Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
1967
REFERENCE: G . E . Linnert , "Weldabit y o Austeniti c Steel s a s Af fected by Residua ] Elements," Effects of Residual Elements on Properties
of Austenitic Stainless Steels, ASTM STP 418, Am . Soc . Testin g Mats. ,
1967, p . 105 .
ABSTRACT: Th e effect s o f residua l element s i n austeniti c stainles s steel s
are o f considerabl e importanc e i n welding . Man y unusua l occurrence s
suspected t o b e relate d t o residua l element s hav e bee n encountered , in cluding cracking , porosity , sla g formation , corrosio n susceptibility , an d
embrittlement. Residual element s ar e difficul t t o contro l an d trace becaus e
the wel d meta l ma y accumulat e th e residua l elemen t fro m suc h source s
as th e bas e metal , fille r metal , fluxes , an d shieldin g gases . Becaus e grea t
effort regularl y i s mad e t o circumven t difficultie s throug h th e weldin g
procedure, man y phenomen a believe d t o b e relate d t o residual s escap e
investigation an d ar e no t documented . Thre e proble m area s o f curren t
interest ar e reviewed : (a) slag formatio n o n wel d meta l whic h interfere s
with th e joinin g process, (b) porosity i n wel d metal a s produce d b y nitrogen containin g compound s i n th e bas e metal , an d (c ) crackin g i n wel d
metal an d th e heat-affecte d zones . A nee d i s show n fo r mor e exactin g
knowledge of the atomisti c distributio n of residua l elements i n the variou s
forms o f austenitic stainless steels, suc h as wel d metal an d wrough t or cas t
base metal , becaus e thei r behavio r i n weldin g varie s greatl y wit h micro structural condition .
KEY WORDS : metals, stainles s steels , precipitatio n hardening , welding ,
austenitic stainles s steels , slags , blowholes , porosity , cracking , fluxes ,
heat-affected zone , residua l elements , ho t cracking , arc welding , electro n
beam weldin g
www.astm.org
1 06 RESIDUA
accumulated amoun t o f a n elemen t from al l contributing source s ha s in creased t o a n influentia l level . Th e element s carbon , boron , sulfur , an d
hydrogen are but a few residuals which can be introduced into a particular
region o f a weld joint by a surprising number o f sources .
Many unusua l occurrences, suspecte d t o b e th e effect s o f residual ele ments, hav e bee n encountere d i n weldin g th e austeniti c stainles s steels .
These incident s hav e include d a wid e variet y o f difficultie s an d defects ;
such a s cracking , porosity , sla g formation, corrosio n susceptibility , an d
embrittlement. Thes e effect s ca n vary with the welding process bein g employed. Consequently , th e weldin g enginee r an d th e welde r ar e ofte n
tempted t o tr y an y new procedure tha t offer s promis e o f overcomin g th e
unwanted effect . Whil e a successful procedur e spell s relief fo r th e imme diate problem, little is learned abou t the basic cause to prevent recurrence .
In general , to o littl e wor k ha s bee n conducte d t o firml y establis h th e
mechanisms by which the suspec t residuals exer t thei r effects .
As illogica l a s it ma y seem , a grea t man y o f th e so-calle d "residual "
elements whic h can b e pointe d ou t a s harmfu l t o th e weldabilit y o f on e
group o f th e austeniti c stainles s steel s als o wil l b e foun d usefull y em ployed a s alloyin g element s in othe r group s o f thes e steels . Briefly , th e
effect imparte d b y a given element will vary greatl y wit h th e overall allo y
composition, microstructure, and condition of the steel. The complexities
of this situation preven t th e formulation o f simple, generalized statement s
regarding th e influenc e o f particular residual element s upon weldability .
Furthermore, thos e wit h preconceive d idea s abou t widesprea d adverse
effects o f residual elements will be surprised to learn tha t importan t benefits hav e been found attributabl e to certain residua l elements i n particula r
welding operations. There hav e been a number of cases wher e fervor fo r
producing stainles s stee l with the lowes t possibl e leve l o f all residual ele ments resulted in a final product tha t displaye d inferio r weldability .
A numbe r of residual elements exer t multipl e effects . Instance s ca n b e
cited wher e increasing amounts of a residual element will cause deteriora tion i n on e property , bu t a t th e sam e tim e wil l exer t improvemen t i n
another property . Suc h case s usuall y requir e determinatio n o f a com promise rang e for th e particular element , an d thi s may cal l fo r consider able skil l on the part o f the steelmake r to kee p a trac e elemen t withi n a
relatively narrow range. Ther e ar e effect s i n welding which ar e produce d
by two or more residual elements. At this time, little quantitativ e data are
available to show whether the tota l influenc e o f these element s is additive
or multiplicative .
Although a n element-by-element review would be useful, a better per spective o f the residua l element problem i n welding can b e presente d b y
discussing selected area s which are o f current interest an d wherei n weldCopyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved); Wed Jun 18 07:02:57 EDT 2014
ing researc
h investigator s hav e bee n mos t active . Othe r propertie s an d
Downloaded/printed
by
Petrofac (Petrofac) pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions authorized.
