Mater. Res. Express 8 (2021) 016515 https://doi.org/10.

1088/2053-1591/abd6a5

PAPER

Effect of CeO2 on microstructures and mechanical properties of

OPEN ACCESS
welded high-strength steel weld metal
RECEIVED
18 November 2020
Hang Yu1, Tianli Zhang1,2 , Yu Chen1, Weiguang Wang1 and Wen Wu1
REVISED 1
22 December 2020
School of Materials Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
2
Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Laser Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION
24 December 2020 E-mail: zhangtianli925@163.com
PUBLISHED
Keywords: high strength steel, CeO2, microstructure, mechanical properties, weld metal
6 January 2021

Original content from this

work may be used under Abstract
the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 The effect of CeO2 on the microstructures and mechanical properties of welded high-strength steel
licence. weld metal was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical
Any further distribution of
this work must maintain
testing. The results demonstrate that the addition of CeO2 can promote the refinement and
attribution to the spheroidization of inclusions, refine the grains, and form acicular ferrites in the weld metals. When the
author(s) and the title of
the work, journal citation addition of CeO2 increased from 0% to 3%, the content of bainites gradually decreased, and the lath
and DOI.
structure disappeared. The formation of the acicular ferrite ductile phase inhibited the formation of
bainites and other strengthened phases in the weld metals, and the microstructure of acicular ferrites
was excessive. When the CeO2 content was 1%, the tensile strength was 903 MPa, the yield strength
was 848 MPa, and the low-temperature impact toughness was 61 J at −40 °C. When the CeO2 content
was 3%, the low-temperature impact toughness of the weld metal gradually increased to a maximum
value of 71 J. The weld metal had the highest toughness but the lowest strength. The addition of CeO2
changed the pattern of crack generation, and the fracture mode changed from quasi-cleavage fractures
to ductile fractures with dimples. To achieve a good matching of strength and toughness, the wire
No. 2 with 1% CeO2 had the best comprehensive mechanical properties.

1. Introduction

With the progress of science and technology and the development of industrial production, high-strength steels
have gradually replaced low-alloy steel and are widely used in various engineering fields, such as aerospace,
offshore platforms, and oil pipelines. However, the wide application of high-strength steels is inseparable from
the welding technology, so the development of high-strength steel welding consumables and the study of the
effects of alloying elements on the microstructure and mechanical properties of weld metals and heat-affected
zones are hotspots in the current welding field [1]. Zhang et al [2] studied the effect of acicular ferrite (AF) on the
mechanical properties of weld metals. Inclusions can act as inert nucleation surfaces and reduce the activation
energy to promote AF nucleation. Mao et al [3] studied the effect of Ni on the microstructure of the weld metals
and pointed out that Ni could promote the transformation of the microstructure from granular bainite (GB) to
lath bainite and lath martensite, and appropriate Ni could improve the impact toughness. Keehan et al [4] found
coalesced bainite in high-strength steel weld metals and noted that coalesced bainite was a coarse and brittle
phase, and its presence deteriorated the toughness of the weld metal.
Many scholars [5, 6] have studied the microstructure transformation of the weld metals and mainly focused
on C, Mn, Cr, Ni, etc. Regarding the role of rare earth elements in metal materials, the research direction focuses
on steel modification. At present, there have been few, if any, studies on the effects of rare earth elements on the
strength and toughness of welded high-strength steel weld metal. Therefore, rare earth oxide is the research
object in this paper, and we conduct a systematic study on the effect of CeO2 on the microstructures and
mechanical properties of welded high-strength steel weld metal.

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd

Mater. Res. Express 8 (2021) 016515 H Yu et al

Figure 1. Groove weld test assembly for mechanical properties: (a) test plate showing location of test specimens; (b) dimensions of
round tensile specimen; (c) dimensions of charpy V-notch impact specimen.

Table 1. Welding parameters used in experiments.

Wire Welding speed Shielding Heat input Preheat/interpass

Voltage(V) Current (A) stick-out (mm) (cm·min−1) gas (%) (kJ·mm−1) temperature (℃)

