Influence of Hydrogen on Microstructure of Electron Beam Welded Joint

Hydrogen distributions of TC4 electron beam welded joints with different hydrogen contents were measured by hydrogen oxygen analyzer. Microstructures of electron beam welded joints for TC4 titanium alloy with different hydrogen contents were observed and analyzed by optical microscope and TEM. And the influence of hydrogen on microstructure of the joints was investigated. The results show that the hydrogen content of weld HAZ is higher than other zones in the electron beam welded joints, while the hydrogen content of fusion zone is lower than other zones in the electron beam welded joints. The microstructure of the weld metal is fine lamellar α + β phase after hydrogen charging. In the range of hydrogen contents discussed in this study (from 0 to 0.101 wt. %), with the increase of hydrogen content, there is little change in the appearance of the microstructure of the weld metal. There are stacking fault and dislocation in the microstructure of TC4 electron beam welded joints with different hydrogen contents after hydrogen charging. The presence of hydrogen can promote the formation of twins in electron beam welded joints. With the increase of hydrogen content, the number of twins is increased.