Journal of Manufacturing Processes 40 (2019) 140–148

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Journal of Manufacturing Processes

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/manpro

A study on process development of super-TIG welding for 9% nickel steel T

with Alloy 625
Jung-Hyun Park, Young-Hun Kim, Hyo-Jin Baek, Sang-Myung Cho
⁎

Department of Materials System Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 608 739, South Korea

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The demands for liquefied natural gas and 9% nickel steel tanks for its storage have increased due to stricter
LNG regulations for ship emissions. In the present study, a super-TIG welding process was developed for the butt
9% nickel steel welding of 9% nickel steel by using Alloy 625 filler metal with a C-type cross-section. The mechanical properties
Welding productivity of the welded specimens were compared with those of flux-cored arc welding, using Hastelloy and Alloy 600
Super-TIG welding
filler metals in impact and tensile tests, while the structures were examined under an optical microscope. The
Alloy 625
C-Filler
newly developed super-TIG welding process was shown to have an effective heat input ratio, given that hot
TIG cracking does not occur.

1. Introduction
For the butt welding of 9% nickel steel, which is used for LNG cargo
tanks and fuel tanks of LNG-powered ships, the manual TIG welding
using Alloy 625 (American Welding Society (AWS) A5.14 ERNiCrMo-3)
filler metal can be applied. Alternatively, to prevent hot cracking, flux-
cored arc welding (FCAW) or submerged arc welding (SAW) using a
Hastelloy alloy (Ni-Mo alloy AWS A5.34 ENiMo13-T) filler metal is
employed [1,2]. As a result, the welding of 9% nickel steel is relatively
difficult given the large difference in the composition, microstructure,
and thermo-physical properties between it and the filler metal. Nivas
et al. [3] found that manual TIG welding of 9% nickel steel has a very
low productivity due to the relatively slow welding speed and low per-
pass deposition rate. On the other hand, FCAW and SAW only mini-
mally improve the welding productivity, because they both use low
currents with large specific resistance in the wire and high surface
tension in the volume formed at the tip. Furthermore, the 9% nickel
steel exhibits severe magnetization when subjected to grinding or
gouging, while low-current welding can lower the arc stiffness and in-
crease the effect of magnetization, resulting in defects such as a lack of
fusion (LF) caused by arc blow. Recently, Huang studied laser welding
in order to overcome the aforementioned arc blow problem in 9%
nickel steel [4]. Also, the use of flux can lead to the inclusion of slag,
resulting in poor mechanical properties such as cracking in bending
tests [5]. Therefore, there is the pressing need for a welding process of
9% Ni steel that can guarantee the quality while simultaneously im-
prove the welding productivity [5].
To this end, the present study set out to develop a super-TIG butt
welding process that uses a C-section filler metal (abbreviated as C-filler
below) instead of the more typical round wires. The process used Alloy
625 filler metal and 9% Ni steel plates with a thickness of 17 mm. The
resulting welds were compared with those produced using existing
welding processes in their mechanical properties and hot cracking
quality.
2. Experimental
2.1. Super-TIG butt welding of 9% nickel steel using C-filler
Fig. 1 shows the welding machine used to perform the TIG welding
using C-filler. The equipment consisted of a TIG welding power supply,
TIG torch, and feed device, all of which are the same as those used in
general TIG welding. Fig. 2 is a schematic of the grooved design of the
9% Ni steel specimen (ASTM A553-Type 1, for the chemical composi-
tion see Table 1) with a plate thickness of 17 mm, a groove angle of 60°,
a gap of 3 mm, a width of 300 mm, and a length of 600 mm. Fig. 2(a)
and (b) show respectively the welding groove designs for the front and
back sides of a weld, to which an air-gouging process had been applied.
Most 9% nickel steel welding processes result in a degradation in the
strength, due to dilution of the base steel in the root. However, the
strength can be maintained by adopting back-side welding after re-
moving the over-diluted part in the root through gouging [6]. Table 2
lists the conditions for super-TIG butt welding of 9% nickel steel. In the
specimen, a 600-mm weld line was formed. Fig. 3 shows that, instead of

⁎
Corresponding author at: Department of Material System Engineering, Pukyong National University, 365 Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan, South Korea.
E-mail addresses: jungsoug@naver.com (J.-H. Park), any_ggang64@naver.com (Y.-H. Kim), vitx157@nate.com (H.-J. Baek), pnwcho@pknu.ac.kr (S.-M. Cho).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2019.03.017
Received 24 November 2018; Received in revised form 7 February 2019; Accepted 12 March 2019
1526-6125/ © 2019 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J.-H. Park, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 40 (2019) 140–148

Table 1
Chemical composition of 9% nickel steel used in the experiment.
Element C Si Mn P S Cr Ni

(%) 0.05 0.26 0.64 0.002 0.008 0.01 9.15

Table 2
Conditions for the super-TIG butt welding of 9% nickel steel.

