Metals and how to Weld Nickel Alloys

like Inconel 718, Hastelloy X, Nichrome

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"Nickel heats up quick...get moving "

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Metals and how to weld them ...Welding nickel alloys
Before I get in too deep, I have been asked for the parameters for the welds in the
video..
here they are..
**the 15-5ph stainless joint was ,050" thick and with a .030-.050" gap took 40-45
amps.
**the inconel 718 joint was .032" thick and only took 23-25 amps
**the 4130 chromoly was .048" thick and required 45-50 amps
**no pulse was used, just straight current on a miller syncrowave 250.
**I was using an oversize cup 15/16" with a gas lens and screen diffuser with 35cfh and
the tungsten extended about 3/4" to allow the camera to get the arc.
Ok, exactly what are nickel alloys?
Most technical guides define nickel alloys as metals that contain more nickel than
anything else.
Some books state that nickel alloys contain more than 50% nickel.The nickel alloys we
will talk about today have more than 50% nickel.
Like:
Inconel 718 --- 19Cr 3Mo .9Ti 5.1Cb .5Al 18Fe balance Ni
Inconel 625 --- 21.5Cr 9Mo 3.7Cb balance Ni
Inconel 82 --- 20Cr 2.5Cb 3.2Mn balance Ni
Hastelloy X --- 22Cr 1.5Co 9Mo .6W 18.5Fe balance Ni
Nichrome V --- 20 Cr balance Ni
Waspaloy --- 19.5Cr 13.5Co 4Mo 3Ti 1.4Al .006B balance Ni
HASTELLOY S --- 16Cr 15Mo .3Al .06La balance Ni
C263 --- 20Cr 20Co 6Mo 2.2Ti .45Al balance Ni
As you can see all the nickel alloys listed above contain more than 50% nickel.

Some of them contain fairly large amounts of iron but some of them dont contain any
iron all

Properties of nickel alloys:

Low conductivity this is why nickel alloyed with chromium is often used for heating
elements. Because of a low conductivity heating elements made from nickel alloys get
red hot quickly when electric current is applied.
Resistance to oxidation and scaling nickel alloys can be heated to red hot
temperatures repeatedly without scaling.
Corrosion resistance nickel alloys dont rust and are very corrosion resistant to
certain acids and alkaline solutions.
Strength and hardness - alloy additions of aluminum and titanium allow some heat
treatable nickel alloys to be strengthened substantially by heat treatment.
Nickel alloys will not harden from heating and quenching. Only certain nickel alloys can
be hardened by heat treatment and it involves holding the metal at an elevated and
controlled temperature for a long time. This heat treatment is known as aging or
precipitation hardening.
The two main properties of nickel alloys that most determine what welding techniques to
use are:
1. Low thermal conductivity2. Sluggish puddle
A low thermal conductivity means that heat does not dissipate easily. Another way of
saying that is that heat builds up very easily.
Stainless steels have low thermal conductivity also and we know one of the tricks to
prevent heat build up is to get in , and get out you know, dont fart around .hit it, get
moving, and get out.
Chill blocks to pull the heat out are good for stainless, and good for nickel alloys too.
The sluggish puddle is another property of nickel alloys , especially when tig welding.
That is why aerospace welders who tig weld nickel alloys often use an oversized tig cup.
The extra argon shielding you get with a big cup helps keep the hot tip of the filler rod
shielded and that keeps the puddle more fluid. A more fluid puddle needs less amperage
to move the puddle. Less amperage means less heat input, less distortion, less likelihood
for cracking, and less heat affected zone.all good things.
3 of the most widely used nickel alloys in the aerospace industry are :
1. Inconel 713c turbine blades2. Inconel 718 engine cases, compressor blades3.
Hastelloy X hot section parts like burner cans that operate at red hot temperatures and
withstand thousands of heating and cooling cycles.
In other industries like power generation, nickel alloys have another application.
Cladding.Tons upon tons of inconel 625 welding wire are used each year to weld
cladding on steel boiler tubes to extend their life.

Inconel 625 is one of the most widely used nickel alloy filler metals becauseIt works.
Inconel 625 welding wire is used routinely to weld layers of heat and corrosion resistance
cladding on less corrosion resistant steel .
It stands to reason that if inconel 625 can be used to clad steel or chromium steel boiler
tubes, it is also a good choice as a welding rod for welding steel to other metals.
Another property of nickel is that it remains soft and ductile after the weld is done.
Nickel welding rods will not harden by heating and quenching. No matter what the base
alloy is, a nickel welding deposit will not be hard and brittle.
Thats some useful information.
So lets recap.
We know now that nickel alloys have a low thermal conductivity, resist scaling and
oxidation at elevated temperatures, will not harden--even when used to weld carbon
steel or cast iron, and we know that nickel alloys can retain these properties even when
subjected to multiple heating and cooling cycles.
With these properties, it makes perfect sense that inconel 625 would be used for
cladding boiler tubes in power plants.

TIP TIG superior nickel weld quality than traditional TIG welds
If you want all position, defect free alloy welds at superior quality than
conventional TIG, Pulsed MIG or the flux cored process and you would
like to produce all position weld deposition rates equal to pulsed MIG
and flux cored, consider the TIP TIG process. A five minute TIP TIG demo
will show any weld professional that when welding in any weld position,
thin or thick metals, any alloys and any weld, clad or brazed
application, the TIP TIG process is the world's most cost effective
process for producing defect free welds.

THE NORTH AMERICAN, PATENT PENDING, ADVANCED TIP TIG PROCESS, IS THE
WORLD'S MOST EFFECTIVE WELD, CLAD AND BRAZING PROCESS. TIP TIG
IS AN EASY PROCESS TO USE AND ALWAYS DELIVERS SUPERIOR WELD
QUALITY THAN TRADITIONAL TIG / PLASMA WELDS. THE BONUS FOR THE
WELD SHOP IS WHILE GETTING THE ULTIMATE IN TIG WELD QUALITY,

YOU ARE GETTING IT 4 TO 8 TIMES FASTER THAN A TIG WELD:

The manual or automated semiautomatic TIP TIG process can be used

with either TIG - Plasma or a laser. TIP TIG will always result in superior
weld / clad quality and superior mechanical properties. It does not
matter what the application, the weld position, or the alloy to be
welded is, TIP TIG will deliver the ultimate attainable weld quality on all
Carbon Steels, Stainless, Aluminum, Inconel, Titanium, Hastelloy,
Stellite, Duplex, Low and High Alloy Steels, Tool Steels and Cast Steel
welds and clad applications.

The Fossil and Nuclear industry will never attain the construction weld
quality or productivity (10 to 40 times faster than manual TIG) that the
ATT manual and automated weld process can deliver. Oil Platforms Ship Yards - Naval Vessels and Submarines - The Space and Aircraft
Industries - Cryogenic Vessels - Petro Chemical - Refining - Waste to
Energy - Industrial Processing - Pulp and Paper - Military Equipment Medical Equipment - Food and Beverage, none of the North American
industries have in their weld shops a weld process that can deliver the
weld quality / productivity attainable from the easy to use,
semiautomatic ATT process.

Why be concerned about the skilled welder shortage when the

moderate priced TIP TIG process is easy to use on the most difficult
applications. PQR's will be easy to produce as two simple amp / wire
feed weld procedures will weld most of your manual or automated
applications. It takes about one hour to learn the one handed TIP TIG
techniques. TIP TIG will dramatically reduce your weld rework costs and
reduce your product liability concerns as it always will deliver the
optimum in weld quality. There is no weld smoke issues and no
concerns for spatter. In contrast to most other process it will provide
less weld heat input. . If highly cost effective, defect free alloy welds
with superior weld appearance are important to you. Click for TIP TIG
weld information.

