Clad Plates

Forming and Welding procedures

A clad plate is a bimetallic product which combines the

properties of the backing and cladding materials.
The backing provides the strength and impact resistance
of high quality carbon and alloyed steels.
The corrosion resistance is given by the cladding which is
generally made of corrosion resistant stainless steels or
nickel based alloys.
The cladding thicknesses vary typically from 1,8mm
(.07) for the thinner clad plates to 5mm (.2), or even
more for specific applications.
Hundreds of tailormade combinations of grades and
thicknesses are available from Industeel to suit your needs.

Processing Industeel Clad Plates

The processing of Industeel clad plates is basically
similar to the processing of solid plates, taking into
consideration the properties of the backing steel and the
corrosion resistant cladding.
This brochure gives general instructions to help our
customers to establish processing instructions optimizing
the properties of the finished equipments and vessels.
However, clad plates are so diverse that it is impossible to
adress all the possible combinations of grades and
materials requirements. Therefore the information given
here is for guidance, and customers are always welcome
to check fabrication instructions for specific orders of
clad plates with our technical assistance.

Forming and Welding Clad Plates- 05.01.2011 Rev 1 issue - page 1

Cutting Clad Plates

Clad plates can be cut using standard mechanical
processes such as sawing, machining, grinding as well as
thermal processes.
Shearing
Shearing is particularly adapted to clad plates up to
12mm (.5"). It should be done from the clad side to avoid
any contamination of the cladding by backing steel burrs.
Sheared edges should be smoothed after cutting.
Gas cutting
Gas cutting must be done from the backing side, using a
cutting tip one time larger than is used for corresponding
gauges in carbon steel.
Oxyacetylene torches give normally the best results.
After flame cutting, it is necessary to grind carefully the
whole area to remove any trace of melting and oxidation,
with special attention to the cladding surface.
Iron powder cutting
Iron powder cutting gives a sharper and better quality cut
than gas cutting. It is specially recommended when the
cladding thickness exceeds 5mm (3/16") or 25% of the
total thickness.
Iron powder cutting is done from the cladding side, which
helps to reduce the risks of contamination of the cladding.
The cut area must be ground carefully before further
processing.
Plasma arc cutting
Plasma arc cutting gives excellent results and produces
the best quality cuts of all thermal processes.
Plasma arc cutting is done from the cladding side and the
cut edges must be dressed by grinding.

Machining and Drilling

Drilling should be done from the clad side to avoid carbon
steel burrs on the cladding. The usual precautions for
stainless steels and nickel alloys must be applied when
machining the clad side = sharp tools, avoid work
hardening, adapted cutting fluids
Clad removal
When the cladding must be removed for weld preparations or other, mechanical processes are recommended :
milling, grinding, etc
Complete removal of the cladding can be checked by light
CuSO4 etching.
Preheating for thermal cutting
Preheating is not normally necessary for the chromium
nickel or nickel alloy clad plates. It may be recommended
for ferritic (405, 410S, 430) clad plates in the case of
heavy sections or when the percentage of cladding is high.
Please, consult in case of doubt.

Forming Clad Plates

Clad plates can be cold formed and hot formed by
standard methods taking into consideration the properties
of both the backing and the cladding materials.
Precautions should be taken to avoid contaminations of
the cladding material by tools, dirt, oils, grease and iron
particles.
Cold bending or rolling
Clad plates can be cold formed by bending and rolling in
the same manner as carbon or alloy steel plates. The
degree of bending or rolling which can be performed will
be limited by the ductility of both components of the clad
plate.
The limiting factor is generally the cladding side in the
case of ferritic claddings (405, 410S, 430) and the
backing steel in most other cases.
s Radii should be as large as possible and sides should be
dressed to avoid sharp corners. The hard zones resulting
from thermal cutting should be completely removed by
grinding before cold forming operations.
s When the degree of cold deformation is very high, an
intermediate heat treatment may be required.
This may be the case when t/R exceeds 30% where
t = clad plate thickness and R is the forming radius.
(See heat treating section for details).
s The surface of bending tools or rolls should be clean and
smooth and the surface of clad plates must remain clean
during cold forming operations.