Fig. 1. TIG welding using C-filler. Base metal 9% Ni steel, t17

Filler metal STC-625 (C-filler)

using conventional circular filler metal, an Alloy 625 (A5.14 ER- Shield gas 25 L/min (Ar + H27%)
Deposition method 1 layer/pass
NiCrMo-3) C-section filler metal (5 mm wide and 1 mm thick) was used.
Pass 1 2 3 4 5 6 Back Back
The deposition was performed by forming one layer/pass, with six pass 1 pass 2
passes on the front side and two passes on the back side. The super-TIG Deposition rate 1.7 3.6 5 5.5 6 5.0 2.5 6
welding was performed automatically, while in the reference samples (kg/h)
the FCAW with Hastelloy (AWS A5.34 ENiMo13-T) or Alloy 600 (AWS Welding speed 11.9 28.6 28.3 25.0 22.8 22.0 28.2 20.4
(cm/min)
5.34 ENiCr3T0-4) was applied manually. The welded specimens were
Current (A) 135 360 420 480 480 420 300 460
cut with a band saw, and macro sections of the cut specimens were
analyzed using an optical microscope. The specimens were also sub-
jected to tensile testing and Charpy impact test, and the obtained data
were compared [7,8].

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Super-TIG butt welding of 9% nickel steel with back-gouging

Fig. 3. Cross-section of Alloy 625 C-filler.

Fig. 4 shows a cross-section of the Super-TIG butt welded 9% nickel

steel to which the gouging process had been applied, as is common in
general industrial processes. Conventionally, welding is performed after
deep gouging to a depth of 7–9 mm for the 9% nickel steel welding to
remove defects and over-diluted parts in the root [6]. However, Super-
TIG does not suffer from arc instability because it is a TIG welding
process, so that only a slight dilution of the base metal can occur.
Therefore, the welding and machining time here were reduced by de-
creasing the gouging depth to 5 mm. Fig. 5 shows the appearance of the
bead produced by the butt welding. The specimen was photographed
after each welding pass. A total of six passes were performed for the
front side and two for the back side after the gouging process, with no
cleaning between the passes. The bead was much cleaner than those
produced using flux-based methods. Fig. 6 shows the bead produced
using FCAW, which incurs a cleaning step.
3.2. Mechanical tests of Super-TIG butt welded 9% nickel steel
Fig. 7 is a schematic of the specimen produced according to the AWS
D1.1 specification for mechanical testing. Table 3 lists the results of
penetration test (PT) and radiography test (RT). The PT (ASTM E165
standard) confirmed the samples to be free from defects, while the RT
Fig. 4. Cross-section of specimen with back-gouging.
(ISO 10675 standard) revealed that there were no pores or crack de-
fects. Fig. 8 shows the specimens after the tension test, while Table 4
lists the results. The specimen with back-gouging experienced a fracture
in the base metal, although it did satisfy the minimum value (640 MPa)
laid down in ASTM A553-Type 1. The transverse tensile test in Fig. 8
also confirmed that the welded part is stronger than the base metal.
Fig. 9 shows the specimen after bending test, while Table 5 lists the
results. The specimen with back gouging (BG) had acceptable results
with no defects in the bending part. Table 6 lists the Charpy impact test
results. The BG specimen was measured at the weld metal (WM) and
fusion lines (FL) at 0, 1, 3, and 5 mm, and the averages of three test
results are shown. All the results were acceptable as the values were
higher than the standard (DNV GL Rules) [7–11].

Fig. 2. Groove design for the super-TIG butt welding of 9% nickel steel.

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Fig. 5. Appearance of bead produced by Super-TIG butt welding of 9% nickel with gouging.
Fig. 6. Appearance of bead produced by FCAW.
3.3. Comparison of mechanical properties of welded 9% nickel steel
Fig. 10 shows macro-sections and cross-sections of 9% nickel steel
specimens welded by FCAW with Hastelloy and Alloy 600 filler metals,
as well as another one welded by Super-TIG with Alloy 625 filler metal.
The images were captured with a Nikon ECLIPSE ME600 optical mi-
croscope. In the 200× and 500× images, slag inclusions (oxide in-
clusions) can be seen in the specimens welded by FCAW [12,13]. In
contrast, the specimen produced by Super-TIG welding had a clean
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microstructure with no inclusions, because the process used only an
inert gas and no flux. The microstructures of the three specimens were
not significantly different, but their slag inclusion was different. In
accordance with the hot cracking problem in the welding of 9% nickel
steel, hot cracks are frequently generated by non-metal inclusions.
However, here the TIG-welded specimen exhibit excellent resistance
against such cracking. Fig. 11 shows the EDS analysis of non-metallic
inclusions in the specimens produced by FCAW with Alloy 600 and
Hastelloy. Figs. 12 and 13 show the EDS mapping results of micro-
structures after FCAW with Hastelloy and Alloy 600, respectively. In
Figs. 11 and 12, the non-metallic inclusions after FCAW with Alloy 600
are Ti or Mn oxide, while from Figs. 11 and 13 those after FCAW with
Hastelloy are Ti oxide. Fig. 14 shows the results of Charpy impact test,
and Fig. 15 shows those of the tension test. Figs. 13 and 14 also include
results for FCAW specimen using Alloy 625 filler metal. The tensile
strength and impact results of all specimens satisfied the specifications,
but the Super-TIG welded one yielded the highest values. This appears
to be a result of the small amount of non-metal inclusions in the welded
metal as shown in Fig. 10, and also the low heat input ratio of Super-
TIG welding (discussed below). Flux-based welding methods such as
FCAW will result in poor mechanical properties due to the oxides and
non-metallic inclusions contained in the flux. On the other hand, Super-
J.-H. Park, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 40 (2019) 140–148

