Effects of thermal aging on the mechanical behavior of F82H weldments

The objective of this work is to characterize the mechanical behavior of F82H weldments, which were produced by tungsten inert gas (TIG) and electron beam (EB) processes. Tensile and impact properties were determined for both types of welds in the as-received condition and after thermal aging for 10 000 h at 400°C and 550°C. The mechanical properties of TIG welds and their evolution during aging is quite similar in the base metal (BM). The main difference was given by the impact energy level (upper shelf energy (USE)) of TIG joints, which is about 60% of the BM. EB welds were delivered without post-weld heat treatment. Very scattered results were obtained, particularly for impact properties.