Hot cracking of welded joints of the 7CrMoVTiB 10-10 (T/P24) steel

Bainitic steel 7CrMoVTiB10-10 is one the newest steels for waterwalls of modern industrial boilers. In Europe, attempts have been made to make butt welded joints of pipes made of this steel of the diameter up to 51 mm and thickness up to 8 mm. Many cracks have been observed in the welded joint, both during welding and transport and storage. The reasons of cracking and the prevention methods have not been investigated. No comprehensive research is carried out in Europe in order to automate the welding process of the industrial boiler elements made of modern bainitic steel, such as 7CrMoVTiB10-10. There is no information about its overall, operative and local weldability, influence of heat treatment, as well as about resistance of the joints to cracking during welding and use. The paper presents experience of Energoinstal SA from development of technology and production of waterwalls of boilers made of the 7CrMoVTiB 10-10 steel on a multi-head automatic welder for submerged arc welding.