Assessment of welding-induced plasticity via electron backscatter diffraction

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has been used to obtain orientation maps across a multi-pass slot weld in austenitic stainless steel plate. Spatially-resolved intragranular misorientation analyses have been performed, and a relationship between lattice misorientation and accumulated plastic strain has been used to quantify welding-induced plasticity. Qualitative features are captured across multiple length scales. Quantitative accuracy is demonstrated by comparing the misorientation-based analysis to complementary hardness-based measurements, as well as numerical predictions obtained using computational weld mechanics. The shortcomings of the present misorientation analysis and the underlying assumptions made are discussed.