To watch the worlds best process weld on a pipe orbital head copy the
following link and note the untouched pipe weld quality and unique
multi-pass color without interpass temp control which indicates the
very low weld heat. http://youtu.be/byBer6EWy7s

When MIG welding nickel alloys, the welder would note many
similarities to welding carbon steels. Nickel has similar mechanical
properties to carbon steels, it's the nickel crystalline and metallurgical
structure that's very different from iron.
In contrast to carbon steels, when welding nickel, the nickel does not
undergo a crystalline / phase change up to its melt temp.To change the
grain size requires cold working and annealing. Nickel has great
solubility for elements that's why we see alloys such as Nickel Chrome, Nickel - Iron,
Nickel - Copper, Nickel - Moly and other commercial alloys. In small
amounts carbon, manganese, silicon, aluminum and columbian are
added, some of the these have a positive influence on the weld and
some have a negative influence.
Manganese in the range of 3 to 9 percent is added to nickel copper
alloys to improve crack resistance.
Titanium is sometimes added to the filler metals as a deoxidizer for
weld porosity reduction.

ED'S MIG GAS FOR NICKEL ALLOYS:

Typically straight argon is the gas of choice, and when more
weld energy is required argon with 40% helium have been use
for MIG and pulsed MIG.
Note for those that having been using gas mixes with Argon - <
30% helium, the weld energy benefits will be minuscule from
that helium content, and that's why the 40% helium is
recommended. Also be aware that with pulsed MIG, you can
tweak the pulsed parameters to put more weld energy in the pulsed
droplets, so you won't need the helium mix. I did this many times when
establishing cladding procedures for the power and waste management
industries.
For decades CO2 or oxygen in the MIG gas was not recommended for
Nickel alloys as these alloys are very sensitive to oxidation. In the
eighties while carrying out MIG gas research I discovered the value of a
small amount of CO2 for MIG welding nickel alloys. Visit the MIG gas
section at this site for the gas data. With MIG Nickel alloys, the addition
of 0.5 to 1 percent (max) CO2 to argon not only improves the arc
stability it will also allow the use of higher, more spray transfer wire
feed rates.
INFO ON COMMON NICKEL ALLOYS
Nickel. Solid Solution. 200 series, typically
not strengthened by heat treat.
Nickel 200 - 201 used food and chemical
processing equipment and pipes. The 201 is
used on applications over 600F. Nickel 201
99.5% nickel Nickel. Precipitation Hardenable. 300 series. Strengthened by heat
treatment.
Nickel Copper Alloys. Solid Solution. 400 series. High strength. High
toughness and great corrosion resistance. 405 is free machining. 405 =
66.% Ni - 31% Cu - 1.25% Fe - 1% Mn.
Nickel. Copper Precipitation Hardenable. 500 series. These alloys (K500) are strengthened with Al and Ti. Used when high strength /

hardness and corrosion resistance required. K500 66.5% Ni - 28% Cu 3% Al.

Nickel Chrome. Solid Solution. 600 series.These are the common alloys
we see in use today. 600 - 601 - 625, Good corrosion resistance at high
temperature.Good resistance to chloride-ion stress corrosion cracking
and corrosion from high purity water. Used in reactors, power plant
water wall cladding etc.Alloy 625 good MIG weldability, using pulsed or
spray transfer.625 = 61% Ni - 21.5% Cr - 9% Mo - 3.65% Cb - 2.5% Fe Nickel Chrome. Precipitation Hardenable. 700 series. Strengthen by Al Ti - Cb additions. Common alloys 713 c - 706 - 718 - X750 - U500 - U700 R41 - Astoloy - Waspaloy. When Cb is used for strengthening rather
than Al - Ti the weldability is improved. Gas Turbines and Aircraft parts.
X750 = 73% Ni - 15.5% Cr - 7% Fe - 2.5% - Ti -0.95% Cb.
Nickel Iron Chrome. Solid Solution. 800 series. Common alloys are 800
and 825 and 20Cb. Alloy 800 is used typically in high temp applications,
has good carburization / oxidation resistance. The 825 and 20 Cb in
strong corrosive situations, good resistance to chloride-ion stress
corrosion cracking and reducing acids.825 = 42% Cr - 30% Fe - 21.5% Cr
- 35 Mo - 2.5% Cu - 0.9% Ti
Nickel Iron Chrome. Precipitation Hardenable. 900 series. Most common
901 (Incoloy 901). Welds similar to X750, mostly used for forgings that
are not welded.901 = 42.7% Ni - 34% Fe - 13.5% Cr -6.2% Mo - 2.5% Ti.
Nickel Moly Alloys. Known as Hastelloy B - N - W. Contains 16 - 28% Mo
with some Chrome and iron. B used for hydrochloric acids. N for molten
fluoride salts, W for dissimilar metals with good corrosion and oxidation
resistance.
Nickel Chrome Moly Alloys. Known as Hastelloy. C - C276 - F - G -X. Alloy
C good corrosion and high temp properties. C-276 lower carbon and
silicon than C to reduce grain boundary precipitates enables the alloy to
be used in as weld condition.
Nickel Silicon Alloy. Hastelloy D. This is a cast alloy with good resistance
to sulfuric acid at all temperatures.

Base Alloy

AWS Filler Metals. Need more

info contact Haynes Alloys.
Kokomo IN.

Nickel 200

ERNi 3

Monel 400

ERNi Cu 7

Inconel 600

ERNiCr-3 -- ERNiCrFe 6

Inconel 718

718

Inconel X-750

718

Short circuit and the pulsed mode are

For dissimilar applications
recommended for cladding. For nickel
think about minimum weld
chrome welds on carbon steels
dilution
ERNiCr-3 is a common consumable.
Inconel 600 - 800 to steel
or stainless / monel 400.

ERNiCr -3 - ERNiCrFe-6

WELDING TIPS, NINE PERCENT NICKEL.

CRYOGENIC APPLICATIONS.

A common application in which austenitic stainless and 9% nickel steels

is in the construction of cryogenic, liquefied natural gas (LNG)
containers. These containers can carry liquid argon, natural gas,

helium, oxygen, nitrogen etc. These liquid gases are usually in an

approximate temp range of -300 to -450F. Carbon steels and alloy steels
have poor toughness and ductility at low temperatures. The alloy steels
with nickel, austenitic steels typically 304 - 304L 316 - 316L - 347 and
aluminum alloys all have excellent low temperature toughness. Please
note, TIP TIG will provide superior weld quality than traditional TIG or
any MIG transfer mode.
Strict welding regulations are applied to welding cryogenic
applications. The weld metal properties should contain low nitrogen,
low ferrite, low carbon and high nickel. Filler metals such as Nickel
Chrome Molybdenum, Nickel Chrome Iron or high alloy austenitic
electrodes.
The Nickel alloy consumables have a coefficient of thermal expansion
that is close to the 9% nickel this reduces the risk of thermal fatigue in
applications subject to thermal cycling. Typically the mechanical
properties of nine percent nickel will be higher than those of the weld
consumables utilized. This requires special consideration to weld
qualification tests. Note that with the 30X in centrast to the 30XL (low
carbon grades).
The higher the carbon content the lower the impact toughness.Shop
built stainless steel cryo vessels in the USA are built to ASME Boiler
Pressure Vessel Code Section V111. Field erected vessels may use the
API 620 Q. Austenitic stainless accounts for the majority of metals used
for cryo applications. The rest of the applications use 5 to 9% nickel or
aluminum. Where high strength is required nine nickel may be chosen
instead of an austenitic steel. Its important to remember that nine
percent nickel is an alloy that can rust.

