The Effect of Post-Weld Heat Treatment Temperature on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of FCAW-Welded SS400 Steel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36805/nq48my18Keywords:
shipping industry, welding, FCAW welding, PWHT, radiography, mikostruktur, tensile strength.Abstract
Low-carbon structural steels, such as SS400, are widely used in shipbuilding because of their good weldability, ductility, and adequate strength. However, welding introduces residual stresses and microstructural transformations that may reduce the mechanical performance of welded joints; therefore, post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) is important for improving weld integrity. This study investigated the effect of PWHT temperature on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of SS400 steel welded using flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) in the 3G and 4G positions. Welded specimens were subjected to PWHT at 550, 650, and 750°C for 60 min, followed by air cooling, while non-PWHT specimens were used as a reference. Microstructural characterization, hardness testing, and tensile testing were performed to evaluate the mechanical behavior of the welded joints. The base metal and heat-affected zone (HAZ) were predominantly composed of ferrite and pearlite under all conditions, whereas the weld metal exhibited martensite and Widmanstätten ferrite in the lower PWHT range. Among the investigated conditions, PWHT at 550 °C produced the most favorable mechanical response, achieving the highest tensile strength of 556 MPa and average hardness values of 191.3 HV in the base metal, 189.3 HV in the HAZ, and 179 HV in the weld metal. The results demonstrate that PWHT temperature significantly influences phase evolution and mechanical performance, with 550°C identified as an effective treatment condition for improving the mechanical reliability of FCAW-welded SS400 joints.
References
N. MUHAYAT, S. YASINTA, A. R. PRABOWO, Y. C. N. SAPUTRO, and T. TRIYONO, "EFFECT OF THE POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE OF THE UNDERWATER WET WELDING SS400 STEEL," HRČAK, vol. 62, pp. 20-22, 2025.
J. Sutanto, I. Iswanto, I. Sumirat, A. Pramutadi Andi Mustari, and S. Permana, "Development of Standard Test Specimens for Competency Improvement of Non-destructive Test (NDT) Personnel—Industrial Radiography," JMPM (Jurnal Material dan Proses Manufaktur), vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 116-124, 2025.
F. W. Pribadi and N. S. Drastiawati, "PENGARUH VARIASI TEMPERATUR DALAM PROSES PWHT PENGELASAN SMAW UNTUK MATERIAL BAJA SS400 TERHADAP NILAI KEKUATAN TARIK DAN KEKUATAN IMPAK," Jurnal Teknik Mesin, vol. 12 no. 2, pp. 17-22, 2024.
B. Bagheri Vanani, M. R. Mehraban Dehaqani, M. Abbasi, M. Sadeqi Bajestani, M. Mohammadkhah, and S. Klinge, "Effects of PWHT on the microstructure, corrosion, tribology, and mechanical properties of mild steel welds under different joining positions: Experimental and Numerical Study," Journal of Materials Research and Technology, vol. 38, pp. 752-767, 2025.
B. X. Guo, X. W. Du, and J. Hu, "Study on TIG and SMAW Comprehensive Welding Process of 1Cr18Ni9Ti/Q235 Compound Steel," Advanced Materials Research, vol. 487, pp. 371-374, 2012.
I. O. Oladele, D. B. Alonge, T. O. Betiku, E. O. Igbafen, and B. O. Adewuyi, "Performance Evaluation of the Effects of Post Weld Heat Treatment on the Microstructure, Mechanical and Corrosion Potentials of Low Carbon Steel," Advanced Technologies & Materials, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 41-47, 2019.
Khoirudin et al., "Taguchi-Based Optimization of TIG Welding for Joining Low-Carbon Steel (ST37) and Stainless Steel (SUS 304)," Jurnal Teknik Mesin Mechanical Xplore, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 88-101, 2025.
M. F. I. Purba, A. Fathier, and F. Fakhriza, "Pengaruh variasi temperatur PWHT dan tanpa PWHT terhadap sifat kekerasan baja ASTM A106 grade B pada proses pengelasan SMAW," Journal of Welding Technology, vol. 2, no. 1, 2020.
