Assessment of the Weldability of EH36 TMCP Shipbuilding Steel Welded by High Heat Input Submerged Arc Welding

Abstract High heat input welding is one of the alternatives adopted by the world’s major shipyards for increasing productivity in operations for joining materials in shipbuilding. However, the thermal cycles generated during welding may cause microstructural transformations that are detrimental to the mechanical properties, mainly toughness in the heat-affected zone (HAZ). The main aim of this study was characterization of the microstructure and assessment of the mechanical properties of the HAZ of EH36 shipbuilding steel produced by controlled rolling followed by accelerated cooling (Thermo Mechanical Control Process (TMCP) – thermo-mechanically controlled process) compared to a steel of the same grade produced by conventional rolling, both welded by the submerged arc process with two levels of heat input: 76 and 130 kJ/cm. It was observed that the presence of a more refined microstructure in the different regions of the HAZ, associated with the smaller grain size of the base metal and the lower carbon equivalent, were the main factors contributing to the excellent toughness of the HAZ of TMCP steel compared to conventional steel. The results achieved show that it is possible to obtain welded joints with excellent mechanical properties and toughness when using TMCP steel for high heat input welding, and its use is a possible strategy for optimizing fabrication times and costs in the shipbuilding industry.