Effect of Stress Relieving on Mechanical and Metallurgical Properties of Shielded Metal Arc Welded Joints of A517 Steel

Stress relieving is a common practice among manufacturing codes for reducing the magnitude of residual stresses in welded, quenched, and tempered steel structures and pressure vessels. The present work investigates the effect of stress relieving at 480, 560, 620, and 680°C on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 20 mm ASTM A517 Gr. B steel plate weldments produced by shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). For this purpose, metallographic analysis, hardness measurement, charpy V-notched impact test, and tensile test were performed. Result showed that stress relieving reduced the impact toughness of all the base metals but better mechanical properties (hardness, tensile stress and impact toughness) were achieved when it was accomplished at 560°C.