Journal of Materials Processing Technology 171 (2006) 150155

Mechanical behavior of austenitic stainless steel weld metals with microssures

Y. Cui , Carl D. Lundin, Vasudevan Hariharan
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, 434 Dougherty Engineering Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-2200, USA Received 13 January 2005; received in revised form 23 May 2005; accepted 13 June 2005

Abstract Mechanical behavior of all-weld-metal specimens of 308L and 316L weld with and without microssures was evaluated by standard and pre-strain tensile testing. The test results show a similar yield strength, and a small difference on tensile strength for ssured and ssure-free 316L weld deposits. There is virtually no effect on yield and tensile strength for 308L. Microssures in these weld metals negatively affect ductility of 316L and 308L. 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Austenitic stainless steel; Welding; Tensile test; Microssures

1. Introduction Austenitic stainless steel constitutes the largest stainless family in terms of alloy type and usage. Because of its excellent mechanical properties and corrosion performance, it is largely used in various corrosive conditions between cryogenic to elevated temperature range [1]. When considering the operational performance of austenitic stainless steel weldments, the most important points to be considered are corrosion resistance, weld metal mechanical properties and the integrity of the welded joint [2]. Hot cracking detrimentally affects the mechanical properties and integrity and is one of the main concerns in the austenitic stainless steel welding. Hot cracking can be identied as solidication cracking in the weld metal and liquation cracking in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) [3]. Liquation cracks are rather small and normally not externally visible; therefore, they are also termed in some publications as microssures or micro-cracks. Their formation can be attributed to the presence of liquid lm along the grain boundaries near the bulk solidus temperature while under a high-imposed strain that exceeds the strain tolerance of the microstructure [49]. Microssuring occurs

primarily in ferrite-free areas along the grain boundaries in the weld HAZ of a previous weld pass and the occurrence is enhanced by multiple thermal cycling of the HAZ [10]. In addition, a low ductility region exists in the weld metal of previously deposited weld pass from multipass deposits or from repair welding. This region is usually the initial site for the occurrence of microssures when a weld exhibits low delta ferrite [3,11,12]. The benecial effect of delta ferrite in decreasing the susceptibility to microssures is due to its effect in dissolving more of the harmful impurities such as sulphur, phosphorus, and boron [13,14]. Microssures can be reduced by controlling the composition of the consumable and by using the adequate welding technique, but they cannot be completely eliminated in all real weld applications. In this study, the effect of microssures on mechanical properties on 308L and 316L austenitic stainless steel weld metals using tensile testing was investigated.

2. Experimental procedures 2.1. Materials evaluation Two commercial and two modied E308L and E316L weld deposits were tested. The modied electrodes used

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 8659745299; fax: +1 8659740880. E-mail address: ycui1@utk.edu (Y. Cui).

0924-0136/$ see front matter 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2005.06.065

Y. Cui et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 171 (2006) 150155 Table 1 Chemical composition of E308L and E316L weld deposits Element C308L M308L C316L M316L C 0.030 0.020 0.026 0.031 Mn 0.61 0.63 0.71 0.82 P 0.025 0.032 0.021 0.038 S 0.019 0.021 0.006 0.021 Si 0.30 0.33 0.29 0.32 Cr 18.86 18.19 17.34 17.36 Ni 10.09 10.78 12.0 12.89 Mo 0.05 0.07 2.42 2.26 N 0.11 0.10 0.029 0.10

151

Cu 0.04 0.12 0.13 0.14

in the experiments with a 0 Ferrite Number (FN) level in the weld metal were manufactured especially by adjusting the ratio of the Chromium-equivalent (Creq = Cr + Mo + 1.5Si + 0.5Nb) and Nickel equivalent (Nieq = Ni + 30C + 30N + 0.5 Mn) in order to obtain a ferrite-free microstructure and enhance the occurrence of microssures for this investigation. The Ferrite Numbers for commercial C308L and C316L weld deposits are 4.4 and 7.3, respectively. The compositions of the weld deposits used in the experiment meet the AWS A5.4 specication, as shown in Table 1. The base metal used in the tests was 304L stainless steel. Three-layer weld pads (six beads to each layer) were produced using a shielded metal arc (SMA) welding process to permit the evaluation of microssures in relatively undiluted weld metal. The coupon size was 230 mm long, 50 mm wide and 12 mm thick. The welding parameters are shown in Table 2. 2.2. Tensile test The preparation of the tensile specimen followed ASME, Part C-Specications for welding rods, electrodes, and ller

Table 2 Welding parameters Current (A) Voltage (V) Travel speed (mm/min) Number of layers Interpass temperature ( C) Heat input (kJ/mm) 95 23 203 3 94 0.7

metals, SFA-5.4. Fig. 1 shows a schematic sketch of the groove weld joint preparation. The groove was lled following the sequence labeled in the gure to decrease the thermal stresses in the welding process. All-weld-metal specimens with a gage section diameter of 6.35 mm and a gage length 25.4 mm for standard and pre-strain tensile test were extracted, as shown in Fig. 2, along the longitudinal direction of the fusion zone. Room temperature standard and pre-strain tensile tests of weld metal with and without microssures were performed. Values determined from the test included the 0.2% offset yield strength, tensile strength, percent elongation, and percent reduction in area.

