In the pipe manufacturing and pipe processing industry, the demand for cost-effective pipes with high strength and good ductility is increasing. In the present study, the inductive longitudinal welding process was combined with a Quenching and Partitioning (Q&P) treatment to manufacture pipes with enhanced mechanical properties. The aim of the Q&P process is to establish a martensitic structure with increased retained austenite content. This allows for the beneficial use of both phases: the strength of martensite as well as the ductility of retained austenite. A 42SiCr steel, developed for Q&P processes, was joined at the longitudinal seam by a high-frequency induction (HFI) welding process and was subsequently heat-treated. The applied heat treatments included normalizing, austenitizing, quenching, and two Q&P strategies (Q&P-A/Q&P-B) with distinct quenching (Tq = 200/150 °C) and partitioning temperatures (Tp = 300/250 °C). Investigations of the microstructures revealed that Q&P tubes exhibit increased amounts of retained austenite in the martensitic matrix. Differences between the weld junction and the base material occurred, especially regarding the morphology of the martensite; the martensite found in the weld junction is finer and corresponds more to the lath-type morphology, compared to the base material in the circumference. In all zones of the welded tube circumference, retained austenite has been found in similar distributions. The mechanical testing of the individual tubes demonstrated that the Q&P treatments offer increased strength compared to all other states and significantly improved ductility compared to the quenched condition. Therefore, the approach of Q&P treatment of HFI-welded tubes represents a route for the mass production of high-strength tubular products with improved ductility.

[pt] A Corrosão Influenciada por Microrganismos (CIM) ou biocorrosão é reconhecida como um dos fenômenos causadores de inúmeros problemas nas indústrias de petróleo e gás, pois causa sérios danos ao material reduzindo sua vida útil. Neste trabalho foram avaliados os efeitos da biocorrosão caracterizado pela cinética de formação de biofilme em uma junta soldada longitudinal de aço API X80 obtida pelo processo de arco submerso (SAW). Durante o processo de soldagem forma-se uma região com características microestruturais distintas do metal de base e do metal de adição, denominada de zona termicamente afetada (ZTA). Assim essa zona poderá ter uma adesão microbiana diferenciada, visto que diferenças superficiais em um material, seja por natureza química ou física, podem limitar ou facilitar a adesão microbiológica. Por esse motivo foi realizado um estudo comparativo entre a cinética da formação de biofilme na junta soldada de um aço API X80. Também foi avaliada a influência das características físicas da superfície na adesão microbiana utilizando dois tipos de superfície: com a rugosidade original e polido com pasta de diamante com granulação de 6μm. Estas superfícies foram expostas ao fluido de processo (água do mar da Baía de Guanabara) em um sistema dinâmico. Foram realizadas tanto a quantificação microbiana, como também a quantificação dos ácidos orgânicos, sulfato depletado e ferro total para avaliar os nutrientes disponíveis e a bioatividade das reações bacterianas. A rugosidade superficial e o biofilme formado foram caracterizados morfologicamente e a sua presença correlacionada com a formação de pites. / [en] The Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) or bio-corrosion is recognized as one of the phenomena that cause a lot of problems in petroleum and gas industries, because it causes serious damages to the materials, reducing its life cycle. This study evaluated the effects of bio-corrosion characterized by the biofilm formation kinetics in longitudinal welds of API 5L X80 steel obtained by the process of submerged arc welding (SAW). During the welding process a region with different microstructural characteristics of the base metal and weld metal is formed, called heat affected zone (HAZ). Thus this zone can have a differentiated microbial adhesion since the different surfaces of a material, either by chemical and physical nature, can limit or facilitate the microbial adhesion. For this reason a comparative study of biofilm formation kinetic on the welded joint was conducted. The influence of the physical characteristics of the surface in microbial adhesion was also evaluated using two kinds of surface: steel with real roughness and steel polished with diamond paste with grain size of 6 μm. These surfaces were exposed to the process fluid (Guanabara Bay seawater) in a dynamic flow system. The microbial quantification was held. Organic acids, depleted sulfate and total iron were also measured to evaluate the available nutrients bioactivity of bacterial reactions. Surface roughness and biofilm were characterized morphologically and correlated with pitting formation.