Journal of Welding Science

---

Welded tubular joints are widely used in various industry structures for high efficiency subjected to pressure, bending and twisting.Welded structures are the main parts of structures, buildings, bridges, gas pipes, pressure vessels and power transmission equipment in the ship building, construction, oil, gas, petrochemical industries and power plants.A sample of pipe-welded joints is a X-tubular joint that has been investigated in this study.The main objective of the present work is to investigate the heat transfer and residual stress caused by the three-stage welding process in X-tubular joint made of St52 using Simufact Welding software.The welding process involves three welding steps using arc welding. The finite element model contains the thermal and mechanical properties of base metal and welding metal as a function of temperature.Also, advanced modeling tools such as mesh adaptation during the process and meshing compatible with the welding site, the birth and death technique of the element and the source of heat transfer have been used.Welding simulation showed that significant residual stresses were created in the joint after welding. Comparison of the results shows that the numerical results and empirical measurements are in good agreement with each other and the existing model can provide a good prediction of temperature distribution and stress control in this welding process.

---

This study aimed to investigate the effect of diffusion welding parameters on the microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of the dissimilar joint between 418 steel and Inconel 738 superalloy using Ni interlayer with a thickness of 50 µm. The experiments were performed in a vacuum furnace at three temperatures of 1000, 1050 and 1150 °C for 45, 60, 75 and 90 min under the pressure of 5 MPa.The results show that voids and non-bonded areas are seen in the samples that were bonded at a lower temperature (1000 °C). By increasing the joining temperature from 1000 °C to 1050 °C, all micro discontinuities have disappeared, which shows that the microplastic deformation of roughness has improved. Then, by increasing the temperature to 1150 °C, non-bonded areas are observed in the joint due to the reduction of pressure on the contact surfaces. When pure nickel is used as an interlayer, intermetallic compounds of γ' [Ni₃(Al, Ti)] are formed in the γ matrix phase on the side of Inconel 738 superalloy while compounds of FeNi₃ and γ (γFe, Ni) are formed on the side of 418 steel. According to the results of line scan analysis, the slope and penetration of elements in Inconel 738 superalloy is lower than 418 steel, which indicates less penetration in Inconel 738 superalloy. In the sample welded at the temperature of 1050 °C and the time of  90 Min, the penetration value of the nickel interlayer in 418 steel and Inconel 738 superalloy was 40 µm and 35 µm, respectively. By comparing the maximum hardness, it can be concluded that the joint at the temperature of 1050 °C and the time of 90 Min has a lower maximum hardness than other samples. Therefore, it has better joint characteristics than other samples in terms of intermetallic compounds. The highest value of shear strength was obtained at the temperature of 1050 °C and the time of 90 Min, which is equal to 270 MPa.