LINNERT O N WELDABILIT Y 10
FIG. l Slag or dross on top surface of solidified welds made in five different
austenitic stainless steels by the gas tungsten-arc process. The specimens represent
progressively increasing slag-forming propensity from virtually no slag (No. 1) to
considerable slag (No. 5) .
l 08 RESIDUA
LINNERT O N WELDABILIT Y 1
09
l l O RESIDUA
LINNERT O N WELDABILIT Y
111
FIG. 3 Longitudinal section through GTAW weld showing small gas pockets
along fusion line at upper boundary of weld in Cr-Ni-Al stainless steel. Porosity was
caused by thermal decomposition of aluminum nitride inclusions in base metal immediately adjacent to weld. Etchant: mixed acids (XIO).
FIG. 4 Typical gas pocket along fusion line of GTAW weld in Cr-Ni-Al stainless steel containing approximately I per cent aluminum. Traces of undissociated
aluminum nitride are shown remaining along lower edge of cavity. Unetched
(X500).
1 1 2 RESIDUA
FIG. 5 Typical cracking in austenitic stainless steel weld metal. Open crack
at surface is readily visible to the naked eye and would be called a "hot crack."
Several internal "microfissures" are present. Weld metal was formed by GTAW
process and has a wholly austenitic microstructure. Etchant: mixed acids (X50).
will escap e t o th e wel d surface . Trave l spee d i s especially importan t be cause rapi d solidificatio n increases the numbe r of gas bubbles entrapped .
Fusion lin e porosit y occasionall y ha s bee n troublesom e i n weldin g
Types 32 1 an d 347 . Thes e steel s frequentl y contain varyin g amounts of
titanium o r columbiu m carbonitride s a s microscopi c inclusions . Newe r
stainless steels ar e bein g introduced whic h contain stron g nitride-forming
elements an d wel d metal porosity ma y prov e a problem unles s correctiv e
measures ar e taken. Som e years ago , 17-7PH , a semiaustenitic Cr-Ni-Al
precipitation hardenin g stainless steel, was reported t o give difficulty wit h
fusion lin e porosity, as shown in Fig. 3 , in joints welded b y the automati c
GTAW proces s [I].2 Th e presenc e o f aluminu m nitrid e inclusion s wa s
established as the cause, as illustrated i n Fig. 4 [2] . A remedy wa s effecte d
Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved); Wed Jun 18 07:02:57 EDT 2014
Downloaded/printed by
Petrofac (Petrofac) pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions authorized.
UNNERT O N WELDABILiT Y
113
occur i n welded joint s of austeniti c stainless stee l both i n the wel d metal
and in the base metal heat-affected zone.
Weld metal cracking i n austeniti c stainles s steel s ha s bee n separate d
into fou r types , whic h have acquire d suc h commo n names as : (1 ) crate r
cracks, (2 ) star cracks, (3 ) hot cracks or microfissures, an d (4) root crack s
[5]. There are reasons t o believe that al l four types of cracking ar e simply
manifestations o f the same basic kind of cracking; namely, "hot cracking "
or, whe n present i n its earlies t stage , "microfissuring " [6]. Ho t crackin g
and microfissuring, as illustrated in Fig. 5 , gave much difficulty som e years
ago, but toda y enoug h is known about thi s for m o f cracking to avoi d its
Copyright
by ASTM Int'l (all i
rights
Wed Jun 18 07:02:57
EDT 2014
occurrence
n reserved);
the majority
of weldments.
Nevertheless, th e mechanic s by
Downloaded/printed by
microfissures
develop
ar e not
completely understood , an d thi s de Petrofacwhich
(Petrofac) pursuant
to License Agreement.
No further reproductions
authorized.
114 RESIDUA
LINNERT O N WELDABILIT Y 1
15
116
elements present i n the base metal and all other material s which contribute
to th e wel d composition .
When a wholly austenitic weld structure must be employed, the practice
with respec t t o residua l element s i s simpl y to : (a ) hol d al l recognize d
crack-promoters a s low as can be achieved with available technology an d
permissible costs, an d (b ) make all possible adjustment s in regula r alloying elements (tha t is , carbon, manganese , silicon , columbium ) known t o
improve cracking resistance. Eve n wit h the bes t obtainable materials an d
most favorabl e weldin g procedure , wholl y austeniti c wel d deposit s ar e
LINNERT O N WELDABILITY 1
l7
Fig. 8. Cracking was observed to occur in this region both in the as-welde d
condition an d afte r postwel d stress-relie f hea t treatment . Shortl y after ward, an d muc h t o th e disma y of stea m powe r engineers , Typ e 34 7 i n
heavy-wall pipin g of higher-temperature central stea m station s bega n t o
exhibit susceptibility to failure b y cracking in the base metal heat-affecte d
zone after seemingl y sound weld joints had bee n i n elevate d temperature
service fo r som e tim e [13].
