Welding embrittlement of the parent plate outside the visible heat affected zone region

Enbrittlement of steels outside the visible heat affected zone region due to plastic straining from the weldment and subsequent ageing has been reported by several authors. The problem is reviewed in this Note and an attempt made to detect this region in a semi-killed mild steel by means of a micro hardness testing survey taken at regular intervals in a direction away from the veld fusion boundary. Recommendations for future work in understanding the magnitude of this Problem particularly in multi stressed welded joints are given.