Materials and Design 32 (2011) 30363050

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Investigation on AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel to AISI 4140 low alloy steel dissimilar joints by gas tungsten arc, electron beam and friction welding
N. Arivazhagan a,, Surendra Singh a,b, Satya Prakash a,b, G.M. Reddy a,c
a

School of Mechanical and Building Sciences, VIT University, Vellore 632 014, India Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India c Defence Metallurgical and Research Laboratory, Hyderabad, India
b

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
This paper presents the investigations carried out to study the microstructure and mechanical properties of AISI 304 stainless steel and AISI 4140 low alloy steel joints by Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), Electron Beam Welding (EBW) and Friction Welding (FRW). For each of the weldments, detailed analysis was conducted on the phase composition, microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties. The results of the analysis shows that the joint made by EBW has the highest tensile strength (681 MPa) than the joint made by GTAW (635 Mpa) and FRW (494 Mpa). From the fractographs, it could be observed that the ductility of the EBW and GTA weldment were higher with an elongation of 32% and 25% respectively when compared with friction weldment (19%). Moreover, the impact strength of weldment made by GTAW is higher compared to EBW and FRW. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 24 November 2010 Accepted 24 January 2011 Available online 31 January 2011

1. Introduction Austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) and low alloy steel (AISI 4140) possess a good combination of mechanical properties, formability, weldability, and resistance to stress corrosion cracking and other forms of corrosion [1,2]. Owing to these attributes at moderately high temperatures, such combinations of metals are extensively used in the power generation industry [3]. In a nuclear water reactor, dissimilar metal welds are employed to connect the low alloy steel reactor pressure vessel and stainless steel pipe systems. The dissimilar metal weldment joining boiler water reactor nozzles to safe ends is one of the more complex congurations in the entire recirculation system [4]. The problem with the dissimilar metal weld made between low alloy steel and austenitic stainless steel with an austenitic stainless steel ller metal is the carbide formation due to higher carbon content of low alloy steels than that of austenitic stainless steel [5]. As the strength of the dissimilar weldments is generally inferior, most of the in-service failures are reported to take place in the weld region [6,7]. Such failures in the transition zone between ferritic steel and austenitic stainless steel is a perennial problem in fossil-red steam plants [8]. Li et al. [9] have studied the effect of post weld heat treatment on stress corrosion cracking of low alloy steel to austenitic stainless steel transition weld made by manual metal Arc welding. Raman et al. [10] discussed the prevalence of in-service failures in the welds of chromiummolybdenum ferritic
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9443034794; fax: +91 416 2243092.
E-mail address: narivazhagan@vit.ac.in (N. Arivazhagan). 0261-3069/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2011.01.037

steels. Since it is of great concern in steam generating/handling systems of power plants as well as the components of petroleum/petrochemical industries, studies are required to avoid such failures. Mainly these failures occur either in the heat affected zone or in the weld zone [1113]. Similar and dissimilar joints involving austenitic steels are susceptible to unexpected phase propagation. As a result of this, a series of negative metallurgical changes such as delta ferrite phase, grain boundary corrosion and sigma phase occurs at the weld interface. Therefore, higher welding speeds are necessary to avoid such effects. Sometimes extensive care and precautions are needed such as pre and post heat treatment processes [14]. The micro-segregation which occurs in weld fusion zones of dissimilar metals leads to a situation where interdendritic regions are enriched in Fe, Cr and C. This segregation within the dendritic structure results in deterioration of the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the joints [15,16]. However, such problems can be minimized by judicious selection of the welding process and parameters. In view of the above, solidication during EBW technique is less likely to result in precipitation of unwanted intermetallic constituents. Joining dissimilar metals using EBW has been a subject of interest in recent years. It has been reported that the mechanical properties of dissimilar metals strongly depend on the microstructure of the joints. Thus, studies on the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties are needed. Notwithstanding the ability of EBW process, friction welding of AISI 4140 and AISI 304 have also found to bring down the severity of segregation associated with solidication and in cutting down the volume fraction of the unwanted phases [17]. Roberto [18] had studied the pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding of AISI 304AISI

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420 stainless steels and Anawa and Olabi [19] optimized the tensile strength of ferritic/austenitic laser-welded components. However, the mechanical properties of dissimilar welding of austenitic stainless steel to low alloy steel by GTAW, EBW and FRW have been reported seldom. Especially, the comparative studies of the effect of welding methods on mechanical properties of AISI 304 and AISI 4140 dissimilar metals has received scant attention in the past. This paper presents the studies on AISI 304 and AISI 4140 dissimilar metals welded by GTAW, EBW and FRW. For each of the weldments, studies were conducted on the phase composition, microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties using X-ray Diffration (XRD), Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM).

B5 4140 304

B7 4140 304

2. Experimental procedures In this study experiments were conducted using a conventional DCEN GTAW, Low kV Electron beam welding machine (TECHMETA) and 150 KN capacities continuous drive friction welding machine (ETA Pvt, Ltd). The parent metals employed in this study are AISI 304 stainless steel, AISI 4140 low alloy steel and their chemical composition shown in table 1. The parameters used for autogenious weldments are shown in table 2. Specimens welded by FRW were cut to the shape of the cylinder of diameter and length 25 mm and 55 mm respectively. The base metals used for EBW and GTAW were taken from the same lot (25 mm diameter and 200 mm length) used for FRW. These were hot forged to thickness of 6 mm sheets which has been square butt joint conguration used for EBW and GTAW respectively and the weld specimens are shown in Figs. 1ac. In order to observe the microstructure under the optical microscope, specimens were cut from the welds, and then prepared according to the standard procedures. Micro-hardness tests were carried out using a Vickers digital micro-hardness tester along the weld joint. A load of l00 gm was applied for duration of 10 s. Tensile test (ASTM E8M, [20]) and impact toughness test (ASTM

B9 4140 304

B12 4140 304

Flash
Fig. 1a. Friction welded specimen (Burn-off length B5, B7, B9 and B12).