WELDING TIPS FOR NINE PERCENT NICKEL.

The best possible weld process would TIP TIG.

Keep the carbon in the rage <0.03%. Low carbon superior toughness.
With SMAW, Lime electrodes provide higher low temp toughness than
the titania electrodes.
Weld Inclusions. Slag inclusion can lower low temp toughness. Keep this
in mind when comparing weld processes. The three best processes for
toughness are TiP TiG - GTAW and GMAW.
As porosity or inclusions are a result of an oxide reaction its logical
when MIG welding to use a low reactive gas mix. For stainless
applications forget that argon 2% oxygen mix recommended by the gas
companies, use the gas mix developed by Ed, which is is an argon mix
with 2% CO2. The argon CO2 mix is much less oxidizing and does not
have enough CO2 to add to the carbon content of the weld.
Nitrogen pick up will increase the strength of the stainless welds
however it decrease the low temperature toughness.
If using SAW for stainless, its difficult to meet the weld impact
requirements on
applications below - 300 F, consider TiP TiG or second choice MIG.

If the stainless pipe ID root weld finish is important, to attaini a smooth

surface dont use pulsed. The best weld process for automated nickel
welds would be TiP TiG.
Nine percent nickel is often used for economic reasons for large plate,
cryo pressure vessel applications down to -320 As mentioned this metal
can rust, so this alloy cannot be used on applications where
contamination is a concern.
Nine percent nickel cryo vessels are built to ASME Boiler Pressure
Vessel code SectionV111.
Two material specs are used for the common nickel plates.
[1] ASTM SA 553/SA 553M Spec for pressure vessel plates. Alloy steels
Quenched and tempered 8-9% Nickel.
[2] ASTM SA 353/SA-353M Spec for pressure vessel plates. Alloy Steels
Doubled Normalized and tempered.
ASTM. AS 553 and SA 353 have the same chemistry 8.5-9.5 nickel the
yield strength of 353 is 75 ksi to 85 ksi for the 553.
Most pressure vessel plates are QT 553.
Weld procedure qualifications for 9% nickel according to section 1X of
the boiler code requires impact test made at -320F or the lower
operating temp. The impact test covers
the weld d HAZ. Transverse tensile and bend tests are also req.

General Weld Information For Nickel Alloy Welds.

Weld Note: Due to hardening potential and the formation of refractory

oxides consideration is required for Precipitation Hardenable nickel
steels.
TiP TiG is the logical process for these alloys. The primary weld
differences between carbon steel welds and nickel alloy welds will be;
[1] The nickel welds will be much more sluggish, weld fusion is always a
primary concern. Note the high weld energy and agitated weld pool
with the TIP TIG mode does not have fusion concerns with sluggish
alloys.
[2] The nickel welds are very sensitive to oxidation that can lead to
extensive weld porosity. With MIG reactive gas mixes are required. Be
concerned about the quality and reactive gas composition of the MIG
gas mixes available at your local gas distributor.
Many cylinders used for argon mixes may have previously been used for
argon 20 - 25% CO2 or argon Oxy mixes. The remains of the reactive
components in the cylinders could influence oxidation. If you order 99%
argon 1% CO2, ensure the cylinders used have dip tubes and that a
certificate of gas composition is presented for each cylinder. Ensure you
have adequate gas pre-flow and post-flow.
Note: With TIP TIG, you use argon so you should habe less oxidation
concerns.
[3] The magentic influence on the arc is much more noticeable with
nickel alloys, again this is a good reason to use Ed's MIG gas mix as the
CO2 provides improved electron transfer and improved arc stability.
[4] The crack sensitivity is much greater with nickel alloy so use low to
moderate weld parameters.
[5] The cleanliness in the weld areas is super critical when welding
nickel alloys. Welding and post weld heating should only be carried out
on nickel alloys that are clean and free of contaminates. Grinding and
shot blasting are effective. With grinding use wheels that are dedicated
only to the nickel welds. Wire brushing will typically not fully remove
the surface oxides. If brushes or power brushes are utilized ensure they
are made of stainless steels.
[6] Nickel alloys are sensitive to embattlement from phosphorous, and
sulfur and these elements are found in many of the materials used in
metal forming. Plasma or laser cutting oxides which will have higher
melting temperature than the base metal should be removed from

nickel alloy plate edges that will be part of the welds. The higher temp
cutting oxides can act as a barrier against the sluggish nickel welds
impeading weld fusion potential. The oxides from the cutting surfaces
can also create internal weld porosity and cause a reduction in the
nickel mechanical properties.
In contrast with carbon steels in which the oxides and inclusion
typically rise at a fast pace to the weld surface, with the sluggish
composition of nickel welds, the contaminates on the plate are more
likely to become trapped in the weld. The sluggish nature of the nickel
welds can also cause extensive lack of weld fusion especially on MIG
welded parts > 4 mm. Lack of weld penetration can cause a point for
stress concentration. When welding tube or pipe or butt welds with full
penetration treat the weld like a stainless weld and ensure the backside
of the root has an argon purge.
Note: With the higher weld - arc energy and unique weld agitation in a
TIP TIG weld you will have much less internal weld defects than any
other weld process.
.
[7] Weld heat typically does not have a negative impact on the nickel
alloys. A small amount of grain growth and annealing will occur in the
welds HAZ.
[8] When you do a tensile test on a nickel welded sample, please keep
in mind that the annealed part of the HAZ will be the first location to
elongate. The plastic elongation will cause strain hardening which
"actually increases the yield strength". The bottom line is the work
hardening influence on the elongation is influenced by the size of the
HAZ, and its important to remember that transverse tensile elongation
or the noted transverse yield strength attained can be misleading.
[9] With multi-pass welds be aware of the weld heat input build up,
especially when welding those oxidation sensitive, precipitation
hardenable alloys which can leave an oxide surface on the weld that
can impead multi-pass weld fusion potential. All Nickel welds subject to
excess weld heat will be influenced by atmospheric contamination
creating a severe oxide on the weld's surface. For mult-pass welds use
interpass temperature controls (typically 300 to 350F) to minimize both
the heat influence on the weld HAZ and oxidation potential.
Note: With TIP TIG the lowest weld heat should be produced with the
cleanest possible welds.
[10] Pre-heat is typically not necessary for nickel alloys if the metals

are at or above indoor shop temperature. If

the metals have been stored outside or
moisture is suspect to reduce the weld
porosity potential, pre-heat the metals
between 70 and 100F.
[11] Post heat treatment is usually not
required for the common nickel alloys after
welding to attain the desired corrosion resistance. However with nickel
chrome 600 alloy, stress relief is required for fused-caustic service
applications and also for alloy 400 applications as used in hydrofluoric
acid service. Also note the nickel molybdenum and nickel silicon alloys
HAZ can lower the corrosion resistance therefore these alloys may
require a postweld solution-annealing treatment to restore the
corrosion resistance of the HAZ.

