Hardening the surfaces of gear teeth is an

STRUCTURAL STEEL SHAPES example of flame hardening. Flame hardening

Leg Leg
can also be used on certain types of cast iron.
B Flange B E H
Web
Flame hardening has the advantage in that it
A A E G can be used on parts that are too bulky to put
A = Flange Width B = Depth E, G, H = Width of Leg into a furnace.
Structural Structural Equal Angle Unequal Angle
Beam Channel
Flange Width Width of Head
Width Head

Depth Depth Flange Depth

Stem Width

Tee Zee U-Bar Rail

Width of
Base

2
Size Size Size

Reinforcement Bars Hexagonal Bar

Di lling
Thickness

on
cti
Ro
re
1
Size X
Width Width
Y
Oval Bar Half Oval Bar Round Bar

Thickness Thickness Z

X Direction Best strength and ductility

Size
Width Y Direction 30% reduction in strength
Width
Square Bar Square Edge Flat Bar 30% reduction in ductility
Half Round Bar
Wall
Thickness
Z Direction Lower strength; virtually
Thickness
no ductility

Approx. Fig. 3-32 Rolling directions. From Welding

Nominal Size Inspection Technology, 4/e, slide set; 2000
Width
Pipe Pipe Size Tubing
Round Edge Flat Bar

Fig. 3-31 Commercial structural steel shapes.

Fig. 3-34 Vessel ready for

quenching, or quick cooling.
Fig. 3-33 All-welded pressure vessel being The metal changes from white-
removed from a heat-treating furnace. hot to black in less than three
Nooter Corp. minutes. Nooter Corp.

Steel and Other Metals Chapter 3 69


JO B TI P
In the Know
Over half of the products manufactured
in the United States are impacted by welding. The
competitive student comes to this marketplace with
some knowledge of lasers, robotics, fusion welding,
welding design, materials science, solid-state welding,
metallurgy, computer modeling, and nondestructive
evaluation.
Annealing Annealing includes several different treat-
ments. The effects of annealing are:
To remove stresses
To induce softness for better machining properties
To alter ductility, toughness, or electrical, magnetic,
or other physical properties
To refine the crystalline structure
To produce a definite microstructure
The changes that take place in a metal depend on the
annealing temperature, the rate of cooling, and the carbon
content.
When it is desired to produce maximum softness and
grain refinement in previously hardened steel, the steel is
heated slightly above the critical range and cooled slowly.
Either the metal is allowed to cool in the furnace, which
is gradually cooled, or it is buried in lime or some other
insulating material.
Another form of annealing is stress-relief annealing.
It is usually applied only to low carbon steels. The pur-
pose here is to relieve the stress caused by working of
the steel, such as in welding. The material is heated to
a point just below the critical range and allowed to cool
normally.
It is important to note here that the difference between
hardening and softening of steels is due to the rate of
cooling. Fast cooling hardens, and slow cooling softens.
Both tempering and annealing reduce the hardness of a
material.
Tempering Tempering is a process wherein the hard-
ness of a steel is reduced after heat treatment. It is
also used to relieve the stresses and strains caused by
quenching. This is usually done by heating the hard-
ened steel to some predetermined temperature between
room temperature and the critical temperature, holding
it at that temperature for a length of time, and cooling
70 Chapter 3 Steel and Other Metals
it in air or water. The reduction of hardness depends
upon the following three factors: (1) the tempering tem-
perature, (2) the amount of time the steel is held at this
temperature, and (3) the carbon content of the steel.
Generally, as the temperature and time are increased,
the hardness will be decreased. The higher the carbon
content at a given temperature and time, the higher the
resulting hardness.
Normalizing The purpose of normalizing is to improve
the grain structure of a metal and return it to normal
by removing stresses after welding, casting, or forging.
These stresses are caused by uneven cooling following
these operations.
Normalizing is done by heating the steel to a temper-
ature similar to that used for annealing and then cool-
ing it in still air. Normalizing requires a faster rate of
cooling than that employed for annealing, and it results
in harder, stronger metal than that which is obtained by
annealing.
Metal Internal Structures
Metallurgy is the science that deals with the internal
structure of metals. In welding metallurgy we are con-
cerned about the various changes that take place in the
metals when they are cut or joined with thermal processes
such as welding or thermal cutting. Especially problem-
atic are mechanical property changes.
In order to understand metallurgical properties
of metals, it is important to have an understanding of
atomic structure and the various states of matter. The
four states of matter are solids, liquids, gases, and
plasmas. These four states of matter must be dealt
with each time a piece of metal is welded or ther-
mally cut.
The atomic arrangements that make up these four
states of matter are so small they cannot be seen, even
with the most powerful microscopes. Inside these ex-
tremely small atoms there are subatomic particles, in-
cluding electrons (which carry a negative charge) and
protons (which carry a positive charge). The attracting
and repelling forces of these particles affect the proper-
ties of the material.
For example, a solid such as steel has an atomic struc-
ture such that when a process attempts to force the atoms
closer together, a strong repulsive action counteracts the
compressive forces. If, on the other hand, a process at-
tempts to pull the atoms further apart, a strong attractive
action counteracts the tensile forces. The atoms try to
maintain a home position even though they are constantly
in a state of vibration.

