Microstructural Stability in Tungsten Argon-Arc Welded Joint of GH3230 Superalloy Plate

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2023.00452

Acta Metall Sin

2025, Vol. 61

Issue (9): 1375-1386 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2023.00452

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Microstructural Stability in Tungsten Argon-Arc Welded Joint of GH3230 Superalloy Plate

ZHANG Tianhao¹^,², JU Quan², MENG Zhaobin², WANG Hao¹(

), HU Benfu¹

1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
2 Gaona Aero Material Co. Ltd., Beijing 100081, China

Cite this article:

ZHANG Tianhao, JU Quan, MENG Zhaobin, WANG Hao, HU Benfu. Microstructural Stability in Tungsten Argon-Arc Welded Joint of GH3230 Superalloy Plate. Acta Metall Sin, 2025, 61(9): 1375-1386.

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Abstract

GH3230 superalloy has excellent high-temperature mechanical properties and oxidation resistance; hence, it is widely used to manufacture key high-temperature structural components in the aerospace and other fields. In the research, development and production process of aero-engines and gas turbines, GH3230 superalloy plate is often used to make the welded components of a combustion chamber. Excellent weldability is an important technical index and is also an important basis for the plate component design and welding process formulation. For GH3230 superalloy welded plates used at high temperature, the stability of the microstructure of the welded joint is closely related to the mechanical properties of welded components. However, in theory, some deficits remain in the in-depth study of scientific problems regarding GH3230 superalloy welding; hence, the microstructure evolution of welded joint during its long-term service at high temperature has attracted attention. This study focuses on observing and analyzing the experimental phenomena of microstructural changes in welded joint (in the weld and heat affected zones), changes in the alloy element content of carbides, the coarsening rate of carbides, and degradation reaction between carbides after long-term thermal exposure at various high temperatures. Experimental results show that in the tungsten argon-arc welded thin plate of GH3230 superalloy, the dendrite morphology of the weld zone disappears after 2000 h of thermal exposure. Furthermore, the degree of dendrite segregation decreases remarkably, grain size in the heat affected zone becomes uneven, and carbide precipitation in the grain and grain boundary increases obviously. After long-term thermal exposure at various temperatures, the solid solubility and content of alloying elements in two types of carbides—(Cr, W)₂₃C₆ and (W, Cr)₆C—in the welded joint change and coarsening rate of M₂₃C₆ carbide exhibits an obvious increase. During the long-term thermal exposure of the argon-arc welded thin plate, the microstructures of the weld and heat affected zones undergo alloy carbide degradation based on diffusion, which changes the type, quantity, size, morphology, and location distribution of carbide.

Key words: GH3230 superalloy welded joint long-term thermal exposure treatment carbide degradation reaction

Received: 15 November 2023

ZTFLH:

TG132.3

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(51571020)

Corresponding Authors: WANG Hao, professor, Tel: 13811892951, E-mail: hwang@ustb.edu.cn

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	ZHANG Tianhao
	JU Quan
	MENG Zhaobin
	WANG Hao
	HU Benfu

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2023.00452 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2025/V61/I9/1375

Fig.1 OM images of welded joint and base metal of GH3230 alloy welded plate
(a) weld zone
(b) heat affected zone
(c) base metal

Fig.2 OM (a, c) and SEM (b, d) images of weld zone (a, b) and heat affected zone (c, d) of GH3230 alloy weld plate after thermal exposure at 1000 ^oC for 2000 h

Fig.3 SEM images and corresponding EDS analyses of carbides in weld zone of GH3230 alloy weld plate after long-term thermal exposure at 700 ^oC (a), 800 ^oC (b), 900 ^oC (c), and 1000 ^oC (d) for 2000 h

Fig.4 SEM images of carbides in heat affected zone of GH3230 alloy weld plate after thermal exposure at 700 ^oC (a), 800 ^oC (b), 900 ^oC (c), and 1000 ^oC (d) for 2000 h

Table 1 EDS analysis results of points 9-16 in Fig.4

Fig.5 BSE images (a1, b1) and EPMA elemental maps of Cr (a2, b2) and W (a3, b3) in weld zone of GH3230 alloy weld plate after long-term thermal exposure at 700 ^oC (a1-a3) and 1000 ^oC (b1-b3) for 2000 h (f_A—area fraction)

Fig.6 Bright field TEM image of carbides (a); corresponding EDS mapping of Cr, Ni, and W (b); and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern of the red circle region in Fig.6a (c) in weld zone of GH3230 alloy weld plate after long-term thermal exposure at 700 ^oC for 2000 h

Fig.7 TEM analyses of carbides in heat affected zone of GH3230 alloy weld plate after long-term thermal exposure at 700 ^oC for 2000 h
(a-c) bright field TEM image of carbides (a); corresponding EDS mapping of Cr, Ni, and W (b); and SAED pattern of the red circle region in Fig.7a (c) (d-g) bright field TEM image of large-sized carbide and its surrounding small granular carbides (d); corresponding EDS mapping of Cr, Ni, W (e), and Co (f); and SAED pattern of the red circle region in Fig.7d (g)

Fig.8 Changes of carbide alloying element content in weld zone (a, c) and heat affected zone (b, d) of GH3230 alloy weld plate after long-term thermal exposure at different temperatures for 1500 h (a, b) and 2000 h (c, d)

Fig.9 Average sizes of M₂₃C₆ carbides in different regions of GH3230 alloy weld plate after thermal exposure at different temperatures for 2000 h

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