Welding of Stainless Steel

Submitted by A R Dhamodaran

Metallurgical Challenges in SS Welding

Weld Decay Knife Line Attack Stress Corrosion Cracking

Weld Decay
Definition The HAZ of ASS with more than .05% Carbon content is susceptible to Intergranular Corrosion known as Weld Decay
C

Cause for Weld Decay

Precipitation of Cr carbide at the grain boundaries (known as Sensitization) Cr carbide is Cr enriched M23C6 , where M represents Cr and some amount of Fe Within the Sensitization temperature range, C rapidly diffuses freely to the grain boundaries and combine with Cr to form Cr carbides

63-71% wt Cr along grain boundaries

TEM micrograph of Cr carbide particles along a grain boundary of a 316 stainless steel that has been sensitized at 750C for 1 hour

Interference
Above slide shows, because of Cr carbide precipitation at the grain boundary, the areas adjacent to the grain boundary are depleted of Cr and this is explained in below figure,
These areas become anodic to the rest of the grain and hence are preferentially attacked in corrosive media, resulting in intergranular corrosion

Isothermal precipitation curve for Cr23C6 in 304 stainless steel

Sensitization Temperature 600-850 C

Solvus curves for Cr23C6 and TiC in 304 stainless steel.

Sensitization temperature for Tic 850-1100 C

Sensitization temperature for Cr23C6 600-850C

Sensitization in austenitic stainless steel

Microstructure

Phase Diagram

Thermal Cycle

Precipitation Curve

Region 1 Highest Peak Temperature and Highest cooling Temperature Cooling rate is too high and hence Cr carbide cannot get precipitated

Region 3 Peak temperature is too low to The sensitized obtain Cr carbide temperature precipitation i.e., reached is held for T<600 C longer time Thus more Cr23C6 gets precipitated Region 2

Thermal cycles and weld decay in 304 stainless steel weld

Effect of carbon content on isothermal precipitation of Cr23C6 in 304 stainless steel

Effect of Heat Input

Remedies

Post Weld Heat Treatment Reduction of Carbon Content Addition of Strong Carbide Formers

Post Weld Heat Treatment

The weldment can be heat treated at1000 1100C followed by quenching. The high-temperature heat treatment dissolves the Cr carbide that has precipitated during welding, and quenching prevents its reformation. This treatment is not always possible, however because of the size and/or the quenchinginduced distortion of the weldment.

Reduction of Carbon Content

Low-carbon grades such as 304L and 316L stainless steels can be used. These stainless steels are designed to have less than 0.035% C to reduce susceptibility to weld decay

Addition of Strong Carbide Formers

Elements such as titanium (Ti) and niobium (Nb) have a higher affinity for C than Cr and thus form carbides more easily than Cr. Types 321 and 347 stainless steels are essentially identical to 304 stainless steel except for the addition of Ti and Nb, respectively.