30 230 17 25 80Ar + 20CO2 1.80 150

2. Experimental procedure

To study the effect of CeO2 on the microstructures and mechanical properties of welded high-strength steel weld
metal, three different contents of CeO2 were added to the metal-powder cored wire: wire No. 2, wire No. 3 and
wire No. 4 were added to 1%, 2%, and 3% CeO2, respectively. The wire 1 (CeO2 0%) was the control group. The
diameter of the wires was 1.2 mm, and the base material was made of Q235 carbon steel. Weld metals were
prepared according to the AWS standard A5.29/A5.29 M [7]. An 80Ar+20CO2 shielding gas was adopted
because the composition is widely used in practical engineering applications. The pass arrangement and welding
parameters are shown in figure 1(a) and table 1, respectively. The specimens were prepared according to AWS
standards A5.29/A5.29 M [7] and B4.0 [8]. The groove weld test assembly for mechanical properties is
schematically shown in figure 1(a). The round tensile specimens and Charpy V-notch impact specimens are
shown in figures 1(b) and (c). After preparing the standard specimens, the mechanical properties of the weld
metals were tested with a WAW-6000 tensile testing machine, and the results of the yield strength, tensile
strength, shrinkage and elongation were recorded. The Charpy impact test was performed by an JB30B impact
testing machine after the impact specimens were cooled to −40 °C. Five impact values were recorded, and the
average value was taken after removing the maximal and minimal values. The chemical compositions of the weld
metals were determined with a Q4 optical emission spectrometer. Metallographic specimens were prepared and
etched with 4% natal. The microstructures of the weld metals were observed using optical microscopy (OM),
and the proportion of the microstructure was calculated. The Vickers hardness of the weld metal was measured
using a HXD-1000TMSC/LCD Vickers hardness tester. The fracture surfaces were examined by a TESCAN
VEGA3 scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the inclusions in the dimples were analyzed by energy
dispersive spectrometry (EDS).

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Figure 2. Effect of CeO2 on the strength and impact absorbed energy of weld metals.

Table 2. Results of chemical compositions of weld metals.

Chemical compositions (wt%)

Wire C Mn Si P S Cr Ni Mo Ce

1 (CeO2 0%) 0.038 1.891 0.424 0.013 0.0076 0.405 2.122 0.625 0.000
2(CeO2 1%) 0.041 1.892 0.409 0.013 0.0077 0.390 2.093 0.614 0.011
3(CeO2 2%) 0.044 1.919 0.420 0.013 0.0077 0.398 2.103 0.644 0.014
4(CeO2 3%) 0.045 1.958 0.432 0.013 0.0079 0.401 2.160 0.637 0.018

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Microstructure and toughness of weld metals

The chemical compositions and mechanical properties of the weld metals are shown in table 2 and figure 2,
respectively. Figure 2 illustrates the yield strength and tensile strength curves of the weld metals with the addition
of various CeO2 contents. With the addition of 1% CeO2, the tensile strength of the weld metal increased from
the initial value of 843 MPa to 903 MPa, and the yield strength increased from 793 MPa to 848 MPa. When the
content of CeO2 further increased, the strength of the weld metals gradually decreased. With the addition of 3%
CeO2, the weld metal obtained the lowest strength with a tensile strength of 808 MPa and a yield strength of
742 MPa. The low-temperature impact toughness of the weld metal is shown in figure 2. With the content of
CeO2 increased, the low-temperature impact toughness of the weld metals obviously increased. The impact
value of wire No. 1 without CeO2 was the lowest, which was 45 J. The impact value of wire No. 4 with 3% CeO2
was the highest, which was 71 J.
The elongation, shrinkage and Vickers hardness of the weld metals are shown in figures 3 and 4, respectively.
Figure 3 illustrates the elongation and shrinkage curves of the weld metals with the addition of various CeO2
contents. With the addition of CeO2, the weld metals had basically identical trends of elongation and shrinkage.
Wire No. 3 with 2% CeO2 had the lowest elongation and shrinkage, which were 9% and 8%, respectively. Wire
No. 4 with 3% CeO2 had the highest elongation and shrinkage, which was 19.6% and 29%, respectively. Figure 4
shows a scatter plot of the Vickers hardness of the weld metals with different CeO2 contents. Wire No. 3 with 2%
CeO2 had the highest Vickers hardness, which was 279 Hv. Wire 4 with 3% CeO2 had the lowest Vickers
hardness, which was 241Hv. Without CeO2 and with 3% CeO2, the Vickers hardness value of the weld metal had
a large dispersion, which indicates that the microstructure of the weld metal was not uniform. With the addition
of 1% CeO2, the dispersion of the weld metal Vickers hardness value was the smallest, which indicates that the
weld metal microstructure was uniform.
The microstructure quantitative statistical analysis and microstructure of the weld metals with different
CeO2 contents are shown in table 3 and figure 5. The addition of CeO2 promoted the nucleation and growth of
AF, and the microstructure in the weld metal was gradually refined. Without CeO2, the lath microstructure in
the weld metals was relatively coarser, as shown in figures 5(a) and (e). With the addition of 1% CeO2, the weld
metal was composed of martensite (M), B (bainite) and AF, the block microstructure and lath microstructure
were reduced, and the microstructure was obviously refined, as shown in figures 5(b) and (f). With further

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Figure 3. Effect of CeO2 on the elongation and shrinkage of weld metals.