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Cold forming of heads

s Clad plates in the heat treated condition can be cold
formed in the same manner as solid plates. As in the case
of rolling, the limiting conditions are given by the cladding
in the case of ferritic stainless clad plates (405, 410S,
430) and by the backing steel for austenitic and nickel
alloy claddings.
s If severe forming operations must be performed (thick
plates, small knuckle radii or long straight edges) it may
be required to perform an intermediate heat treatment.
Detailed instructions are available from our technical
department.
s The forming tool must be smooth and free from foreign
matters.
s When lubricants are used, they must be removed
immediately after forming.
Hot forming
s Remove oil, lubricants, paints, ink marks and other
foreign matters from the surface of clad plates before
heating.
s Gas and oils with very low sulphur contents are
recommended.
This is critical for nickel containing claddings.
s The heating atmosphere must be neutral or slightly
oxidizing to avoid carburization. Protective atmospheres
can also be used.
s Heating temperatures are in the 900C/1150C
(1650/2100F) range.
- Ferritic stainless clad plates can be heated at
900/950C (1650/1740F).
- Standard austenitic clad plates are normally heated
at 950/1050C (1740/1920F).
(Consult for high molybdenum and nickel alloy grades).
- Higher temperature may be applied when transfer times
to the press are longer. For heating temperatures of
1050/1150C (1920/2100F), long soaking times
must be avoided after temperature homogenization.
s After hot forming, a full heat treatment of the finished
head is recommended.
However, if the heating and cooling conditions before and
during forming correspond to the austenitizing or annealing required for the clad plate, it can be omitted, and the
finished head is tempered (if required by the backing
steel or in the case of ferritic stainless claddings).

Welding Clad Plates

The weld joints of clad plates are designed to combine :
s the corrosion resistance of the cladding material
s the strength, ductility and impact resistance expected
from the backing steel
The welding sequences may vary with the metallurgy of
the backing and the cladding and the accessibility of the
welds (from cladding, backing, or both sides).
Basic recommendations
s To optimize the corrosion resistance of the cladding, it is
better to minimize the thermal cycles and therefore the
corrosion resistant weld overlay is preferably made in the
last sequences.
If this is not practicable, care must be taken to minimize
the heat input of runs influencing the cladding overlay.
s The preheating, interpass temperatures control, and
postheating conditions are normally governed by the type
and thickness of the backing steel and preheating is not
normally required when welding the cladding.
However, ferritic stainless clad plates should normally be
preheated at about 200C (392F), regardless of the
backing steel.
s When postweld heat treatments must be applied to
high carbon, non stabilized or high alloy stainless steels
and nickel alloys clad plates, care must be taken to
minimize the PWHT temperatures and times.
Consult in case of doubt.
s To avoid any risk of brittle martensitic structures,
carbon steel must not be deposited by welding on
stainless material (of the original cladding or the weld
overlay).
s When stainless steels (or nickel alloys) are deposited on
the backing steel, the composition of fillers and the
welding conditions must be adapted to minimize the risk
of martensitic structures (or intermetallic phases for
nickel alloys).
This is generally done by using over alloyed filler
materials, by adapting the geometry of the preparation of
the joint, and by minimizing heat inputs to limit the
dilution by the backing steel.
s The preparation of the joint must take into account the
thickness of clad plates and the accessibility.
s Care must be taken to optimize the fit-up between the
claddings of both sides to be welded.
s The cladding must be removed on a sufficient distance
to avoid accidental penetration of a carbon steel weld
run into the stainless or alloy cladding.

Welding processes
The process is selected to take into account the limitations
required for dilution, heat input.
The backing steel side is generally welded by submerged
arc (SAW) for the thicker plates, metal active gas (MAG)
or shielded manual arc (SMAW).
The corrosion resistant cladding is generally welded by
shielded manual arc welding (SMAW), tungsten inert gas
(TIG) or pulsed GMAW which reduce dilution and
distorsions.
Selection of filler materials
The weld metal for the backing steel is selected to match
the strength of the backing and to meet the impact
strength requirements.
When full alloy welds are used, the filler must have the
same strength as the backing steel (in addition to the
required corrosion resistance).
Full alloy welds are generally selected in such cases as :
- light gauge plates (< 9mm, 3/8")
- thin claddings (< 2mm/.08")
- nickel alloy claddings requiring tight analytical limits
(Fe < 5%)
Suggested fillers for SMAW / TIG
Welding of the clad side
Cladding

