INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 NICKEL BASED ALLOYS

Nickel has a face-centered cubic (FCC) ‘austenite’ structure at all

temperatures and can be alloyed with several different elements to produce alloys
with uniquely superior properties to many other materials. Nickel exhibits extensive
solid solubility with many different metal elements, including copper, iron, chromium,
molybdenum, and cobalt, which act as solid solution strengtheners and form the
basis for many of the binary (e.g., Ni–Cu and Ni–Mo alloys) and ternary (e.g., Ni–Fe–
Cr and Ni–Cr–Mo alloys) types of Ni-base alloys. Chromium is an essential element
in most Ni-base alloys in order to form a passive Cr2O3 surface oxide film that is
needed for corrosion resistance. Since nickel has a high solid solubility for
chromium, and a narrow solidification temperature range when alloyed with
chromium, it is an ideal element to form the basis of most of the Ni-base alloys.
Significant strengthening can be achieved through the formation of long-range
ordered domains/precipitates of the Ni2(Mo,Cr) phase.
Elements such as aluminum, titanium, and niobium are added to form
strengthening precipitates in high-temperature alloys. Aluminum and titanium
promote the formation of the γ’ Ni3(Ti,Al) precipitate, which is an ordered FCC phase
that provides for excellent high-temperature strength. However, these alloys suffer
from strain-age cracking during postweld heat treatment (PWHT) to the point where
several alloys are considered unweldable. When sufficient amounts of niobium are
added, formation of the γ’’ Ni3Nb precipitate is promoted, which several commercial
alloys rely on for strengthening. While γ’’ strengthened alloys are relatively immune
from strain-age cracking, the formation of Nb-rich eutectic phases during weld
solidification renders them susceptible to solidification cracking. Boron and zirconium
are added to improve elevated temperature creep strength and ductility by

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enhancing grain boundary strength. However, these two elements have an extremely
damaging effect on weld hot cracking resistance.
Most Ni-base alloys also contain appreciable levels of carbon, which forms
various types of carbides with elements such as chromium, molybdenum, tungsten,
titanium, niobium, and tantalum. The carbon content is usually held to an ‘as low as
possible’ level in corrosion-resistant alloys, typically below 0.01 wt%. Lower carbon
levels hinder the formation of carbides in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), which act to
impair the overall corrosion resistance of these alloys by depleting the austenite
matrix of critical alloying elements, namely chromium and molybdenum. Carbon
levels are intentionally higher in high-temperature alloys, typically in the range of
0.05 -0.1 wt%, to form strengthening carbides. Aluminum is also added to high-
temperature alloys to provide corrosion protection by the formation of a tenacious
Al2O3 oxide film on the surface of the alloy. Even though impurity elements such as
sulfur, phosphorus, and lead are held to very low levels in Ni-base alloys, they can
have a significantly adverse effect on weldability since they are essentially insoluble
in nickel and promote hot cracking by forming low-melting-point eutectic phases.
Magnesium and manganese are added to control the effects of sulfur.

1.2 WELDING OF NICKEL BASED ALLOYS

If proper techniques and procedures are followed, welding of Ni-base
alloys is usually successfully achieved without any undue difficulties. Compared to
other alloys, Ni-base alloys exhibit both gish welding and shallow penetration
characteristics, which is mainly due to the low viscosity of molten nickel. Therefore,
joint design and weld bead placement need to be carefully considered to ensure that
proper weld bead fusion is achieved. Ni-base alloys also have a tendency to crater
crack, so grinding of starts and stops is recommended. Another important aspect to
achieve sound welds is cleanliness of the weld joint region. Contamination by
grease, oil, corrosion product, lead, sulfur, and other low-melting-point elements can
lead to severe cracking problems. It is suggested that the base metals are in the
solution annealed condition prior to welding. Welding of materials that have a large
amount of residual cold work can result in cracking in the weld metal (WM) or HAZ.
Generally, annealing is not required if cold work is below 7% outer-fiber
elongation. The three most common welding processes that are used to join Ni-base