Figure 4. Effect of CeO2 on the Vickers hardness of weld metals.

Table 3. Results of quantitative statistical analysis of microstructures in weld

metals.

Area fraction%

Wire Acicular Granular Degenerate upper

no. ferrite Martensite bainite bainite

1 32 15 28 25
2 60 8 20 12
3 76 4 12 8
4 88 2 6 4

addition of CeO2, the nucleation of M and degenerate upper bainite (DUB) decreased, and the AF content
increased and became refined, as shown in figures 5(c) and (g). With the addition of 3% CeO2, the proportion of
AF was the largest, and the M and DUB basically disappeared, as shown in figures 5(d) and (h).
The addition of CeO2 can refine the grains and promote the formation of AF in the weld metals. Fine grains
have a larger grain boundary area, which helps hinder the dislocation movement. The dislocation movement

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Figure 5. Micrographs of weld metals: (a) and (e) wire Ce 0%; (b) and (f) wire Ce 1%; (c) and (g) wire Ce 2% ; (d) and (h) wire Ce 3%.
(AF acicular ferrite, DUB degenerate upper bainite, M martensite, GB granular bainite).

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cannot easily cross the grain boundaries and accumulate at the grain boundaries, which results in a higher
strength of the weld metals [9, 10]. In addition, with a more tortuous grain boundary, more energy is required to
extend the crack, which is not conducive to the crack extension and can improve the impact toughness of the
material. AF is considered an excellent microstructure component to improve the toughness through effective
grain refinement, and AF grains can divide large austenite grains into fine individual regions to form a mixed
microstructure of fine particles [11]. The AF microstructure has a large-angle grain boundary, which can
effectively increase the crack extension path during fracture. The increase in energy required for crack extension
helps improve the low-temperature impact toughness of the weld metals, which can explain the higher strength
and impact energy of wire 2 than those of wire 1. The grain refinement degree of the weld metal decreases with
the addition of excessive CeO2, the addition of CeO2 can be used as the core of AF heterogeneous nucleation, the
grain core preferentially attaches to the surface of these impurities and promotes the formation of a large amount
of AF, and the formation of a large AF content inhibits the formation of M, B and other phases. M and DUB are
the main strengthening phases, which can improve the strength and hardness of the weld metal. AF and GB are
toughening phases in the weld metal that mainly improve the low-temperature impact toughness of the weld
metal [12]. The excessive formation of AF causes a decrease in M and DUB strengthening phases in the weld
metal, so further addition of CeO2 can cause a decrease in strength and an increase in toughness. This
phenomenon was reflected in the micrographs of wire 2, wire 3 and wire 4.

3.2. Fracture morphology of weld metals

The fractures of different Charpy V specimens at −40 °C are shown in figure 6. With the addition of CeO2, the
fracture mode changed from quasi-cleavage fracture to ductile fracture with dimples, the tear ridges were
scattered between the cleavage fracture and the dimple, the width of the dimples decreased, the depth of the
dimples increased, and the distribution of the dimples was even. Dimples could improve the low-temperature
impact toughness of the weld metals, which is consistent with the low-temperature impact curve in figure 2.
Without CeO2, the dimples had the largest width and smallest depth, and the distribution of dimples was
extremely uneven and concentrated in a few areas, which shows that the energy absorbed was low and the
toughness was poor, as shown in figure 6(a). With the increase in CeO2, the dimple width in the fracture of the
specimen decreased, the depth increased, and the distribution was more uniform, as shown in figures 6(b) and
(c). With the addition of 3% CeO2, the number of dimples in the fracture reached the maximum, the dimples
were narrow and deepest, and the distribution was the most uniform. There were inclusions in dimples that
promoted the nucleation of AF, and wire 1 had the fewest inclusions, as shown in figure 6(a). With the addition
of 1% CeO2, the number of inclusions increased, and the inclusions were significantly refined, as shown in
figure 6(b). With the addition of 3% CeO2, there were the most inclusions, and the distribution of inclusions was
the most uniform, as shown in figure 6(d). The area of cleavage fracture where the crack source was located in
wire 1 was the largest, and the river pattern was smooth and continuous. The cracks started from between the B
clusters and propagated along the adjacent B clusters, and the arrow direction was the crack propagation
direction, as shown in figure 6(e), which is consistent with the micrograph in figures 5(a) and (e). The left side of
two continuous cracks was the crack source generated between the B clusters, the right side was the crack source
generated by the decohesion of an inclusion, and the pit after the inclusion fell off appeared at the crack source
on the right, as shown in figure 6(f). When the CeO2 content increased from 1% to 3%, the average area of the
cleavage fracture where the crack source was located gradually decreased, the river pattern gradually decreased,
the crack source in wire 4 had the smallest average area and smallest river pattern, as shown in figures 6(f)–(h).
Figure 7 shows the EDS of inclusions on the fracture surface. The inclusions in dimples were basically
spherical. The EDS analysis indicates that the inclusions were mainly composed of Cr, Al, Si, Zr, Ti and trace Ce.
The addition of Ce reacted with Al, O, Ti and other elements to form rare earth composite inclusions [13]. The
addition of Ce promoted Al2O3 inclusions to be replaced by CeAlO3 inclusions to form Al2O3-coated Ce–Al–O
rare earth type composite inclusions, which can be used as the nucleation core of TiC and finally form
TiC-CeAlO3 inclusions. Rare earth composite inclusions were formed, and the curved surface of the inclusions
was gradually smooth [14].
Figure 6(e) shows the cleavage fracture caused by the boundary cracking of B clusters, which extended to
the critical microfracture surface and through the entire specimen. The control condition for crack growth is:
σy σf (σy is the normal stress at the front of the gap, and σf is determined by the size of the critical fracture
surface). The cleavage fracture mechanism was different from the ductile fracture mechanism; it did not depend
on the density of the second phase particles but on the size of the critical microfracture surface controlled by the
phase composition of the microstructure. The coarsest B cluster was the weakest area in the microscopic
composition, and the critical event of cleavage fracture was confirmed as crack propagation through the
boundary of the B cluster. The lath structure was refined with high cleavage fracture stress, which delayed the
occurrence of cleavage fracture and improved the impact toughness of the material [15]. In addition, Mao [3]

