Improvement of Charpy impact toughness by using an AC magnet backing system for laser hybrid welding of thick S690QL steels

The study deals with the influence of the heat input and the resulting cooling times on the microstructure and Charpy impact toughness of single-pass laser hybrid welded 20-mm thick high-strength steel S690QL. The main focus is on the change of the mechanical properties over the entire seam thickness. The cooling times were measured in-situ using a pyrometer and an optical fibre in three different depths of the seam where Charpy impact test specimens were also later taken. Thereby, three different heat inputs from 1.3 kJ/mm to 2 kJ/mm were investigated. Despite the observed decreased values of both t8/5-cooling time and the Charpy impact toughness in the root part of the seam, the required impact toughness of 38 J/cm2 could be reached in dependance on applied heat input, especially at the heat input of 1.6 kJ/mm.