Nickel Alloys and FILLER METAL SELECTION

Filler Metal Selection. As corrosion potential is the primary concern in

the selection of nickel alloys the filler metal should have similar
chemistry composition to the base metal to be welded. The 600 series
nickel chrome and nickel- iron - chrome alloys can end up with that
austenitic problem caused by carbide precipitation (CP) in the HAZ, see
the stainless section. Its reported that the CP does in most cases not
result in accelerated corrosion attacks. Like stainless weld
consumables, additions of columbian or titanium are added to specific

filler metals such as the popular Inconel 625 are used to help stabilize
the welds and minimize the CP influence.
With MIG welding remember you will get greater current density (less
sluggish welds) from smaller wire diameters. Welding under 6 mm
thickness, I would recommend an 0.035 (1 mm) nickel MIG wire.
Welding thicker than 6 mm, consider an 0.045 (1.2 mm) wire.

DON'T FORGET ED'S UNIQUE MIG GAS MIXES FOR NICKEL ALLOYS:
You can use straight argon for the Nickel MIG welds, however when
using MIG spray transfer consider argon with 1% CO2, for applications 3
to 6 mm. For spray applications over 6 mm, to attain more weld energy
try a three part mix containing argon - 40% helium - 1 % CO2. Use gas
flow rates in the range of 40 to 60 cuft/hr. For those of you that are
considering pulsed rather than spray, remember nickel welds are
sluggish going from a pulsed peak to a low background weld current
does not improve a sluggish weld in contrast to traditional spray. When
TIG welding use the same filler metals as MIG with straight argon, treat
the nickel welds as you would stainless welds.

[] When welding the 300 series of stainless to carbon steels the austenitic 309
filler metal and sometimes 310 are utilized. The 310 25% Cr - 20% Ni, can cause
the austenitic welds to fail due to microfissuring which resulted in cracks in
applications subject to thermal stresses. The weld failures were often a result of
the differences of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The 309, 23% Cr 13% Ni filler metal when used on stainless to carbon steels results in a weld with
ferrite reducing the potential for mico-fissuring, however keep in mind depending

on the application chemistry, thickness, weld process and parameters used, the
dissimilar weld joints are still dilution sensitive. The 309 filler when used on
stainless to steel welds still have large CTE differences therefore one should be
concerned when the welds or parts are subject to temperatures over 600F in
which high stresses or thermal fatigue effects the ferritic / austenitic weld
interface.
[] Where the 309 and 310 have problems the weld solutions are frequently found
with the 600 series Ni Alloy filler metals.

Ed developed this Inconel 625, pulsed MIG water wall clad

procedure, patented in 2007: Check the clad section.

[] The 600 series as many of you know are often called Inconel. These
high Ni-alloy filler metals typically contain up to 72 nickel 15 % Chrome
and 8% Fe. These filler metals have a much lower CTE than the 300
series austenitic alloys.When welding the lower CTE results in less weld
thermal stresses. The Inconel alloys are also less sensitive to weld
microfissuring or weld dilution concerns from dissimilar metals.
[] When parts are in service at temperatures >700 F, welds that contain
high nickel to chrome ratios can be sensitive to sulfur corrosion. This
risk is reduced with filler metals that have higher chrome / moly. Alloys
625 / 671. The 671 is AWS (ERNiCr-4 rod)

[] The 625filler, EniCrMo-3 rod , MIG and flux cored wire should be
restricted to applications <1000F as weld embrittlement can occur.
[] For a story on how not to use Inco 625 for cladding boiler water wall
tubes click.

WELDING, NINE PERCENT NICKEL CRYOGENIC APPLICATIONS.

A common application in which austenitic stainless and 9% nickel steels is in the

construction of cryogenic, liquefied natural gas (LNG) containers. These
containers can carry liquid argon, natural gas, helium, oxygen, nitrogen etc.
These liquid gases are usually in an approximate temp range of -300 to -450F.
Carbon steels and alloy steels have poor toughness and ductility at low
temperatures. The alloy steels with nickel, austenitic steels typically 304 - 304L
316 - 316L - 347 and aluminum alloys all have excellent low temperature
toughness.
Strict welding regulations are applied to welding cryogenic applications. The weld
metal properties should contain low nitrogen, low ferrite, low carbon and high
nickel. Filler metals such as Nickel Chrome Molybdenum, Nickel Chrome Iron or
high alloy austenitic electrodes.The Nickel alloy consumables have a coefficient
of thermal expansion that is close to the 9% nickel this reduces the risk of
thermal fatigue in applications subject to thermal cycling. Typically the
mechanical properties of nine percent nickel will be higher than those of the weld
consumables utilized. This requires special consideration to weld qualification
tests.
Note that with the 30X in centrast to the 30XL (low carbon grades). The higher

the carbon the lower the impact toughness.Shop built stainless steel cryo vessels
in the USA are built to ASME Boiler Pressure Vessel Code Section V111. Field
erected vessels may use the API 620 Q. Austenitic stainless accounts for the
majority of metals used for cryo applications. The rest of the applications use 5
to 9% nickel or aluminum. Where high strength is required nine nickel may be
chosen instead of an austenitic steel. Its important to remember that nine
percent nickel is an alloy that can rust.

Welding Nickel Alloys Expertise

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Welding-nickel is an important subject.

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Welding is required for fabrication of specific

applications of Nickel and nickel alloys.
These materials were developed in a large number of alloys for their exceptional
properties.
Among other advantages they have remarkable resistance to Heat and/or Corrosion.
A previous page dedicated to heat resisting alloys includes also a discussion of some
Cobalt alloys.
Collectively, they display suitable properties for demanding applications.
See Heat Resisting Alloys Welding.
Nickel and nickel alloys in wrought form are quite ductile.
Certain alloys, developed primarily for high temperature service, resist deformation even
when hot (they were designed that way).
Welding-nickel cast alloys may be difficult, especially those with high silicon.
Precipitation Hardening Cast nickel alloy blades for gas turbine engines, are a special
case.

Special casting techniques provide them with directionally solidified or single crystals,
essential for their unique performance.
They are built with integral air cooling channels.
Those cast blades are further protected from oxidation and erosion by proprietary
coatings.
Welding them with traditional means would destroy their special properties.
Therefore they cannot be repaired except by very special welding techniques
developed for this purpose.
In fact local weld deposition for repair buildup has been
attempted with some success both by Electron Beam and by
Laser Beam Welding.

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This remains a very special application as detailed hereafter. Window.
Surface restoration of damaged expensive parts has been
performed with Welding-nickel by high energy beams.
See the Laser fused metal powders article, published (2) in issue 43 of Practical
Welding Letter for March 2007.
Click on PWL#043 to read it.
An Article on Weldability of Cast Nickel Superalloys was published (11) in Issue 98
of Practical Welding Letter for October 2011.
Click on PWL#098 to see it.
Welding-nickel is done mostly with arc welding and with high energy processes.
Oxyacetylene welding should not be employed.
Two general classes of nickel alloys are available.
Those that derive their strength properties from their composition are known as Solid
Solution alloys.
These are generally weldable by Welding-nickel, and serviceable in as welded
condition.
The Precipitation Hardening alloys develop their remarkable mechanical properties
because of two combined factors.

A finely tuned alloy composition, and

a delicately balanced heat treatment.

These result in developing suitable micro-structures capable of exceptional strength
even at high heat.
Using Welding-nickel to join these alloys (that usually contain small amounts of
aluminum and titanium), would require the complete heat treatment cycle, including
solutioning and precipitation, to be performed.