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alloys are gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), and
shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). For all welding processes, weld parameter
selection, as it relates to heat input, is extremely important due to the greater
possibility of hot cracking as heat input increases. the welding characteristics of Ni-
base alloys are similar in many ways to those of the austenitic stainless steels .Since
Ni-base Weldmetal is comparatively ‘sluggish,’ meaning it is not as fluid compared to
carbon or stainless steel, and does not flow out as readily and ‘wet’ the sidewalls, the
welding arc and filler metal must be manipulated to properly place the molten metal.
In addition to the sluggish nature of the weld pool, the shallow penetration
characteristics of Ni-base alloys compared to that of stainless steel increase the
possibility of incomplete fusion. Proper preparation of the weld joint region is
considered a very important part of welding Ni-base alloys. Furthermore, the welding
surface and adjacent regions should be thoroughly cleaned with an appropriate
solvent, such as acetone, prior to any welding operation. All greases, cutting oils,
crayon marks, machining solutions, corrosion products, paints, scale, dye penetrant
solutions, and other foreign matter should be completely removed.
Distortion characteristics of Ni-base alloys are similar to those of
austenitic stainless steels. However, the lower coefficient of thermal expansion
(CTE) of Ni-base alloys, compared to austenitic stainless steels, makes them less
susceptible to distortion and residual stresses for a given weld geometry. Heating of
Ni-base alloys prior to welding (‘preheat’) is generally not required. Preheat is usually
specified only as room temperature. The base material may require warming to raise
its temperature above freezing or to prevent condensation of moisture. Warming
should be accomplished by indirect heating if possible, such as infrared heaters or
natural warming to room temperature. If oxyacetylene warming is used, the heat
should be evenly applied over the base metal rather than being concentrated in the
weld zone. The torch should be adjusted so that the flame is not carburizing. It is
recommended that a ‘rosebud’ tip be used to evenly distribute the flame.
Care should be taken to avoid local or incipient melting as a result of the
warming process. The temperature between weld passes (‘interpass temperature’)
should be maintained at relatively low levels, such as being maintained below 100–
150°C. To achieve this condition, auxiliary cooling methods can be used. Water
quenching or rapid air cooling are preferred to cool the assembly; natural cooling is
also permissible, although in some cases the weld zone will be in a deleterious
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intermediate temperature range for prolonged periods of time, which should be

avoided if possible. In the vast majority of service environments, Ni-base alloys can
be used in the as-welded condition and PWHT is not required. If deemed necessary,
solution anneal or stress relief heat treatments can be employed. These
temperatures are alloy dependent, with typical temperatures for solution annealing
being in the 1050–1200°C range. The intermediate temperature range
(approximately 600–650°C) where stress relief is effective may also promote
secondary phase precipitation in the microstructure, which is detrimental to corrosion
resistance and/or mechanical properties. For example, Ni–Mo alloys should never be
heat treated in the 538–816°C temperature range, which can cause intermediate
temperature cracking.

1.3 PULSED GAS TUNGSTEN ARC WELDING

Pulsed current GTAW (PCGTAW), developed in the 1950s, is a

variation of constant current gas tungsten arc welding (CCGTAW) which involves
cycling of the welding current from a high level to a low level at a selected regular
frequency. The high level of the pulsed current is selected to give adequate
penetration and bead contour, while the low level of the background current is set at
a level sufficient to maintain a stable arc. This permits arc energy to be used
efficiently to fuse a spot of controlled dimensions in a short time. It decreases the
wastage of heat through the conduction into the adjacent parent material. In contrast
to CCGTAW, during PCGTA, the heat energy required to melt the base material is
supplied only during peak current pulses (for brief intervals of time). It allows the heat
to dissipate into the base material leading to a narrower heat affected zone (HAZ).
The PCGTAW has many specific advantages compared to CCGTAW,
such as enhanced arc stability, increased weld depth to width ratio, refined grain
size, reduced porosity, low distortion, reduction in the HAZ and better control of heat
input. In general, the PCGTAW process is suitable for joining thin and medium
thickness materials, e.g. stainless steel sheets, and for applications where
metallurgical control of the weld metal is critical. Inconel-617 is a nickel-rich
superalloy with a strengthening precipitate phase of the intermetallic (Ni 3Nb)
precipitate. However, the presence of the Nb also makes the alloy prone to severe

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segregation during solidification. This results in the formation of a liquid film and a
low-melting Laves phase precipitating in the interdendritic region, leading to a
greater susceptibility to hot cracking. Research has revealed that the hot cracking
sensitivity is considerably influenced by the dendrite arm spacing and the quantity,
size, morphology, and distribution of the low-melting phase and carbides. Ahn et al.
(2002) reported that the solidification cracking of Inconel 617 was closely related to
the γ/NbC and γ/Laves eutectic constituents formed along the grain boundaries,
minor variations in the Nb, Mo, and Ti quantities can have a strong influence on the
solidification temperature range and the type and amount of eutectic phases formed
during solidification; whereas the solidification cracking was closely related to the
carbides and Laves eutectic.

FIGURE 1.3.1 . Parameters used for pulsed GTAW: peak current (Ip), base current
(Ib) , peak time (Tp) and base time (Tb).

PCGTAW of super alloys is scanty in the reported literatures, but some

researchers have evaluated the effect of pulsed current parameters on corrosion and
metallurgical properties of super-duplex stainless steel welds. In addition, PCGTAW
of Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy, AA 6061 aluminum alloy and 304L austenitic stainless
steel have been also reported in the previous papers. However, PCGTAW of Inconel
617 has not been reported in the literature. The aim of this study is to investigate the
hot cracking susceptability of Inconel 617 welds produced by DCGTAW and
PCGTAW at different frequencies using Inconel 617 filler metal.

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1.4 SCOPE OF THE WORK

The phase stability, corrosion behaviour and high temperature properties of

Inconel 617 alloy were investigated by researchers in several literature. However,
the papers which deal with the investigation of Inconel 617 weldments are a few.
PCGTAW of Inconel 617 has not been reported in the literature. The aim of this
study is to investigate the hot cracking susceptibility of Inconel 617 produced by
Direct current GTAW and Pulsed current GTAW .