Effect of Inclusions on Acicular Ferrite Formation in Submerged Arc Welding of API5L-X65

In the present study, effect of inclusions characteristics changing on the formation of acicular ferrite in submerged arc welding of API5l-X65 low alloy steel was investigated. Three different welding fluxes with different chemical composition and basicity index of 0.72, 0.82 and 0.99, and two different welding heat inputs of 1.6 kJ / mm and 2.4 kJ / mm were used to create inclusions with different characteristics such as chemical composition and size. The results indicate that inclusions acting as acicular ferrite nucleation sites and improvement of the microstructure and resulted mechanical properties, can be observed in welding conditions in which the welding flux with lowest basicity index and higher welding heat input. Under these conditions, the percentage of inclusions with a high titanium oxide value and size range of 0.5 to 1.5 micrometers is increased, which increases the amount of acicular ferrite in the microstructure. However, in other welding conditions, formation of grain boundary ferrite reduces amount of acicular ferrite and weakens mechanical properties of weld metal compared to the base metal.