Only in this case they would exhibit the special properties they are capable of.
Cleaning is most important in Welding-nickel.
At molten metal temperature many contaminants like sulfur, lead and others, as well as
oil, paint and dirt if present on the surface, might find their way into the weld.
Such contamination would have harmful consequences. Oxides should also be
removed.
Preheating is usually not needed except for avoiding water condensation in cold
weather.
Postweld treatment is normally not required to restore corrosion resistance, however
full solution treatment is sometimes recommended.
Joint design is quite normal for Welding-nickel except that special attention should be
paid to accessibility.
The opening must be sufficient for electrode or torch to reach the bottom of the joint.
As penetration tends to be lower, when Welding-nickel alloys are compared to steels,
thinner lands should be designed in the joint root.
Beveling is needed only for material thicker than about 2.4 mm except if Welding-nickel
with high energy processes (Electron- and Laser-Beam), or with Plasma arc over a
certain thickness.
Fixtures and clamping tools should be used to keep aligned components in place,
minimize buckling and reduce distortion.
Backing bars should be made of copper, and include a contoured groove to permit
penetration and avoid gas entrapment.
If Welding-nickel alloy thin sheet metal parts, fixtured with firm hold-down force, the
thermal expansion may set in the weld favorable compressive stresses.
For Shielded Metal Arc Welding-nickel, (SMAW), weaving of the electrode is
recommended, to melt and wet the sides of the groove.
This is because molten nickel metal is not free-flowing as iron base alloys, and
therefore it must be deposited where needed.
All beads should show slightly convex profile.
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding-nickel alloys (GTAW), both manual and mechanized, is
performed with Direct Current with Electrode Negative (DCEN - Straight Polarity).
Argon is the shielding gas usually selected, while helium or mixtures of the two may be
used in special cases.
Filler metal are normally similar in composition to the base metals to join.

2% Thoriated tungsten electrodes are preferably selected. They should not contact the
base metal.
High frequency circuits permit arc starting without touching and contaminating the
electrode.
Arc length should be kept as short as practicable.
The hot end of filler metal should be kept always in the shielding gas.
The underside of groove welds has to be protected from oxidation by having shielding
gas flowing from the backing bar.
Gas Metal Arc Welding-nickel alloys is used when greater deposition rates are needed
than available with GTAW.
That occurs practically for thicker items and longer joints.
The metal transfer mode should be selected as suitable for the application.
Direct Current with Electrode Positive (DCEP - Reverse Polarity) should be used.
Filler metal should be selected as required by application, and dependent on the type of
base metal.
Flux-Cored Arc Welding uses special filler metal wires that contain a flux inside, at their
core.
They may provide better oxidation protection and increased productivity.
For Welding-nickel, shielding gas is generally used as an additional precaution against
air contamination, besides the flux.
Plasma Arc Welding (PAW) is used when special benefits can be obtained from using the
keyhole technique, without adding filler metal up to about 9 mm (0.3 in).
Overlaying is the process of Welding-nickel alloys on the surface of less expensive
material like steel.
Iron dilution should be kept to a minimum, by using buffer layers of acceptable
Transitional materials.
High deposition rate processes are used, like GMAW and Submerged Arc Welding
(SAW).
This last process must be performed by keeping the weld flat, so that rotating
positioners must be employed for the internal overlaying of large cylinders.
If iron dilution is not kept under control, cracking may occur in the weld.
If this happens, all precautions must implemented to reduce it or to better insulate the
last layers from the firsts.

Welding-duplex
Stainless Steels Successfully.
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Special requirements imposed by this family of
materials must be understood.
Practical welding parameters must be completely determined.
Thorough validation of the properties obtained must be accomplished.
Duplex Stainless Steels contain about equal amounts of ferrite and austenite.
A short account was given in my page on Stainless Steel Welding.
Duplex Stainless Steels are a group of materials offering good corrosion
resistance, improved mechanical properties with good ductility and
toughness.
As compared to austenitic grades, they show relative ease of fabrication,
including weldability, when due precautions are taking place.
Modern duplex stainless steels can be grouped according to similarity of
composition to four main Grades identified for ease of reference:

(UNS No.S32304) - Lean duplex 2304 with low or no Mo

(UNS No.S32205) - Duplex 2205, the most used of these steels

(UNS No.S32550) - 25 Cr like 255 and DP-3

(UNS No.S32750) - Superduplex like 2507

The balanced microstructures must be maintained also when fusion welding.

Edges of base metals must be carefully machined to facilitate full penetration
without burn through.
Filler metal must always be used for Welding-duplex
Cleaning of base metal and consumables before welding should follow the
highest standards.
For most of the Welding-duplex stainless, a matching composition of filler
metal (similar to base metal composition) is used.
A post weld heat treatment (PWHT) at high solutioning temperature (1050-1100
C = 1920-2010 F) should be performed, followed by water quenching.
The usual low temperature (600-650 C = 1100-1200 F) stress relief treatment
as used for carbon steel is harmful and must be avoided.
In common practice even the matching filler metals have a slight excess of
nickel relative to the wrought base metal products, mainly to avoid high ferrite
content of the weld metal.
If filler metal with higher (8-10%) Nickel is preferred (called overmatching),
weldments can be put into service as welded.
Among the favorable properties of Duplex Stainless Steels, are chloride pitting
and crevice corrosion resistance.
These are obtained by carefully balancing the amounts and the proportions of
the different microstructures developed during primary material making but also
during fabrication.
Proper control required to reach a stable duplex structure, depends on
specific chemical composition, due to complex interactions between chromium,
molybdenum, nitrogen and nickel.
Furthermore the thermal history of the material must avoid the formation, at
elevated temperatures, of detrimental intermetallic structures, called
generally sigma and chi phases.
The presence of nitrogen in suitable proportions effectively contrasts their
appearance.
Welding-duplex stainless steel is made easier by the current commercial grades
that are low in carbon (less than 0.03 %C).
These are free from the risk of sensitization and of intergranular corrosion due to
carbide precipitation.
Solidification hot cracking risk is reduced by the adequate presence of ferrite.

Also by the fact that sulfur and phosphorus levels are kept low both in base
material and filler metals.
Therefore hot cracking is seldom a concern when Welding-duplex stainless
steel.
Hydrogen cold cracking resistance is satisfactory due to high hydrogen
solubility in austenite that is present in the matrix in high percentage.
Not all the problems likely to occur when processing these materials may be
readily apparent in the shop.
Problems cannot be detectable by non destructive inspection.
Those responsible for Welding-duplex stainless steel should be aware of this
fact.
The weld quality, as demonstrated by achieved
toughness and corrosion resistance in service,
depends on strict observance of proven and qualified
welding procedures.

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Any unauthorized deviation involves unacceptable risks

of failure.
Preheating is generally not required, except for
eliminating moisture in cold weather, and could be
harmful.
The concerns associated with Welding-duplex stainless steel refer to the Heat
Affected Zone, (HAZ) not generally to the weld metal.
Primary among these are loss of corrosion resistance and of toughness or
post weld cracking.
In order to avoid these problems, Welding-duplex stainless procedures should try
to minimize the total time at high temperature.
That should be preferred to limiting the heat input for any single pass.
In fact duplex steels have good tolerance for relatively high heat inputs.
Best practice allows for rapid cooling from weld temperature, by keeping the
weldment mass relatively cool.
The requirement for maximum interpass temperature, is usually established
at 150 C (300 F).
It must be enforced with suitable instrumentation both for welding procedure
qualification and for production.

