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2026 №05 (01) DOI of Article
10.37434/as2026.05.02
2026 №05 (03)

Automatic Welding 2026 #05
"Avtomatychne Zvaryuvannya" (Automatic Welding), #5, 2026, pp. 10-21

Influence of alloying elements on the structure and properties of high-hardness steel welded joints (Review)

V.А. Kostin, V.D. Poznyakov, I.I. Alekseienko, T.O. Alekseienko, O.S. Kushnarova, O.M. Berdnikova

E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the NAS of Ukraine 11 Kazymyr Malevych Str., 03150, Kyiv, Ukraine. E-mail: valerykostinepwi@gmail.com

This article provides a comprehensive metallurgical analysis of high-hardness (450…550 HB) and ultra-high-hardness (>600 HB) armor steels. The primary focus is placed on the selection of an alloying system based on the armor plate thickness (with a threshold of 20 mm) and the corresponding metal hardness). The mechanisms of chromium, silicon, and aluminum influence on hardenability, martensitic structure stability, and ballistic resistance are examined. A dedicated section covers the processes in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) during welding, analyzing the formation of the «softened zone» and methods for preventing delayed fracture. A comparative analysis of US (MIL standards) and EU armor steels (Armox, Mars, Ramor) identifies modern trends in protection design for light and heavy armored vehicles. 40 Ref., 2 Tabl., 3 Fig.
Keywords: high-hardnesssteels, HHA, UHHA steels, structure, HAZ metal, coldcracks, delayedfracture, CCT diagrams


Received: 26.02.2026
Received in revised form: 25.05.2026
Accepted: 30.09.2026
Posted online: 20.10.2026

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This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC).

Suggested Citation

V.А. Kostin, V.D. Poznyakov, I.I. Alekseienko, T.O. Alekseienko, O.S. Kushnarova, O.M. Berdnikova (2026) Influence of alloying elements on the structure and properties of high-hardness steel welded joints (Review). Automatic Welding, 05, 10-21. https://doi.org/10.37434/as2026.05.02

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