vs
Fig. 3-35 Solid versus liquid. American Welding Society
As heat energy such as from a welding arc is put on
to a solid such as steel, the atomic movement becomes
more active. As the temperature rises, the atomic struc-
ture expands. If the temperature continues to rise above
the melting temperature of the steel, the atoms are able to
move freely and the solid becomes a liquid. If the tem-
perature is increased still further, the vaporization
temperature will be reached and the liquid will turn
into a gas. If the gas is superheated, it will ionize and
become a plasma. Gas plasma is simply a gas that has
become an electrical conductor. This form of plasma
occurs in the welding arc and thus this name is applied
to such processes as plasma arc cutting and plasma
arc welding.
A graphic example of the transition from liquid to solid
or solid to liquid is shown in Fig. 3-35, which depicts an
example of a solid railroad rail and a pour of liquid metal,
which eventually was formed into the rail.
Solid metals take on a three-dimensional crystalline
structure because the atoms align themselves into orderly
layers, lines, and rows. Looking at the broken surface of
a metal or weld, this crystalline structure is quite evident.
The metal has not been crystallized because it is old or has
been overheated but because all metals are crystalline in
nature.
The most common phases, or crystalline struc-
tures, of metals are body-centered cubic (BCC), face-
centered cubic (FCC), body-centered tetragonal (BCT),
and hexagonal close-packed (HCP). These crystal
structures can be represented in Table 3-1. The table

Table 3-1 Metals and Their Phases (Crystalline Structures)

Structure Name Description

Body-centered cubic: a cube with an atom at each of the eight corners and a single atom at
the center of the cell.

Example Metals: carbon steels, iron, chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten.

BCC

Face-centered cubic: describes a cube with one atom at the center of each of the six faces.

Example Metals: carbon steel and iron heated above its transformation temperature,
aluminum, nickel, silver, copper, and austenitic stainless steels.
FCC

A body-centered tetragonal: unit cell has one axis elongating to form the shape of a
rectangle, with an atom in the center.

Example Metals: alloy steels and higher carbon, when rapidly cooled, form martensite,
a very hard, crack-susceptible phase.
BCT

In a hexagonal close-packed structure, two hexagons (six-sided shapes) form the top and
bottom of a prism with an atom located at the center and at each point of the hexagon.
A triangle is located midpoint between the top and bottom prism, with an atom at each
point of the triangle.

Example Metals: magnesium, cadmium, and zinc.

HCP

Adapted from American Welding Society, Welding Inspection Technology, 4th ed., p. 87, fig. 8.7, 2000

Steel and Other Metals Chapter 3 71

 Fine-Grained Metals Have

Ferrite
Good tensile strength
2800 Liquid 1538
Good ductility
Good low temperature properties
Liquid
2400 and 1316
Austenite
Coarse-Grained Metals Have
Slightly lower strength
2000 1093
Slightly less ductility
Austenite
Good high temperature properties