Contrary to common practice for different kinds of steel, limiting the heat input
to very low values can have deleterious effects as loss of toughness and
corrosion resistance.
However very high heat input increases the risk of intermetallic phase
forming.
For Welding-duplex stainless standard welding processes are used.
Except that flux cored arc welding (FCAW) is not recommended, especially for
the super duplex grades.
An Article on Spot Welding Duplex Stainless Steels was published (11) in
Issue 81 of Practical Welding Letters for May 2010.
Click on PWL#081 to read it.

Creep-resistant-steels:
how to select and weld.
SOLUTIONS with Effective, Practical Advice
Creep-resistant-steels
for Service under Heat
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Creep-resistant-steels are those providing useful
properties even at elevated service temperatures.

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Under such conditions, simple carbon steels cannot perform adequately.

According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code, normal carbon steels are suitable for service at temperatures
not exceeding 345 C (650 F).
At this maximum temperature, per the above Code, the maximum safe design stress
shall not exceed 25% of the minimum specified Ultimate Tensile Strength of the steel
selected.
ASME Specifications define the types and the properties of several steels, like the
following SA 515, SA 516, SA 302, SA 202, and SA 537 for plates, each of them further
defined according to Grades or Classes.
It is well known that the mechanical properties of materials depend on temperature.

Specifically the Ultimate Tensile Stress and the elastic limit decrease in various degree
with increasing temperature, depending on the type of steel.
The mechanical properties measured at room temperature cannot be used for design
purposes for service at elevated temperature.
In fact steels exposed to high temperature may be subject to
excessive plastic deformation, for stresses applied for long
enough time, even at levels well below the limits acceptable at
room temperature.
For use of Creep-resistant steels at elevated temperatures
one has to consider:

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the long time stability

the mechanical properties

the resistance to oxidation and scaling

the resistance to corrosive attacks under the service atmosphere.

Furthermore, before finalizing the material selection, one has to take into account
fabricability, weldability, maximum run-off temperature, expected life of the
construction and cost.
Selection requires particular attention if service is in presence of hydrogen at elevated
temperature and pressure.
A short introduction to Heat Resistance was published in Section 2 of Issue 55 of our
Practical Welding Letter for March 2008. Click on PWL#055 to see it.
In the same Issue, in Section 7, a short article deals with a related subject, Type IV
Cracking.
In practice, to improve the properties of Creep resistant steels, one modifies the metals
behavior by alloying them with specified small additions of certain elements.
Chromium, Molybdenum, Vanadium, and other metals have definite influence on
favorable modifications of metallurgical microstructure.
For power generation structures, designed to operate for years at elevated
temperatures, an accepted criterion was developed.
Different Creep-resistant-steels are evaluated on the base of the results obtained when
performing a standard Creep Test.
(Click on the link to see the page).
The test time is established as a period of one hundred thousand hours (corresponding
to slightly more than eleven years).
The nominal design stress of any candidate material, when applied continuously on
specified specimens at the given temperature, will cause in the said test time period an
elongation not exceeding 1% of its basic gauge length.
This is the reference for establishing safe design stresses.

Long Time Creep-resistant-steels

Creep-resistant-steels for high temperature service are those suitable for applications
that require exposures between 345 and 815 C (650 and 1500 F).
For each one of the approved materials the usual Code establishes the allowable
design stress at service temperature.
The following Table lists a few Creep-resistant-steels usually considered for use in the
specified temperature ranges.
Table
Creep Resistant Steels
ASME No.

Composition %

Temperature Range

Cr

Mo

SA 204, grade C

--

0.5

430-510

800-950

SA 302, grade B

--

0.5

430-510

800-950

SA 387, grade 12, class 1

1.0

0.5

455-565

850-1050

SA 387, grade 12, class 2

1.0

0.5

345-480

650-900

SA 387, grade 11, class 1

1.25

0.5

455-565

850-1050

SA 387, grade 11, class 2

1.25

0.5

345-480

650-900

SA 387, grade 22, class 1

2.25

1.0

455-595

850-1100

SA 387, grade 22, class 2

2.25

1.0

370-480

700-900

SA 387, grade 5, class 1,

class 2

5.0

0.5

480-620

900-1150

SA 387, grade 9

9.0

1.0

510-595

950-1100

SA 387, grade 91 (1)

9.0

1.0

540-650

1000-1200

SA 240 Austenitic (2)

(2)

(2)

595-815

1100-1500

(1) + Ni, V, Nb, N, Al

(2) - Austenitic Stainless Steels:
Grade 304H 18Cr-8Ni
Grade 316H 16Cr-12Ni-2Mo
Grade 321H 18Cr-10Ni-Ti
Grade 347H 18Cr-10Ni-Nb
Excluding austenitic stainless steels, the other Creep-resistant-steels listed above, in
particular those containing Chromium and Molybdenum are all martensitic.
That means they will harden upon quick cooling from the elevated temperatures found
in welding.
The usual precaution, to avoid cracking as a consequence of shrinking stresses, is to
apply preheating before welding, to decrease the cooling rate from the welding heat.

Then a stress relieving heat treatment is applied as soon as possible after welding, to
reduce the residual stresses, especially for thick materials and/or for constrained
structures.
Alternatively, a Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) may be specified to improve the
properties of the weld and of the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ).
Filler metals are generally similar in composition to the base Creep-resistant-steels,
except if post weld heat treatment cannot be performed.
In that case austenitic filler metals (not hardenable) may be preferred to provide more
ductility in the weld.
Base metals Creep-resistant-steels may be quite acceptable for elevated temperature
service.
It must be noted that welded joints are a potential source of weaker behavior in creep,
due to their intrinsic lack of homogeneity and possibly to the presence of weld
discontinuities.

The HallPetch method, or grain boundary strengthening, is to obtain small

grains. Smaller grains increases the likelihood of dislocations running into
grain boundaries after shorter distances, which are very strong dislocation
barriers. In general, smaller grain size will make the material harder. When
the grain size approach sub-micron sizes, some materials may however
become softer. This is simply an effect of another deformation mechanism
that becomes easier, e.g. grain boundary sliding. At this point, all
dislocation related hardening mechanisms become irrelevant.

In work hardening (also referred to as strain hardening or cold working)

the material is strained past its yield point. The plastic straining generate
new dislocations. As the dislocation density increases, further dislocation
movement becomes more difficult since they hinder each other, which
means the material hardness increases.

In solid solution strengthening, a soluble alloying element is added to the

material desired to be strengthened, and together they form a solid
solution. A solid solution can be thought of just as a "normal" liquid
solution, e.g. salt in water, except it is solid. Depending on the size of the
dissolved alloying element's ion compared to that of the matrix-metal, it is
dissolved either substitutionally (large alloying element substituting for an
atom in the crystal) or interstitially (small alloying element taking a place
between atoms in the crystal lattice). In both cases, the size difference of
the foreign elements make them act as sand grains in sandpaper, resisting

dislocations that try to slip by, resulting in higher material strength. In

solution hardening, the alloying element does not precipitate from
solution.

Precipitation hardening (also called age hardening) is a process where a

second phase that begins in solid solution with the matrix metal is
precipitated out of solution with the metal as it is quenched, leaving
particles of that phase distributed throughout to cause resistance to slip
dislocations. This is achieved by first heating the metal to a temperature
where the elements forming the particles are soluble then quenching it,
trapping them in a solid solution. Had it been a liquid solution, the
elements would form precipitates, just as supersaturated saltwater would
precipitate small salt crystals, but atom diffusion in a solid is very slow at
room temperature. A second heat treatment at a suitable temperature is
then required to age the material. The elevated temperature allows the
dissolved elements to diffuse much faster, and form the desired
precipitated particles. The quenching is required since the material
otherwise would start the precipitation already during the slow cooling.
This type of precipitation results in few large particles rather than the,
generally desired, profusion of small precipitates. Precipitation hardening
is one of the most commonly used techniques for the hardening of metal
alloys.

