Different Behavior in Electron Beam Welding of 18 Ni Co-free Maraging Steels

Microstructures of two different 18 Ni Co-free maraging specimens A and B and their electron beam (EB) weld joints were investigated comparatively by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is shown that both of the steels are typical lath martensite; however, grain size of specimen A is about three times as large as that of specimen B. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the amount of the reverted austenitic phase in A is obviously less than that in B. Most of the austenite distributes in plate form along grain and lath boundaries while some of it distributes as fine particles within the matrix. The microstructural differences between the two specimens led to diverse behaviors in EB welding. The specimen A is weldable but B shows obvious welding defects of pits and burn-through holes in weld face. The welding microstructure exhibits a typical dendritic morphology, and the grains in the heat-affected zone recrystallized and grew because of high temperatures of welding EB. The weldablity of the examined materials is related to the microstructure characteristics that markedly affected thermal conduction performance.