D. Kim and B.-H. Shin, "Study on Electrochemical Behavior at a Room and High Temperature at 700 °C Corrosion of Austenite, Ferrite, and Duplex Stainless Steels," Metals, vol. 16, no. 1, 2026.
J. Xiong et al., "Improvement in Weldment of Dissimilar 9% CR Heat-Resistant Steels by Post-Weld Heat Treatment," Metals, vol. 10, no. 10, 2020.
E. Aprianto and H. Pranoto, "Literature Review on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ss400 Steel Due To Variations in PWHT Temperature in the GMAW Welding Process," nternational Journal of Advanced Technology in Mechanical, Mechatronics and Materials, vol. 06, no. 2, pp. 107-118, 2025.
AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025 An American National Standard, 2025.
B. Singh, S. S. Sandhu, and A. Doomra, "Effect of post weld heat treatment on metallurgical and mechanical properties of electron beam welded AISI 409 ferritic steel," Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 279-292, 2020.
BPVC Section IX Welding Brazing and Fusing Qualifications, 2015.
R. Wang, L. Zhu, H. Liu, J. Du, H. Liu, and L. Hu, "Effect of Post-weld Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of P91 Heat-Resistant Steel Coating on Mild Steel," Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 4105-4115, 2024.
A. Moorthy, D. Subbiah, M. Nallusamy, S. Myilsamy, M. Durairaj, and K. Ramaswamy, "Comprehensive investigation on the influence of friction welding parameters on the mechanical integrity, microstructural evolution, and phase stability of AISI 304 austenitic stainless-steel joints," The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 142, no. 11-12, pp. 6005-6015, 2026.
R. Rusiyanto, W. Widayat, and D. D. Saputro, "PENGARUH VARIASI SUHU POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT ANNEALING TERHADAP SIFAT MEKANIS MATERIAL BAJA EMS-45 DENGAN METODE PENGELASAN SHIELDED METAL ARC WELDING (SMAW)," Jurnal Sain dan Teknologi, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 83-89, 2012.
Y. B. Li, "Effect of PWHT process on carbide precipitation behavior and impact toughness of pressure vessel steel," Sci Rep, vol. 15, no. 1, p. 9735, Mar 21 2025.
Siswanto et al., "Box-Behnken Response Surface Methodology: An Analysis of the Effect of Variations in TIG Welding Parameters on Tensile Strength and Hardness Using SUS 304 Material," Annales de Chimie - Science des Matériaux, vol. 48, no. 3, 2024.
H. P. Pydi, A. Pradeep, S. Vijayakumar, and R. Srinivasan, "Examination of various weld process parameters in MIG welding of carbon steel on weld quality using radiography & magnetic particle testing," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 62, pp. 1909-1912, 2022.
A. K. Sk, R. B. P, R. K. B, and S. K. A, "Evaluation of friction welded dissimilar pipe joints between AISI 4140 and ASTM A 106 Grade B steels used in deep exploration drilling," Journal of Manufacturing Processes, vol. 56, pp. 197-205, 2020.
N. R. Oktaviandy, K. Kardiman, and R. Hanifi, "Effect of Preheat Temperature Variation with Cooling Media on Mechanical Properties in Welding SS400 Steel," SINTEK JURNAL: Jurnal Ilmiah Teknik Mesin, vol. 17, no. 2, 2023.
L. Song, Y. Peng, H. Zhao, and Y. Cao, "The Influence Mechanism of HSLA Weld Metal with Different Composition on High-Temperature Strength," Advanced Engineering Materials, vol. 24, no. 8, p. 2101549, 2022/08/01 2022.
W. Yu, M. Fan, J. Shi, F. Xue, X. Chen, and H. Liu, "A comparison between fracture toughness at different locations of SMAW and GTAW welded joints of primary coolant piping," Engineering Fracture Mechanics, vol. 202, pp. 135-146, 2018.
A. Sumesh, L. V. S. Ramnadh, P. Manish, V. Harnath, and V. Lakshman, "A Computational approach in optimizing process parameters of GTAW for SA 106 Grade B steel pipes using Response surface methodology," IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 149, 2016.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Teknik Mesin Mechanical Xplore
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