Martensitic transformation, more commonly known as quenching and

tempering, is a hardening mechanism specific for steel. The steel must be
heated to a temperature where the iron phase changes from ferrite into
austenite, i.e. changes crystal structure from BCC (body centered cubic) to
FCC (face centered cubic). In austenitic form, steel can dissolve a lot more
carbon. Once the carbon has been dissolved, the material is then
quenched. It is important to quench with a high cooling rate so that the
carbon does not have time to form precipitates of carbides. When the
temperature is low enough, the steel tries to return to the low temperature
crystal structure BCC. This change is very quick since it does not rely on
diffusion and is called a martensitic transformation. Because of the
extreme supersaturation of solid solution carbon, the crystal lattice
becomes BCT (body centered tetragonal) instead. This phase is called
martensite, and is extremely hard due to a combined effect of the
distorted crystal structure and the extreme solid solution strengthening,
both mechanisms of which resist slip dislocation.

Precipitation hardening, also referred to as age hardening, is a technique where

heat is applied to a malleable material, such as a metal alloy, in order to
strengthen it. The technique hardens the alloy by creating solid impurities, called
precipitates, which stop the movement of dislocations in the crystal lattice
structure. Dislocations are the primary cause of plasticity in a material; thus, the

absence of dislocations increases the material's yield strength. Alloys typically

used include alloys of aluminum, magnesium, nickel, and titanium.
Creating precipitation hardened materials starts with heating the material to a
very high temperature in order to dissolve the precipitate. It takes anywhere
from 1 hour to 20 hours for the precipitate to completely dissolve. The new
mixture then becomes supersaturated and is ready to be treated further.
Supersaturation of the solution is achieved through quenching. Quenching can
be completed in water, air, or some mixture of a air and water. As an important
step in solid solution strengthening, it leaves the material softer and more
prepared for the next phase of precipitation hardening.
Ad
After the initial phase and the quenching phase, the solution is aged. Artificial
aging occurs by heating the solution to above room temperature and then
allowing it to soak for 2 to 20 hours. The aging temperature and soaking time is
determined by the desired strength of the final product. It is important to be very
careful about both the temperature and time, because too high of a temperature
and too much soaking can lead to less precipitates which decreases strength and
increases ductility.
Natural aging is another option. If one decides to use this option, take note that
naturally aging a solution takes much longer than the aforementioned method. It
can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
Impurities that are produced through the precipitation hardening process disrupt
the structure of the crystal lattice in stainless steel, aluminum, and other alloys.
They inhibit dislocations in these structures which make it harder for loose
particles to cut through the material. Inhibiting these disruptions is key to
increasing the yield strength of the alloy over time.
Alloys manufactured by precipitation hardening have many practical uses in the
manufacturing industry. They are usually utilized for making parts that must
withstand high temperature situations, such as parts of a pressure vessel or a
turbocharger. Many alloys have very important uses in industry. Silicon is used to
manufacture semiconductor materials. Copper is used for a wide variety of
purposes from shipbuilding to roofing.

Welding-stainless
steels and their properties:
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What happens when Welding Stainless Steel?

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Welding-stainless steel requires basic knowledge of

stainless steel types, classes or groups.
They are called austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, precipitation hardenable or
duplex according to the prevailing microstructure or arrangement of their
crystal structure.
Welding-stainless steel should not be complicate, we agree. But before talking
of the welding processes we should know some more on the metals called by this
name.

Visit the NEW Page on Welding Overview, for a thorough Introduction to

Welding.
Visit also the NEW Page on Process-selection, for Understanding the
Selection procedure and
the NEW Page on Process-optimization for improved productivity.

Although some may think of stainless steel as a well defined material, in effect
there are so many different types and sub-species, that just keeping track of
them could be a little confusing.
Therefore trying to put some order in the field might be helpful. This is what we
intend to do by providing a short description of the different types, that will
help in understanding their main characteristics.
What benefits can be found here? After a short overview of Welding-stainless
steels, tips on how one welds each type will be presented.
However as types and conditions of various stainless steels can be very
different, so will be the problems and their solutions.
Introduction to Stainless
Before dealing in detail with Welding-stainless, one should offer a loose
description of stainless steels in general.

They are a class of iron base materials which have a certain resistance to rusting
and to corrosion in some environments, due to the presence, in their
composition, of at least 12% of the element Chromium.
The reason of this behavior is that chromium helps produce on the material's
surface a tough and impervious layer of chromium oxide, which is the shield
protecting the surface from rust and corrosion.
By now it should be clear that, when dealing with Welding-stainless, the
expression STAINLESS STEEL represents a huge class of different iron base
materials, having in common only some chromium content.
It is not a technical term, it cannot identify any specific metal, and therefore it
cannot be used for any practical purpose i.e. for purchasing.
Three main classes...
The three more general classes of stainless steels (and a mixed one called
Duplex) are indicated, as hinted above, by reference to their metallurgical
micro-structure.
The use of the names of the classes, called "Austenitic", "Ferritic", "Duplex"
and "Martensitic", sheds at least some information on some of their
characteristics and uses.
Such identifiers refer to the appearance of their micro-structure as seen under
the microscope, after suitable preparation, or by another very special technique
called x-ray diffraction.
The microstructure of course has influence on their properties and on their
Welding-stainless characteristics.
It should be clarified that the microstructures identified by those names may be
present at the same time in various proportions in a certain steel, and that
therefore they are used to indicate the prevailing structure.
It should be understood that it is mainly the chemical composition of the
specific material that determines the prevailing microstructure obtained.
What is Austenitic...
When Welding-stainless is involved, Austenitic stainless steels are considered
the most weldable of their category.
Common chromium-nickel austenitic stainless steels are known as the "300
series".
This refers to a standard classification originated by AISI - American Iron and
Steel Institute and by SAE - Society of Automotive Engineers.
An important sub-class is also known as "18/8" (meaning that the important
alloying elements of these steels are about 18% Chromium and 8% Nickel).

Another sub class known as the "200 series" is identified by its composition
including manganese-chromium-nickel-nitrogen.
Specialty alloys with somewhat different compositions may be also included
in the austenitic class
Main characteristics of Austenitic stainless steels are as follows:

Not magnetic or only slightly magnetic

Not attacked by a 10% solution of Nitric Acid (HNO 3) in alcohol

Non hardenable by any heat treatment

Quite ductile and easily deformable by mechanical working which

increases both hardness and strength: this characteristic is called strain
hardening

Easily welded, with the needed precautions

Thermal conductivity only between one third and one half that of other
steels

Coefficient of thermal expansion by 30-40%, even 50% greater than

carbon steels

In Welding-stainless, these two last characteristics variously affect the outcome,

producing larger distortion than as found in other steels.
Not all austenitic stainless steels of the 300 series are equally well weldable.
The addition of sulfur or selenium used to improve machinability (as in Type 303)
results in severe weld hot-cracking, which makes this particular material "nonweldable".
Austenitic stainless steels are used in the most various applications for
industrial plants and consumer appliances, and also for food processing and
pharmaceutical equipment.
The main problems of Welding-stainless steels are the prevention or mitigation of
sensitization, of the heat affected zone (HAZ), and hot cracking that depends
on the structure developing in and around the weld metal.
Beware of...
The corrosion resistant characteristics of stainless steels may be adversely
affected by heating in the temperature interval from about 600 to 900 C
(from about 1100 to 1650 F).
This process called sensitization, occurring while Welding-stainless steel,
promotes the precipitation (gathering) of chromium carbides at grain boundaries.

