Estudio del tratamiento térmico post soldadura del acero inoxidable martensítico ASTM A743 grado CA6-NM y su incidencia en las propiedades mecánicas del material aplicado a la recuperación de rodetes hidráulicos

Abstract

ASTM A743 grade CA6-NM Martensitic Stainless Steel is used in the manufacture of runners and other components of hydraulic turbines to provide a good combination between mechanical properties and resistance to cavitation and corrosion. Due to its low carbon content it has good weldability; however, it is necessary to perform post-weld heat treatment to alleviate stress and to fine tune the microstructure and mechanical properties in order to recover characteristics similar to those of the original material. Through the present work the effect of the heat treatment of ASTM A743 grade CA6-NM steel was studied after applying deposits of multi-step welding of accumulation type or restoration the thickness of the base metal using a GMAW robotized process with ER410NiMo electrodes on slotted coupons which reproduce part of the worn surface of a hydraulic runner. The welded coupons were subjected to different heat treatments in order to compare the mechanical properties of the weld material without heat treatment and with post-weld tempering at a temperature of 600 °C during two different holding times, one and two hours; in addition, this process was performed for one, two and three cycles of recovery by welding plus heat treatment. Eight cases of study were considered, including the original base material, the weld without heat treatment and six cases of post-welding tempering, which were subjected to tests of tension, impact, hardness and metallography to characterize and establish the variation of the mechanical properties. From this analysis it was determined that the post-weld heat treatment applied allows to improve the properties that are affected by the welding process. The best combination of mechanical properties was obtained for tempering at 600 °C during two hours in the first recovery. It was verified that even in the third recovery the properties of the material are within the parameters required by the standard ASTM A743. Finally, a procedure is proposed for the recovery of Francis hydraulic runners as an alternative for the maintenance of turbines at a lower cost.