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Figure 6. SEM images of dimples and cleavage facets in weld metals. (a) and (e) wire 1; (b) and (f) wire 2; (c) and (g) wire 3; (d) and (h)
wire 4.

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Figure 7. SEM image of inclusion and EDS spectrum in weld metal: (a) and (e) wire 1; (b) and (f) wire 2; (c) and (g) wire 3; (d) and (h)
wire 4.

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found that the impact toughness of the weld metal increased, and the river pattern area at the fracture was
smaller. He noted that the high-angle grain boundaries in the closely packed B clusters effectively prevented
cracks. Figures 6(f)–(h) show the cleavage fracture caused by the decohesion of an inclusion, and the crack
initiation was surface shear stress-induced decohesion of the inclusion. The dislocations accumulated at the
inclusion particles during material deformation, the cracks initiated and propagated in the inclusion particles at
the end of the dislocation accumulation, and the cracks of the inclusion particles that started to crack
immediately extended into the matrix grains; then, the cracks extended through the entire specimen. With the
addition of CeO2, CeO2 promoted the formation of inclusions and combined with Al, O, Ti and other elements
to form rare earth composite inclusions. The thermal diffusivity of rare earth inclusions was more consistent
with the matrix, which helped improve the comprehensive mechanical properties of the weld metal. Rare earth
inclusions can avoid the generation of additional stress, cause the inclusions to be difficult to separate from the
matrix, increase the crack extension energy, and improve the crack extension resistance of the weld metal [16].
In addition, inclusions can promote the formation of AF, and the effective inclusion size for AF nucleation was
mainly 1–4 μm [17–19]. The observed size of the inclusions in the dimples was 1–2 μm, and the size of the
inclusions was within the range of effectively promoting the formation of AF in the weld metal. AF was
preferentially nucleated in the grains, which played a role in the segmentation of austenite grains. The growth of
DUB was inhibited, the lath of grain was refined, the occurrence of cleavage fracture was delayed, and the
toughness was improved.

4. Conclusions

(1) The Charpy V notch impact toughness of the weld metals in four groups with different CeO2 additions at
−40 °C was 45 J, 61 J, 64 J, and 71 J, and the tensile strength of the weld metals was 843 MPa, 903 MPa,
870 MPa, and 808 MPa, respectively. Wire No. 2 with 1% CeO2 had the best tensile strength, and wire No. 4
with 3% CeO2 had the best toughness but the lowest strength. The comprehensive mechanical properties of
wire No. 2 wire were considered the best.
(2) The addition of CeO2 promoted the formation of rare earth composite inclusions and AF in the weld metal,
refined the lath structure, inhibited the formation of M and B, changed the pattern of crack generation and
improved the impact toughness of the weld metal.
(3) The optimal proportion of microstructure was found in the weld metal with 1% CeO2: AF was 60%, M was
8%, GB was 20%, and DUB was 12%.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51804196).
Statement: the data of this study is openly available.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the authors.

ORCID iDs

Tianli Zhang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6611-6493

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