Note: Grains are units consisting of identical crystals all in the same
orientation. Boundaries separate grains from one another.
Sensitization means that a certain portion of the metal becomes depleted of
the element chromium, therefore losing its anticorrosive properties. Sensitized
material is therefore susceptible or prone to corrosion.
At the Welding-stainless location, temperature is higher and lasts only for a
short time.
The above dangerous range of temperatures occurs naturally in two strips of
metal on both sides of the weld bead.
This is the so called Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) where the harmful effects take
place.
In a sensitized joint, as explained above, the chromium, which is the main
"stainless" ingredient, becomes sequestered or taken out of play and locally
unavailable for the protective action.
If not addressed correctly, Welding-stainless 18/8 steels may thus cause the loss
of their protective property along sensitized paths.
The welded material becomes prone to intergranular attack in a corrosive
environment.
The Big Three...
Three strategies are usually employed to oppose this tendency. One is to use a
very low carbon version (i.e. 304L where L stands for low-carbon) where not
much carbon is available for making chromium carbides.
Another is to use a different type of base metal including an amount of titanium
(type 321) or columbium (also known as niobium) (type 347).
These elements tend to form readily titanium carbides (or columbium carbides)
(and by this action the carbon becomes unavailable for chromium) at
sensitization temperatures, leaving the chromium free to perform its
anticorrosive task.
Note that the filler metal for this material, if required, should be always of type
347. Why?
Because titanium (in type 321) being reactive, is not readily recovered during
deposition, so that it would not be available when it is needed most.
Columbium however is not reactive, it will stay put through melting, and, when
the material is heated to the "sensitization" temperature, will do its job of
producing columbium carbides in preference to chromium carbide, and so it will
save the day.

The third strategy for safely Welding-stainless is to perform a solution heat

treatment at elevated temperature (about 1050 C or 1900 F), for repairing a
condition of corrosion susceptibility.
This puts again in solution (called solid solution) the chromium carbides
originated during Welding-stainless sensitization of regular 18/8 stainless (like
types 302 or 304).
This process however must contend with problems of heavy oxide formation if
not done in vacuum or protective atmosphere, and of distortions.
Type 309 and 310, used for elevated temperature applications, and type 316 or
better type 316L used for enhanced corrosion resistance, are generally not
prone to sensitization and are used with filler wires of similar composition.
Now Ferritic...
Other stainless steels, called Ferritic, are ferromagnetic but cannot be hardened
by heat treatment.
A limited amount of ferritic structure, when present in an otherwise mainly
austenitic structure, is considered beneficial in that it reduces the chances of hot
cracking.
Welding-stainless ferritic steels can readily be performed using arc processes,
either with ferritic or with austenitic filler metal, except that a post weld heat
treatment may be needed for improving properties. Car exhaust components
may be made out of these materials.
Then Duplex...
Duplex means double and, when referred to Stainless Steel, it indicates a mix in
about equal proportions, of the two kinds of metallographic structures just
introduced, called by metallurgists ferrite and austenite. Compositions are
identified with reference to the Unified Numbering System.
These are Stainless Steels with quite a substantial proportion of Chromium, the
main ingredient for imparting stainless properties, and additional balanced
quantities of Nickel, Molybdenum, Copper and sometimes Nitrogen.
The base metal is obviously Iron. Carbon is kept low as are also Sulfur and
Phosphorus.
The main properties are improved corrosion resistance and mechanical
properties (up to twice as strong), when compared with regular austenitic
stainless steels.
Other important differences are thermal conductivity and thermal
expansion, midway between those of carbon and austenitic stainless steels.
Although weldability of Duplex steels is good, attention should be devoted to
sensitivity to degradation of properties, if exposed at heat for excessive time.

An important precaution for Welding-stainless of this type is to limit as much as

possible holding time at intermediate temperature, between 300 and 980 C
(570 and 1800 F).
Filler metals are chosen either with matching compositions or overalloyed with
slight excess of nickel to promote more austenitic structure.
Thorough documentation is recommended before starting a project and full
qualification following procedure development, to assure acceptable properties in
the complex structures that benefit most of the use of Duplex Stainless Steels.
And Martensitic...
Martensitic stainless steels are magnetic and fully hardenable by heat
treatment.
Welding-stainless of this type is not recommended, although feasible with
special techniques.
Welding may produce cracks, especially if carbon content is not sufficiently low.
Preheat and postheat may be necessary.
One more class...
To complete the Welding-stainless overview, one should mention a fourth class of
materials, not listed above, called precipitation hardenable (PH) stainless
steels, which are quite readily weldable.
However precise instructions should be followed concerning heat treatments
in order to develop the required properties.
Note: - Always check the last edition of AWS Documents by downloading the
current AWS Publications Catalog from
http://pubs.aws.org/
The following AWS Documents provide guidance in activities relative to Welding
Stainless Steels:
D1.6/D1.6M:2007, Structural Welding CodeStainless Steel
ANSI/AWS D10.4-86(R2000)
Austenitic Chromium-Nickel Stainless Steel Piping and Tubing,
Recommended Practices for Welding
American Welding Society / 12-Nov-1986 / 44 pages
ANSI/AWS D18.1/D18.1M:2009
Specification for Welding of Austenitic Stainless Steel Tube and Pipe
Systems in Sanitary (Hygienic) Applications
Edition: 2nd
American Welding Society / 17-Apr-2009 / 36 pages

ANSI/AWS D18.2:2009
Guide to Weld Discoloration Levels on Inside of Austenitic Stainless
Steel Tube
The Processes...
FRICTION Welding-stainless steels presents almost no problems, except for the
free cutting types that should not be welded at all.
It is used for Welding-stainless steel not only to itself but also to quite different
materials like copper or aluminum and other combinations.
One should always be aware

of the type and material condition before welding

of the effects of heat near the joint

of the effect of some elements (sulfur, selenium) on hot cracking,

and of very high hardness originating while welding

Any of these conditions could compromise the final soundness of welded joints.
RESISTANCE process for Welding-stainless is currently used.
Due adaptations from schedules used for carbon steels derive from differences
in high electrical resistance and low thermal conductivity, high coefficient of
thermal expansion, higher melting temperature and higher strength at elevated
temperature.
Electrode force is more elevated, while time and current are less than for low
carbon steels.
Resistance Welding-stainless Austenitic steel of the 300 series is readily
performed.
Ferritic steels are also welded, but martensitic, hardenable, stainless steels
are problematic as the welds result brittle, if not softened adequately by a post
weld tempering treatment.
Stainless steels must not only be cleaned from external surface dirt, oil, grease
or paint before welding but also from the naturally forming chromium oxide
layer which should be removed with a stainless steel wire brush.
Oxyacetylene GAS WELDING could be used for Welding-stainless steel but the
use of a proper flux is required.
This makes the process much less attractive than Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
(see in the following) unless there is no other choice.

It is imperative to eliminate all traces of residual flux on the part after welding, to
avoid corrosion attack: this introduces an additional operation which might
increase the cost.
ARC WELDING is commonly used for Welding-stainless steel with due attention
being paid to the class and to the condition of the material and to the influence
of the process on such consequences as sensitization or deformations.