One of the dangers we should be aware of when welding high strength steels or even thick sections of low carbon steel is hydrogen induced cracking. Hydrogen induced cracking, also called hydrogen assisted cracking and cold cracking, is caused when three conditions are present. First, we need a susceptible microstructure (base material related). Second, we […]
Preheating of structural steels is carried out primarily to slow the cooling rate after welding and prevent the formation of martensite. Martensite makes the weld and the heat affected zone (HAZ) very hard and brittle. This newly formed microstructure is susceptible to cracking. By slowing the cooling rate we reduce or eliminate the formation of […]
Hydrogen Induced Cracking (HIC), also called hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC) and cold cracking, is a common welding defect when welding heavy steel sections and steels with high carbon content. If you would like to learn more about the causes of HIC read Factors Influencing Hydrogen Induced Cracking. In the above mentioned article we explained that […]
