Fracture behavior of S355J2W steel and weld at low temperature

Abstract

The weather‐resistant steel S355J2W shows potential for use in the bogies of high‐speed trains operating in extremely cold regions. In this study, the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of S355J2W steel and its MAG welding joints were investigated using low‐temperature uniaxial tensile tests, Charpy impact tests, and three‐point bending tests (TPB), which play an important role in the safety and reliability of train operation. The ductility and toughness indices decreased as the temperature decreased from room temperature to −114°C, and the weld is more dangerous and prone to fracture than the base material area. The бs/бb values of WM and HAZ samples slightly increased by 3.7% and 3.8% from 20 to −114°C, respectively. And the ductile–brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of BM, WM, and HAZ were −75.6, −46.1, and −56.6°C, respectively. The fracture micro‐mechanisms were evaluated by analyzing the grain misorientation along the residual cracks using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The high‐angle grain boundaries (GBs) in the base metal were observed to greatly contribute to stopping or deflecting the crack propagation, thereby improving the low‐temperature toughness. In contrast, the cracks easily penetrate the low‐angle GBs of the weld (which made up 38% of the grain boundaries of the welds), thereby decreasing the lower temperature fracture toughness of the weld. The dislocations of S355J2W steel and the weld metal were investigated by TEM analysis.