A cm
Welding has a marked effect on grain size depending
871
F
1600 A
3 C
on such factors as heat input, cooling rate (preheat), long
or short arc, slow or fast travel speed, welding on the
723
1333 high or low end of the parameter ranges, and the process
1200 A1 Austenite and A3, 1 Ferrite 649
selected.
Ferrite
Ferrite and Cementite Another method of affecting mechanical properties
427
is alloying. This changes the orderly rows, lines, and
800
layers of the three-dimensional crystalline structure
Perlite the pure metal would take. Small atoms such as those
and Perlite and Cementite
Ferrite 204
of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen can occupy spaces
400
Eutectionid

between the larger atoms in a material structure. This

Pearlite

is known as interstitial alloying. Larger atoms such as

0 0.8
Hypoeutectoid Hypereutectoid
Percent Carbon
Fig. 3-36 Iron carbon phase. From Welding Inspection Technology,
4/e, slide set; 2000
describes these crystal structures and the metals that
they impact. Figures 3-36 and 3-37 illustrate an iron
carbon phase diagram and the five circles that show the
various phases steel goes through as it is heated and
cooled.
As molten metal (liquid) solidifies into its solid crys-
talline structure, it starts at the interface between the
molten weld metal and the cooler unmelted heat-affected
zone. These clusters of atoms form grains and grain
boundaries, as seen in Fig. 3-38, page 74. Note the imag-
inary mold denoted by the dashed line. This is very simi-
lar in principle to the molten steel in a ladle being poured
into an ingot mold as in the steelmaking process. A weld
is considered a cast structure because of this similarity
to the making of steel.
The grain (crystal) size will have an effect on the me-
chanical properties of the metal.
those of copper and nickel will replace other atoms in
2.0 a material structure. This is known as substitutional
alloying. The additions of these types of alloying ele-
ments create irregularities in the orderly arrangement
of the atoms in these structures. Figure 3-39, page 74
shows a representation of this effect. Note that the
presence of an alloying element exerts various degrees
of atomic attraction and repulsion. This distorts or
strains the grain structure, which tends to increase the
internal energy of the metal and results in improved
mechanical properties. See the colored insert.
The elements used for alloying will be discussed later
in this chapter in the section titled Effects of Common
Elements on Steel.
Physical Properties of Metals
It is very important for the welder to be familiar with the
physical properties of metals and the terms and measure-
ments used to describe them. For convenience, the defini-
tions of common properties have been divided into three
general classifications: those related to the absorption and
transmission of energy, the internal structure of the metal,
and resistance to stress.
Properties Related to Energy
Melting Point The melting point is the temperature at
which a substance passes from a solid to a liquid con-
dition. For water this is 32F. Steel has a melting point
around 2,700F, depending upon the carbon range. The

72 Chapter 3 Steel and Other Metals

 The Five Circles
This is a broad simplification, but consider yourself looking through a microscope lens as the highly polished and etched steel is heated and
cooled at various rates. If you can grasp what is taking place in these five circles, it will aid you greatly in understanding more complex issues
related to the heating and cooling of steel.

Carbon Dissolved
in FCC Iron
-Iron

Austenite Nonmagnetic

Heat It FCC (14) Unit

above Iron Carbide Cell 1,333 F Iron Carbide
BCC Fe3C BCC (9) Unit Cell BCC Fe3C
1,333 F
Ferrite Worm Ferrite Worm
Soft Soft
Ductile Ductile
Moderate Moderate
Strength Strength
Cementite Cementite
Pearlite Pearlite

Cell 1: Steel at room temperature, which is in the process of being heated.
This structure is pearlite (BCC) and is made up of ferrite which is alpha iron
and cementite. It is also referred to as iron carbide Fe3C. It can be observed
as having a worm-like appearance. Pearlite is a soft, ductile form of steel
with moderate strength (tensile and yield).
Cell 2: Steel has a transformation temperature that is dependent upon its
carbon content. In this exercise we will be using 1,333 F as a fixed
temperature. BCC steel has its atoms arranged into a 9-unit cell
configuration and is magnetic. Above 1,333 F it is still solid, but the atoms
realign into FCC, a 14-unit cell configuration. (Note Table 3-1.) In this phase
the solid steel can absorb large amounts of carbon and is referred to as
austenite. In austenite, carbon is soluble up to 2% by weight, whereas in
ferrite carbon is soluble up to only 0.02% by weight. As the carbon dissolves
into the FCC iron, also called gamma iron, it becomes nonmagnetic.

