Study on microstructure and mechanical property of linear friction welding on 9Cr reduced activation ferrite/martensite steel

Abstract The present work is concerned with the application of linear friction welding (LFW) process accessible for the weld-jointing of 9Cr reduced activation ferrite/martensite (RAFM) steels. Optical and electron microscopic characterization of microstructures were performed in various regions of the weld joint. Hardness, tensile and Charpy impact tests on the joined samples were processed to examine the mechanical property and reliability of the weld joints. It indicates that, hot plastic deformation induced by linear friction triggers continual dynamic recrystallization in the weld zone, along with high-density dislocation substructures formed by such severe deformation, which leads to a good combination of mechanical performances in the weld joint. Such linear friction welding comes beyond the rotational process restriction in conventional friction stir welding, and avoid significant oxide inclusions, porosities and coarsened grains brought by heat input as well. The work proves that the present LFW technique works well in the welding of 9Cr RAFM steels and inspires us of a future study on optimizing process parameters of the welding process for a better performance.