Fig. 1. Weldment preparation for tensile test.

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Fig. 3. Microssure distribution on the top surface of modied M308L and M316L weld coupons along the welding direction.

Fig. 2. Schematic drawing of grove weld test pad for tension test specimen.

modied M308L and M316L, respectively. It is to be noted that microssures are distributed almost uniformly along the welding direction. No microssures were observed on the top and transverse sections of commercial C308L and C316L weld coupons. Fig. 4 shows the typical microssure morphologies on a transverse section of a modied M308L weld coupon. The morphology of SEM fracture surface of M308L is shown in Fig. 5, illustrating the typical hot cracking characteristic, smooth surface with cellular dendritic solidication pattern. 3.2. Standard tensile tests It is apparent from the standard tensile test results shown in Table 3 that yield strength and tensile strength of commercial C316L ssure-free samples are similar to the modied M316L ssure-containing samples. In addition, elongation for C316L (34.4%) and M316L (31.3%) are above the AWS A 5.4 requirement (30%). The same similarities were obtained for commercial C308L and modied M308L in yield strength

2.3. Pre-strain tension tests Pre-strain tension tests of the weld metals with and without microssures were performed at room temperature. The sample size and preparation were the same as standard tensile test. Before pre-strain tensile testing, the samples were ground and polished to 0.05 m surface nish and lightly electrolytically etched with 10% oxalic acid to reveal the microstructures and microssures. During pre-strain testing, a load of 180 MPa (approximate 50% of yield strength) was applied to each sample at a strain rate of 5 105 /s to open the microssures for characterization. Then, the samples were strained until fracture occurred.

3. Results and discussion 3.1. Materials evaluation Microssure determination was carried out on the top surface of the weld coupons which were ground, polished, and electrolytically etched with 10% oxalic acid. The microssures were counted in an area of 85 mm 10 mm (1/4 of the weld coupon) extracted from the center to the end of the sample surface under the microscope at 50. Fig. 3 shows the microssure distribution on the top surface of modied 308L and 316L weld coupons along the welding direction. The microssure density is 40 and 12 microssures/cm2 for

Fig. 4. Microssure morphology of modied M308L sample surface along welding direction.

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Fig. 5. SEM fracture surface morphology of microssures in modied M308L weld pad.

and tensile strength. But the elongation of modied M308L is only 31.3% (less than the AWS A 5.4 requirement, 35%), which is much lower than that of commercial C308L (46.9%). These results can be reected by the fracture surface morphology of samples after tensile testing, as shown in Fig. 6. The fracture of modied M308L exhibited a at transverse break bounded by a narrow shear lip, while, modied M316L exhibited a larger necking region and an overall rougher appearance (a classic cup-and cone rupture) than the M308L fracture surface. Fracture is a very complex process that involves the nucleation, growth of micro-voids or cracks and the propagation of these defects. The failure process of ductile materials can be divided into three stages. First, small micro-voids form in the interior of the material as the tensile stress reaches the yield strength. Then, with the increase of deformation, the micro-voids enlarge to form a micro-crack. For the ssurefree sample, it can withstand more deformation during the tensile testing and the obvious necking morphology can be clearly observed. Final shearing of the specimen produces a cup type shape on one fracture surface and a cone shape on the adjacent connecting fracture surface. The fracture surface of both ssure-containing and ssure-free samples shows a very irregular appearance and consists of many micro-voids and dimples, typically ductile fracture surface, as shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 8 shows the samples of modied M308L before and after the tensile testing. Fissures are clearly observed on the sample fracture surface and along the gage length surface
Table 3 Tensile test results Specimen ID C316L M316L C308L M308L 0.2% yield strength (MPa) 424 411 404 387

Fig. 6. Morphologies of fracture surfaces of modied M308L and M316L samples after tensile test.

after the tensile test. From the test results it is indicated that microssures have little effect on the tensile strength and yield strength dened by the tensile test. 3.3. Pre-strain tension tests Fig. 9 shows the pre-strain 316L tension test samples, ground, polished to 0.05 m surface nish and then lightly electrolytically etched with 10% oxalic acid. The number of

Ultimate tensile strength (Mpa) 559 566 564 533

%Elongation in 4d 31.3 34.4 46.9 31.3

%Reduction in area 53.8 57.5 54.3 54.8

Note: tensile requirements for all-weld-metal from ANSI/AWS A5.4-92: E308L-XX520 MPa (ultimate tensile strength) and 35 (%Elongation); E316LXX490 MPa (ultimate tensile strength) and 30 (%Elongation).