Root or layer
in contact with
carbon steel

Cover layer

Full
stainless/alloy
weld

309L

309L
308L

309L

304
304L
321
347
316
316L
317L
405
410S
430

309L
309Nb

347

309L
309Nb

309MoL

309MoL
316L
317L
430/430 Nb
309L
430-430 Nb

309MoL

08825

625

625

08926
06625

625
Phyweld NCW

625
625
Phyweld NCW
Check Fe dilution

625
Phyweld NCW

06276
06022

NiCrMo10

NiCrMo10

NiCrMo10

309MoL
309L
309L

309MoL
309L
309L

Example 1 Typical welding sequence

(up to 25 mm thick (1), access from both sides)
30

Weld preparation (the lip of steel

above cladding protects steel weld
from alloy contact)

1 mm

Welding of backing steel using steel

electrode (steel weld should not
penetrate the cladding)
Grinding for the welding of the clad
side
Welding of the clad side
-1st layer (overalloyed)
-2nd layer and successive (matching)

Forming and Welding Clad Plates - 05.01.2011 Rev 1 issue - page 3

Example 2 Typical weld with access from backing side only

Full stainless/alloy weld
(309L, 309LMo, NiCrMo3, NiCrMo10...)

Overalloyed stainless/alloy root pass

(309L, 309LMo, NiCrMo3, NiCrMo10...)

Example 3 Typical welding sequence

over 25 mm (1) thick access from both sides
30
Cladding
removal
1/3
2/3

Typical weld preparation x type

(1/3, 2/3)
The removal of cladding must be
sufficient to prevent carbon steel
weld penetrations into the cladding.

45

Welding of backing
Steel + grinding (stage 1)

Welding of backing
Steel + grinding (stage 2)
2nd layer
1st layer

Welding of cladding
-1st layer (overalloyed)
-2nd layer and successive (matching)

For any information,

please contact :
Industeel France

Heat treating
s Before heat treating the surfaces of plates must be free
of dirt, oil, grease, lubricants and paint or ink
markings, with special attention to cladding surface.
s Gas and oils with very low sulphur contents are
recommended. This is critical for nickel containing claddings.
s The heating atmosphere must be neutral or slightly
oxidizing to avoid carburization. Protective atmospheres
can also be used.
s Check the recommended full heat treatment (shown on
certificates, or consult) required for the clad plates.
Finishing of clad plates after fabrication
The post-fabrication finishing operations for stainless or
alloy clad plates are similar to these recommended for
solid stainless steels and alloys.
In general, the cladding surfaces may be ground, sand
blasted with clean sand, pickled as solid stainless or alloys.
Once again, the essential requirement is that the
corrosion resistant surfaces be free of paint, oil, grease,
weld spatter or slag, heat tints, rust or any other form of
contamination before the equipment is put into service.
Metallic iron or iron oxide remains on the stainless or alloy
surface may initiate localized corrosion which generally
appear after a short period of service (1-3 days) as a
"rust" or colored stain.
If the problem is detected quickly, a re-pickling operation
is generally sufficient to solve the problem.
Storage and handling
s Care must be taken to avoid contact between carbon
steel tools or lifting equipment such as clamps, hooks,
lifting magnets, etc with the cladding surfaces by using
adapted protections.
s Care must be taken to avoid contact between the
cladding and the backing steel during storage.
Clad plates should be stored in such a way that their
surfaces remain dry and clean.
s Check regularly the condition of the plastic film and of
the cladding if clad plates are stored for long periods.

Le Creusot Plant
56 rue Clemenceau
F-71201 Le Creusot Cedex
Tel +33 (0)3 85 80 55 31
Fax +33 (0)3 85 80 54 11

www.industeel.info
www.arcelormittal.com

Post weld heat treatment

s The effect of stress relieving heat treatments is generally
tested on the mechanical test samples of the clad plates
or on samples specially prepared for welding procedure
qualifications.
s Stress relieving or post weld heat treatments are
determined by taking into account the properties of both
materials and of the welds (backing and weld overlay).
s Do not hesitate to consult our technical services for
specific cases (high alloy stainless steels, nickel alloys....).
s When long stress relieving heat treatments are required,
their effect can be minimized by using stabilized or low
carbon grades.

This technical data and information represents our best knowledge at the time of printing. However, it
may be subject to some slight variations due to our ongoing research programme on corrosion resistant
grades.
We therefore suggest that information be verified at time of enquiry or order.
Furthemore, in service, real conditions are specific for each application. The data presented here is only
for the purpose of description and may only be considered as guarantees when our company has given
written formal approval.

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