Effect of titanium addition on the microstructure and inclusion formation in submerged arc welded HSLA pipeline steel

The effect of titanium addition on the SAW weld metal microstructure of API 5L-X70 pipeline steel was investigated. The relationship between microstructure and toughness of the weld deposit was studied by means of full metallographic, longitudinal tensile, Charpy-V notch and HIC tests on the specimens cut transversely to the weld beads. The best combination of microstructure and impact properties was obtained in the range of 0.02–0.05% titanium. By further increasing of titanium content, the microstructure was changed from a mixture of acicular ferrite, grain-boundary ferrite and Widmanstätten ferrite to a mixture of acicular ferrite, grain-boundary ferrite, bainite and ferrite with M/A microconstituent. Therefore, the mode of fracture also changed from dimpled ductile to quasi-cleavage. The results showed an increase in the titanium content of inclusions with increased titanium levels of weld metal. Titanium-base inclusions improve impact toughness by increasing the formation of acicular ferrite in the microstructure. No HIC susceptibility was found in the weld metals with titanium contents less than 0.09%.