Electron beam welding (EBW) with multiple beams is a new technology simultaneous with preheating or postheating, which contributes to reducing residual stresses. To improve corrosion resistance in marine, EBW with multiple beams is employed on AF1410 steel. The weld is uniform, with a width of 7.3-8.4 mm, which is wider than that of conventional welding. To evaluate susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking (SCC), the welding stresses and slow strain rate tests (SSRT) are studied. The longitudinal stresses on the front weld with preheating and postheating are 25% and 15% lower than conventional welding. The transversal stresses also, respectively, decreased by 15% and 6%. The tensile properties of EBW from SSRT present a susceptibility to SCC. Compared with conventional welding, the loss of elongation I δ with preheating and postheating decreases to 0.9-1.5%, and the area reduction rate I R lowers to 7-10%. EBW with multiple beams presents a low susceptibility, attributed to reducing welding stresses related to a temperature gradient.

Electron beam welding (EBW) with multiple beams is an advantageous technology to weld parts, as it contributes to decreasing welding distortions and improving mechanical properties. EBW with multiple electron beams was applied to welding simultaneously with auxiliary heating, in a rhombus scanning design, and the energy ratio was 1:1 for AF1410 steel welding. The welds of EBW with multiple beams were nail shaped with a width of 2.54 mm, which were more uniform than those of conventional EBW, and the transversal and longitudinal distortions were lower. The microstructures of specimens processed by EBW with multiple beams contained martensite and a small amount of austenite, and the martensite laths were smaller and more homogeneous than those of conventional EBW. The microhardness values were also more uniform than those of conventional EBW specimens. The tensile strengths of the joints were above 1754 MPa, equivalent to those of conventional EBW, and the percentage elongations were above 9.7 %, which were higher than those of conventional EBW. The microstructure homogeneity and refinement of EBW with multiple beams contributed to improving the mechanical performance.