Finite element modeling of transient heat transfer and microstructural evolution in welds: Part II. Modeling of grain growth in austenitic stainless steels

During welding, structures are subjected to localized heating and cooling cycles, as described in Part I.[1] A mathematical model is proposed to determine the metallurgical changes that occur in austenitic stainless steel due to the welding thermal cycle. The proposed kinetic model computes the austenite grain growth as a function of time and temperature. It is based on a Zener pinning grain growth model. The results obtained indicate that the model is in good agreement with the experimental data reported in the literature. Furthermore, it was observed that rewriting the kinetic constant in the grain growth equation as a function of the peak temperature led to improved results for the majority of the cases examined.