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| Optimization of Fracture Toughness of Welded Joints of Q500 Steel Plates by Intercritical Annealing |
GAO Chong1, XIONG Lixi1,2, CHEN Zihao1,2, LIANG Zhizhi1,2, MA Heng3,4, HE Kang3,5, HE Jinshan5, PANG Jianchao1( ), ZHANG Zhefeng1 |
1.Shenyang National Laboratory Center for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenyang 110016, China
2.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
3.Laiwu Branch Technology Center, Shandong Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Jinan 271104, China
4.School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
5.Collaborative Innovation Center of Steel Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China |
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Cite this article:
GAO Chong, XIONG Lixi, CHEN Zihao, LIANG Zhizhi, MA Heng, HE Kang, HE Jinshan, PANG Jianchao, ZHANG Zhefeng. Optimization of Fracture Toughness of Welded Joints of Q500 Steel Plates by Intercritical Annealing. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2026, 40(6): 414-424.
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Abstract To meet the growing demands of the wind power industry, enhancing the strength and toughness of weld joints of steels for wind turbine tower has become a key research focus. Herein, the performance of 500 MPa grade wind power steel was optimized by means of thermo-mechanical control process (TMCP) routes combined with intercritical annealing (IA). Namely, Q500 steel plates, a wind power of 500 MPa grade were subjected to 1200 oC solid solution for 2 h, followed by 7 passes of rough rolling and 4 passes of fine rolling to acquire the so called original plates. These plates were then heated to 720 oC, 750 oC and 800 oC respectively, for 15 min, and water cooling. The original plate and the three heat-treated plates were respectively welded by V-shaped groove submerged arc welding for butt joints. Then the weld joints were characterized by microstructure examination, microhardness tester, tensile test, and crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) tests at -20 oC etc. The variations in microstructure, mechanical properties, and fracture mechanisms were systematically analyzed. The results indicate that the microstructure of the heat treated steels is mainly composed of ferrite and martensite. The heat-affected zone of their weld joints is predominantly composed of ferrite and granular bainite, while the weld seam features as lath ferrite and martensite/austenite (M/A). Compared with the weld joints for the original plate, the comprehensive mechanical performance of the weld joint for the steel plate after 800 oC intercritical annealing is significantly improved, which may be ascribed to that the ferrite enhances plastic deformation capacity, while the fine blocky M/A constituents at grain boundaries increase crack propagation resistance, thereby contributing to an overall improvement in strength and toughness. Specifically, the yield strength and tensile strength increase by 12.6% and 8.4%, respectively, elongation improves by 9.6%, and the maximum CTOD fracture value reaches 0.722 mm, representing an enhancement of over 110%.
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Received: 16 September 2025
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| Fund: National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFB3708200) |
Corresponding Authors:
PANG Jianchao, Tel: (024) 83978779, E-mail: jcpang@imr.ac.cn
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