Table 4
Results of tension test for Super-TIG butt welded 9% nickel steel.
Specimen size Max. load Ultimate Tensile Fracture location
(mm) (N) strength (N/mm2)
Width × Thickness

25.06 × 16.44 309,000 750 Base metal (BM)

25.06 × 16.44 309,000 748 Base metal (BM)

Fig. 9. Specimen of super-TIG welded 9% nickel steel with gouging for bending
test.

Table 5
Results of bending test for Super-TIG butt welded 9% nickel steel.
Specimen No. Roller diameter Type Angle (°) Result

With BG. 4T Side 180 Acceptable

TIG welding does not use flux, leading to less oxide and non-metallic
content in the weld metal.

3.4. Effective heat input ratio in the welding of 9% nickel steel

Eq. (1) defines the effective heat input during welding. According to
Christensen and Gjermundsen [14], the welding heat input efficiency is
21–48% for gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), 66–85% for gas metal
arc welding (GMAW) and FCAW, and 90–99% for SAW. Because arc
heat is lost through conduction, radiation, and convection, the actual
heat input into the base metal and weld metal varies with the welding
method, even if the total heat input is identical. Eq. (2) defines the
effective heat input ratio, which refers to the effective heat input per
unit welding cross-sectional area. Table 7 lists the effective heat input
Fig. 7. Schematic of specimen used in mechanical test. ratios. Specimens in Fig. 16 and Table 7 (a) and (b) have the same
welding cross-sectional area, but (b) draws a larger current. Therefore,
Table 3 (a) has a larger effective heat input ratio and a lower solidification rate.
Results of non-destructive examination of Furthermore, specimens in Fig. 16 and Table 7(a) and (c) have the same
Super-TIG butt welded 9% nickel steel. current, but (c) has a larger welding cross-sectional area, and so (a) has
a larger effective heat input ratio and a lower solidification rate. In
Test Result
short, when the effective heat input ratio is high, the solidification rate
RT Acceptable is low because the heat input per unit welding cross-sectional area is
PT Acceptable high. Under a low solidification rate, hot cracking occurs because in-
clusions with low melting points are segregated [15–18].
The effective heat input is given as follows:
kJ
Effective Heat Input = Heat Input × Arc Efficiency
mm (1)

Fig. 8. Specimen of super-TIG welded 9% nickel steel with gouging for tension Earlier, the arc efficiency was mentioned for GTAW (21–48%),
test. GMAW and FCAW (66–85%), and SAW (90–99%).
The effective heat input ratio is given as follows:

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Table 6
Results of Charpy impact test for Super-TIG butt welded 9% nickel steel.
Specimen No. Specimen Size (mm) Test Temp. Notch Type Impact energy (J) Specimen No.

With BG. 10 × 10 –196⁰C CHARPY V W.M. F.L. F.L. + 1 mm F.L. + 3 mm F.L. + 5 mm

1 136 145 162 187 214
2 134 134 149 207 193
3 137 147 160 209 180
Avg. 136 142 157 201 196

Fig. 10. Comparison of macro-sections and microstructures of welded 9% nickel steel.

J Effective Heat input
Effective Heat input ratio =
mm3 Depostion area
× Arc Efficiency
Fig. 17 shows the results of FISCO crack test performed on the filler
metals used with Kobelco’s 9% nickel steel. This test determines the
metal’s resistance to hot cracking [19]. The area inside the dotted line
in this graph means that an area without hot cracking is generated
when using the Alloy 625 filler metal, while the area inside the outer
solid line represents the area without hot cracking when using the
Hastelloy filler metal. In the graph shown in Fig. 8 provided by Kobelco,
the Super-TIG welded 9% nickel steel using Alloy 625 is in a position
(2) where hot cracking could occur but was not observed in reality. Table 8
lists the conditions for each welding process applied to 9% nickel steel.
FCAW (the most frequently used process for 9% nickel steel welding)
and GTAW (often used for tack welding and root-pass welding) are
mostly carried out as semi-automatic processes. The values for FCAW
and manual GTAW listed in Table 8 were determined from an actual
production process for a 9% nickel steel tank. One of the conditions
developed for the present study is shown for the Super-TIG welding

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Fig. 11. SEM EDS analysis of non-metallic inclusions.