Carbon Dissolved Carbon Dissolved

in FCC Iron in FCC Iron
-Iron -Iron
Nonmagnetic Nonmagnetic
Austenite FCC Austenite
Fast Cool
1,333 F BCC
Slow Cool Iron Carbide Iron Carbide
BCC Fe3C 1,333 F BCC
Reforms Fe3C
Pearlite Ferrite Worm Ferrite Worm
Soft Soft
Ductile Ductile
Moderate Moderate
Strength Strength
Cementite Cementite

Pearlite Bainite Pearlite

Cell 3: If cooled very slowly the austenite will all return to pearlite. The slow
cooling would be like leaving the steel in a furnace, then turning off the
furnace and over a day or so it cools to room temperature. This slow cooling
(annealing) allows the carbon time to come out of solution and reform the
soft, ductile pearlite structure.
Cell 4: This cell shows a somewhat faster cooling rate. Instead of leaving the
steel in the furnace, it is removed from the furnace and allowed to cool in still
air. This faster cooling rate (normalizing) will form a bainite structure. It can
be observed as not having the worm-like appearance but more like a slug,
shorter and broader. Bainite is harder, stronger, and less ductile than
pearlite, thus has higher tensile and yield strength.

Fig. 3-37 Transformation of steel upon heating and cooling at various rates. Adapted from Kenneth W. Coryell (Continued)

higher the carbon content is, the lower will be the melting
point. The higher the melting point, the greater the amount
of heat needed to melt a given volume of metal. The tem-
perature of the heat source in welding must be above the
melting point of the material being welded. For example,
the temperature of a flame produced by the burning of
acetylene with air is not as high as the temperature of the
flame produced by the burning of acetylene with oxygen.
Thus it does not have the ability to melt the same materi-
als that the oxyacetylene flame has.

Steel and Other Metals Chapter 3 73

 Carbon Gets a Chance to Move
Finely Dispersed FeC3
Carbon Dissolved Carbon Dissolved
in FCC Iron BCC/BCT (Little Dots) in FCC Iron
-Iron Reheated to Less Than -Iron
1,333 F
Nonmagnetic Slightly Lower Strength Nonmagnetic
Good Toughness
Austenite Good Stuff
FCC Austenite
Quenched FCC
BCT 1,333 F Iron Carbide Quenched 1,333 F
BCC Iron Carbide
Harder Fe3C Martensite BCT Harder BCC
Fe3C
Stronger Ferrite Tempered Stronger Ferrite
Worm
Very Strong Less- Soft Very Strong Less- Worm
Acicular
Very Hard Ductile Ductile Very Hard Ductile Soft
Traps-
Brittle Faster Moderate Brittle Faster Ductile
Carbon
Poor- Cooling Strength Poor- Cooling Moderate
Inside
Ductility FeC3 Not Ductility FeC3 Not Strength
Cementite BCC or
Bad Stuff Worms Bad Stuff Worms Cementite
BCT
But Slugs But Slugs
Pearlite Martensite Stress Bainite Pearlite
Martensite Bainite
Marks

Cell 5: This cell shows what a very fast cooling rate would do to the steel.
It would be like taking the steel directly out of the furnace and quenching it in
brine water, plain water, or oil. This would not give the carbon time to diffuse
out of the austenite and would form an acicular (needle-like) structure called
martensite (BCT). The trapped carbon will make the steel very strong (high
tensile and yield), but at a great sacrifice to ductility. This is bad stuff as it
will be very hard and brittle and prone to cracking. Martensite must be dealt
withthe case is not will it crack, but when will it crack.
Cell 6: To keep some of the good characteristics of martensite (such as
strength) but bring back some of the ductility, the steel can be tempered.
This is done by heating it below the transformation temperature and then
cooling slowly. This gives the carbon a chance to move and finely disperse
the Fe3C. It is a combination of BCC/BCT. The little dots you can see are
much like the dowel rods used in wood working to give more strength at a
joint or, in this case, the grain boundaries. This will form good stuff as it
has good strength and toughness.

Generally, cooling rate is most critical when steel is heated above the transformation temperature and is much less critical if heated below the transformation
temperature. It is not possible to transform steel between martensite, bainite, and pearlite without first taking it through the austenitic phase.