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Fig. 9. Modied and commercial 316L samples polished and etched with 10% oxalic acid before tensile testing.

under the optical microscope to count the microssures. The ssure counts were similar comparing those before and after pre-strain testing. The samples were then strained until fracture occurred. Properties determined from the tests included the 0.2% offset yield strength, tensile strength, percent elongation, and percent reduction in area. It is apparent from the test results shown in Fig. 10 that C316L and M316L exhibit

Fig. 7. Typical fracture surface of both ssure-containing and ssure-free 308L samples.

microssures on the modied M308L and M316L polished and etched surfaces were 10 and 4, respectively, and 0 for both commercial C308L and C316L sample surfaces. During the pre-strain process, the samples were still in the elastic region. After releasing the pre-strain load, the samples were observed

Fig. 8. Modied and commercial 308L samples before and after tensile testing.

Fig. 10. (a) Stress-strain curves for modied and commercial E308L weld deposits. (b) Stress-strain curves for modied and commercial E316L weld deposits.

Y. Cui et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 171 (2006) 150155 Table 4 Pre-strain tensile test results Specimen ID C316L M316L C308L M308L 0.2% yield strength (MPa) 447 421 387 365 Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) 556 565 567 501 %Elongation in 4d 50 45 56 25

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% Reduction in Area 54.1 51.3 62.3 30.3

similar test results as dened in the standard tensile test. Yield strength of modied M308L is similar to that of commercial C308L with only 20 MPa difference, but the ductility and the ultimate tensile strength are lower than that of commercial C308L, as summarized in Table 4. The results from the 308L weld deposits indicate that the presence of weld metal microssures has a deleterious effect on the ductility and ultimate strength for M308L, but virtually little effect on yield strength. This can be attributed to the basic mechanical properties of stainless steel, high ultimate strength and relatively low yield strength.

Mr. Raymond Bellamy for the preparation of the test specimens. References
[1] J.R. Davis, Stainless Steels, ASM Specialty Handbook, 1996. [2] E. Folkhard, Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels, Spring-Verlag Wien, New York, 1984. [3] C.D. Lundin, C.P.D. Chou, Fissuring in the Hazard HAZ region of austenitic stainless steel welds, Weld. J. 64 (4) (1985) 113s118s. [4] J.C. Boland, R.N. Younger, Some aspects of cracking in welded Cr-Ni-austenitic steels, Br. Weld. J. 7 (7) (1960) 2259. [5] R.D. Thomas, HAZ cracking in thick sections of austenitic steelsPart I, Weld. J. 63 (12) (1984) 355s368s. [6] R.G. Baker, Weld crackinga modern insight, Br. Weld. J. 47 (6) (1968) 283295. [7] R.G. Baker, R.P. Newman, Cracking in welds metal, Constr. Br. Weld. J. 1 (2) (1969) 14. [8] H.C. Burghard, E.B. Norris, A.G. Pickett, P.D. Watson, Investigation of the Properties of Type 316 Stainless Steel Weldments Containing Austenitic Microssures, Technical Report, August 15, 1971. [9] H. Thielsch, Cracks and microssures-base meals, Weld. Eng. 52 (6) (1967) 8085. [10] T.G. Gooch, J. Honeycomb, Microcracking in fully austenitic stainless steel weld metal, Met. Constr. 2 (9) (1970) 375380. [11] C.D. Lundin, Hot cracking resistance of austenitic stainless steel weld metals, Weld. J. 59 (8) (1980) 226s232s. [12] C.D. Lundin, D.F. Spond, The nature and morphology of ssures in austenitic stainless weld metal, Weld. J. 55 (9) (1976) 356s366s. [13] F.C. Hull, Effect of delta ferrite on the hot cracking of stainless steel, Weld. J. 46 (9) (1967) 339s409s. [14] C.D. Lundin, W.T. DeLong, D.F. Spond, Ferritessuring relationship in austenitic stainless steel weld metals, Weld. J. 54 (8) (1975) 241s246s.

4. Conclusions Tensile testing of E308L and E316L weld deposits with and without microssures shows that microssures can negatively affect the ductility of both 316L, and 308L. There is little effect on yield or tensile strength for 316L weld deposits, little effect on yield strength for 308L, but some effect on tensile strength of 308L.

Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge the nancial support of the Welding Research Council in this investigation. The authors are grateful to Dr. Damian. J. Kotecki (The Lincoln Electric Co.) and Mr. Frank Lake (ESAB) for supplying the electrodes. The authors would also like to thank