Much research has been directed to the weld joint cracking in Type 347
and at least two mechanisms appear to operate: (1 ) an intergranular for m
of ho t shortnes s whic h occurs durin g welding , whereupo n th e crackin g
develops because of grain boundary liquation, o r embrittlement , and (2 )
a complex phenomenon involving strain-induced precipitation in the heataffected zon e during postweld heat treatment , or servic e at elevate d tem perature, wherei n th e chang e i n mechanica l propertie s result s i n stress rupture failur e unde r certai n condition s [14]. Th e Britis h painstakingl y
determined that the precipitation o f columbium carbide in the dislocation s
present i n th e stresse d heat-affecte d zone s wa s th e ke y t o th e problem .
The British als o found tha t a s little as 0.10 per cen t columbium , present
as a residual element , coul d produce th e strain-induce d precipitatio n an d
set the stage for failure by cracking [15].
Base metal heat-affected zone cracking ha s been reporte d i n relativel y
light sections of the more complex-alloyed austenitic stainless steels [16].
Although the microstructures of these steels contai n man y kinds of compounds whic h alon e giv e caus e fo r concer n i n welding , ther e ha s bee n
enough variation in the susceptibilit y of differen t lot s o f the sam e type of
alloy t o suspec t tha t residual element s ma y b e exertin g a n influenc e o n
overall weldin g performance.
Summary
l l 8 RESIDUA
DISCUSSION O N WELDABILIT Y 1
19
on th e Tensil e Propertie s o f 25-2 0 Weld Metal, " The Welding Journal, Vol .
25, No . 11 , Research Supplement , Nov . 1946 , pp. 760s-768s . Als o discussio n
Vol. 26, No. 2 , 1947 , pp. 119s-120s .
[10] U . S . Paten t No . 2,894,833 , Jul y 14 , 1959 , Linnert , G . E. , an d Larrimore ,
R. M., "Stainless Steel for Weld. "
[11] U . S . Patent No . 2,871,118 , Jan . 27 , 1959 , Perkins, R. A. , and Binder , W. O. ,
"Resistance t o Hot-Cracking o f Chromium-Nickel Steel Welds. "
[72] Hoerl , A. , an d Moore , T . J. , "Th e Weldin g o f Typ e 34 7 Stainles s Steels, "
The Welding Journal, Vol . 36 , No . 9 , Researc h Supplement , Sept . 1957 ,
pp. 442s-448s.
[13] Moore , N . E. , an d Griffiths , J . A. , "Microstructura l Cause s o f Heat-Affecte d
Zone Crackin g i n Heav y Sectio n 18-12-N b Austeniti c Stainles s Stee l Welde d
Joints," Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, Vol . 197 , Jan. 1961 , pp . 29 39.
[14] Younger , R . N. , Haddrill , D . M. , an d Baker , R . G. , "Post-Wel d Hea t Treat ment o f Hig h Temperatur e Austeniti c Steels, " Journal of the Iron and Steel
Institute, Vol . 201, Aug. 1963 , pp. 693-698.
[75] Haddrill , D . M. , an d Baker , R . G. , "Effec t o f Cobal t o n th e Susceptibilit y of
Welded Austeniti c Steel s t o Heat-Affecte d Zone Crackin g Durin g Heat Treat ment," British Welding Journal, Vol. 11 , No. 9 , Sept. 1964 , pp . 453-461 .
[76] Linnert , G . E. , "Th e Weldabilit y o f Alloy s fo r High-Temperatur e Service, "
The Welding Journal, Vol . 27 , No . 8 , Researc h Supplement , Aug . 1948 , pp .
385s-405s.
[77] Heuschkel , J., "Initial Characteristic s of Chromium-Nickel Steel Weld Metals, "
The Welding Journal, Vol. 34 , No. 10 , Oct. 1955 , pp. 484s-504s.
[75] Makin , S . M., et al , "Distributio n o f Phosphorus and Sulfu r i n Fully Austenitic
Stainless Stee l Welds," British Welding Journal, Vol. 7 , No. 10 , Oct. 1960 , pp .
595-599.
DISCUSSION
H. C. Campbell1 (written discussion)Do residua l metalli c element s
affect weldabilit y whe n present a s atoms , o r mus t the y becom e sulfides ,
oxides, etc., in order to be noticed?
G. E. Linnert (author)In almos t all cases, residual elements combine
with other availabl e element s in the stee l to for m compounds , o r alloyed
phases. Naturally , th e propertie s o f the compoun d o r phas e the n deter mine it s influenc e upo n weldability . Surprisin g effect s ma y b e observe d
depending upon such properties a s density, melting point, solid and liquid
solubility, an d dissociatio n temperature . A s indicate d a t th e conclusio n
of the paper, ver y little quantitative data have been obtaine d on the com position an d propertie s o f offendin g phase s an d compound s observe d t o
take part i n th e mechanic s of welding problems. Consequently , many of
our evaluation s of residual element s a s they affec t weldabilit y ar e purely
empirical. Hydroge n i s a n exceptiona l residua l elemen t inasmuc h a s i t
apparently act s t o for m blowhole s an d porosit y withou t enterin g int o
Copyright
by ASTM Int'l (all rights
reserved);
Wed Jun elements
18 07:02:57 EDT 2014
combination
with
other
in the steel .
Downloaded/printed by
Petrofac (Petrofac) pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions authorized.