Fig. 3-37 Transformation of steel upon heating and cooling at various rates. (Concluded)
Imaginary Mold Interstitial Alloying

Initial Liquid
Solid
Crystals

Initial Crystal Formation

A

Solid Grains Liquid Substitutional Atoms

Continued Solidification
B

Liquid
Grain
Boundaries

Fig. 3-39 (A) Smaller atoms, such as carbon, nitrogen, and hydro-
gen, tend to occupy sites between the atoms that form the grain struc-
Complete Solidification
ture of the base metal. This is known as interstitial alloying. (B) Alloying
C elements with atoms close to the size of those of the base metal tend
to occupy substitutional sites. That is, they replace one of the base
Fig. 3-38 Solidification of molten weld metal. Adapted from metal atoms in the grain structure. This is known as substitutional
American Welding Society, Welding Inspection Technology, 5th edition, alloying. Adapted from American Welding Society, Welding Inspection
p. 85, Figure 8-4, 2000 Technology, 4th ed., p. 87, fig. 8.7, 2000

74 Chapter 3 Steel and Other Metals

Weldability Weldability is the capacity of a metal sub-
stance to form a strong bond of adherence while under
pressure or during solidification from a liquid state.
Fusibility Fusibility is the ease with which a metal may be
melted. In general, soft metals are easily fusible, whereas
harder metals melt at higher temperatures. For example,
tin, lead, and zinc are more easily fused than iron, chro-
mium, and molybdenum.
Volatility Volatility is the ease with which a substance
may be vaporized. A metal that has a low melting point is
more volatile than a metal with a high melting point. Vola-
tility is measured by the degree of temperature at which a
metal boils under atmospheric pressure.
Electrical Conductivity The electrical conductivity of a
substance is the ability of the substance to conduct electri-
cal current.
Electrical Resistance The opposition to electric current
as it flows through a wire is termed the resistance of the
wire. Electrical resistance is measured by a unit called
the ohm. Lead has 10 times the resistance of copper. This
means that lead wire would have to be 10 times as large
as the copper wire to carry the same amount of current
without loss. A poor conductor heats up to a greater extent
than a good conductor when the same amount of current
is passed through each.
Thermal ConductivityThe thermal conductivity of a
substance is the ability of the substance to carry heat.
The heat that travels to both sides of the groove face dur-
ing the welding of a bevel butt joint is proof that metals
conduct heat. The heat is rapidly conducted away from
the groove face in a good thermal conductor, but slowly
in a poor one. Copper is a good conductor, and iron is a
poor conductor. This accounts for the fact that copper re-
quires more heat for welding than iron, although its melt-
ing point (1,981F) is lower than the melting point of iron
(2,750F).
Coefficient of Thermal ExpansionThe coefficient of
thermal expansion is the amount of expansion a metal
undergoes when it is heated and the amount of con-
traction that occurs when it is cooled. The increase in
the length of a bar 1 inch long when its temperature is
raised 1C is called the linear coefficient of thermal
expansion. The higher the coefficient, the greater the
amount of expansion and, therefore, the greater the con-
traction upon cooling. Expansion and contraction will be
discussed in more detail under E ffects of Welding on
Metal, pp. 99109.
Hot ShortnessHot shortness is brittleness in metal
when hot. This characteristic should be kept in mind in
the handling of hot metals and in jig construction and
clamping.
Overheating A metal is said to be overheated when
the temperature exceeds its critical range, that is, it is
heated to such a degree that its properties are impaired.
In some instances it is possible to destroy the original
properties of the metal through heat treatment. If the
metal does not respond to further heat treatment, it is
considered to be burned and cannot meet the require-
ments of a heavy load. In arc welding, excess welding
current or too slow a travel speed may cause overheating
in the weld deposit.
Properties Related to Internal Structure
Specific Gravity Specific gravity is a unit of measure-
ment based on the weight of a volume of material com-
pared with an equal volume of water. Aluminum has a
specific gravity of 2.70; thus, it is almost 2 times heavier
than water. When two molten metals are mixed together,
the metal with the lower specific gravity will be forced to
the top, and the metal with the higher specific gravity will
sink to the bottom.
Density A metal is said to be dense when it is compact
and does not contain such discontinuities as slag, inclu-
sions, and porosity. Density is expressed as the quantity
per unit volume. The density of low carbon steel, for
example, is 0.283 pound per cubic inch. The density of
aluminum, a much lighter metal, is only 0.096 pound per
cubic inch.
Porosity Porosity is the opposite of density. Some
materials are porous by their very nature and allow liq-
uids under pressure to leak through them. Materials that
are porous have an internal structure that lacks com-
pactness or have other discontinuities that leave voids in
the metal.
Properties Related to Stress Resistance
An important physical property of a metal is the
ability of that material to perform under certain types
of stress. Stresses to which metal fabrications are sub-
jected during both welding and service include the
following:
Compression: squeezing
Shear: strain on a lap joint pulled in opposite
directions
Steel and Other Metals Chapter 3 75