Fig. 12. EDS mapping of FACW specimen with Hastelloy.

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Fig. 13. EDS mapping of FCAW specimen with Alloy 600.

Table 7
Comparison of effective heat input ratios.
Effective heat input ratio Case 1 > Case 2 Case 1 > Case 3

Heat input Case 1 > Case 2 Case 1 = Case 3

Deposition area Case 1 = Case 2 Case 1 < Case 3

Fig. 14. Energy absorbed by the welding process.
process. Fig. 18 shows a graph of the heat inputs, while the effective
heat input ratios are listed in Table 8. The heat input is the highest in
the case of Super-TIG welding, however the effective heat input ratio
was the lowest. As explained above, the solidification rate of Super-TIG
welding is high because it has the lowest effective heat input ratio per
unit welding cross-sectional area. Therefore, when comparing the ef-
fective heat input ratios, the Super-TIG welded specimen exhibits the
best resistance to hot cracking. The Super-TIG and TIG welds both ex-
hibit excellent resistance to hot cracking because they have the lowest
amounts of non-metal inclusions.

4. Conclusion

The present study examined an efficient welding method for the 9%

nickel steel used in LNG tanks, which are subject to maritime en-
vironmental regulations. We successfully resolved the issue of low
productivity, which is a problem with the existing TIG process, by
changing the shape of the consumable material. We were able to draw
the following conclusions.

Fig. 15. Tensile strength attained after welding processes. 1) When using Alloy 625 in the Super-TIG welding of 9% nickel steel,
excellent mechanical properties were confirmed in the welded

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Fig. 16. Effective heat input ratio.

metal, as verified using an optical microscope.

3) Super-TIG welded 9% nickel alloy using Alloy 625 filler metal ex-
hibited resistance to hot cracking over a wider range than that ex-
pected for Alloy 625. This is attributed to the high melting efficiency
of the C-Filler, which reduces the effective heat input ratio and in-
creases the solidification rate. Based on results of this research, in
future studies we plan to address the influence of the effective heat
input ratio.

Geolocation information

Republic of Korea

Fig. 17. FISCO crack test result for Kobelco after FCAW. Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

specimens to satisfy the corresponding quality requirements.
2) Compared to the conventional FCAW process, the Super-TIG welded
9% nickel steel exhibited high tensile strength, impact toughness, Data availability statement
and resistance to hot cracking. The reason appears to be that the
Super-TIG welding generates less non-metal inclusions in the weld The data that support the findings of this study are available from
the corresponding author [SC] upon reasonable request.

Table 8
Heat input and effective heat input ratio in different welding processes.
Current (A) Voltage (V) Welding speed (mm/s) Heat input (kJ/mm) Deposition area (mm2) Effective heat input ratio (J/mm3)

FCAW 185 27 5.3 0.9 18.5 38.9

GTAW 195 11 1.2 1.8 26.6 26.8
Super-TIG 480 20.7 4.3 2.3 41.9 22.0

Fig. 18. Heat input and effective heat input ratio by welding process.

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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a Research Grant of Pukyong National
University (2018).
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Jung-Hyun Park is a PhD student and research assistant at the Pukyong National
University. His research focuses on the interactions between arc physics and welding
metallurgy, with a specific emphasis on the interrelationships among welding processes,
productivity, quality, and costs.
Young-Hun Kim is a Master of Engineering student and teaching assistant at the Pukyong
National University. His research focuses on the welding of heat resistant alloys, with a
specific emphasis on the interrelationships between hot-cracking and heat input. His
research title is “Comparison of Productivity and Defect Depending on Groove Angle in
Super-TIG Butt Welding of Heat Resistant Alloy”.
Hyo-Jin Baek is a Master of Engineering student and graduate first year course at the
Pukyong National University. His is studying the welding of super austenite stainless steel
(SASS) with the research topic of “Welding of SASS for Marine Scrubber”.
Sang-Myung Cho has a Ph.D. in welding engineering from Osaka University, and is
currently a professor at the Department of Advanced Materials System Engineering,
Pukyong National University. His main research interests include the arc welding process,
wire arc addictive manufacturing (WAAM), resistance welding, and ultra-sonic weld. He
has trained more than 1000 welding engineers in Korea and carried out projects with
many companies.