made in high tensile steels, such as ASTM A 131, due to the tendency (if welding parameters are not adequate) of these high tensile steels to generate embrittlement structure (martensite), which together with the presence of hydrogen, provide the ideal conditions for the arising of cold cracks, according to the Granjon mechanism. Appropriate measures for the control of welding parameters are essential to reduce or even eliminate the possibility of forming these types of cracks. Among the parameters to be controlled, one of the most important is the control of the cooling rate of the weld area. The mathematical modeling for the visualization of the heat distribution from the fusing puddle is a resource that could facilitate the decision making on the best strategy to be used to control the welding parameters, which is the scope of this work.