Table 1 Chemical composition of AISI 304 and AISI 4140. Parent Metal AISI 304 AISI 4140 C 0.06 0.40 Cr 18.4 1.1 Mn 1.38 0.75 Ni 8.17 Si 0.32 0.31 Mo 0.28 Fe Balance Balance

AISI 304

AISI 4140

Table 2 TIG, EBW and FRW welding parameters. Type of weld Electron beam welding Welding parameter Current (DCSP) (Amp) Voltage (volt) Argon pressure (bar) Torch traveling speed (cm/s) Tungsten inert gas welding Work distance (mm) Accelerating voltage (kV) Beam current (mA) (Beam focus slightly above the surface) Travel speed (m/min) Vacuum level (mbar) Friction welding Speed Friction force Upset force of Bum-off length B Value 300 23 2.1 0.2 275 55 50 1 104 1500 rpm 37.5 KN 50 KN 5 mm, 7 mm, 9 mm and 12 mm

Weld

Fig. 1b. Photograph of electron beam welded specimen.

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AISI 4140 Weld interface

AISI 304
Fig. 1c. Photograph of GTA welded specimen.

Flash

304

4140 AISI 304

Fig. 2a. Tensile specimen preparation by EDM wire cut.

Weld

AISI 4140 B5 B12 B7 B9 EBW TIG

AISI 304

Fig. 2c. Tensile specimen for EBW and TIG welded sample.

Friction weld interface

AISI 4140

Figs. 2ac. The fractured morphology of the specimens was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (make JEOL, JSM-5800) with EDAX attachment (Oxford, Model-6841, England). The joints were analyzed by a Philips X-ray diffractometer (XRD) for studying the phase composition. 3. Experimental results 3.1. Macrostructure and microstructure Full penetration joints were produced by GTAW, EBW and FRW. Macrostructure of the three joints is shown in Figs. 3ac. The width and fusion area are different for joints made by the above three welding techniques. This may be attributed to the variation in welding speed and heat input used in the different welding methods. The XRD analysis of the three joints is given in Figs. 4ad. Investigations of the results of the XRD shows high intensity peaks of FeNi and Ni3C have for 5 mm burn-off length before the specimens

Fig. 2b. Tensile specimen for friction weldment, Burn-off length B0 5, 7, 9 and 12 mm.

E 23, [21]) specimens were prepared by cutting the welded specimens. The welded samples were machined by EDM wire cut to the required size keeping weld interface at center, and are shown in

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Fig. 3a. Macro structure of GTA welded AISI 4140 and AISI 304 dissimilar metals.

Weld

AISI 304

AISI 4140

Fig. 3b. Macro structure of electron beam welded AISI 4140 and AISI 304 dissimilar metals.

are tested in corrosive environment. Similarly, at 7 mm burn-off length, many intermetallics (FeNi, CrNiMo and CrNiFe) and carbides (Ni3C, CrSiC etc.,) were indicated. Whereas for the EBW welded specimen, (Cr,Fe)7C3 and CrNiMo have been observed with high intensity peaks and Ni3C, FeNi as low intensity peaks. XRD studies for GTA welded specimen, (Cr,Fe)7C3 has been indicating with high intensity peak whereas CrNiMo, CrNiFe, Ni3C, FeNi etc., are having low intensity peaks. The EPMA elemental mapping results are shown in Figs. 5af. From these gures it is observed that chromium and nickel diffuse towards low alloy steel from the stainless steel and diffusion of iron from low alloy steel side towards stainless steel. The extent of diffusion is more in case of 12 mm burn-off length welds. A distinct weld region with enrichment of chromium, nickel and iron develops in 12 mm burn-off length welds. Similar trends have been observed for EBW and GTA weldments. The microstructures of AISI 4140 are found adjacent to the FRW weld interface and coarser martensitic features were observed. Moreover, extensive grain growths with well developed grain boundaries are noted adjacent to the weld interface and near this region predominant precipitation were observed (Fig. 6).

Prominent deformation bands can be observed in AISI 304 stainless steel side adjacent to the interface. The microstructure of the EBW dissimilar weld is depicted in Fig. 7. It can be observed that ferrite mixed with pearlite structure is predominant near weld interface on AISI 4140 side. Due to large amounts of Cr and Ni, twin structure with mixtures of austenite and some ferrite is observed on AISI 304 side. During the welding, the region close to the fusion zone undergoes rapid heating at a temperature above the AC3 point. The microstructure of the austenitic steel close to the weld interface shows evidence of the small amount of grain recrystallization with little carbide precipitation. In addition, there was a lot of variation in grain size in the HAZ of the low alloy steel, caused by variations in cooling rate. The microstructures in the interface are extremely heterogeneous and most of them are dendrite structures. Even though the excess phases exist along the fusion line on both sides of weld metal, they are not predominant. The microstructure of GTA welded low alloy steel (AISI 4140) and austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) dissimilar weldment is heterogeneous (Fig. 8). At the weld interface on the low alloy steel side the microstructure was coarse, contained malformed lamellae of pearlite. Further some directionality has been observed near fusion boundary. This may be due to local variation in solidication mode and growth velocity at fusion boundary. The fusion zone presents typical metallograph in GTAW and EBW joints. These joints are composed of dark d-Fe dendritic structure in austenite matrix. However, different dendrite sizes can be observed. Furthermore, the d-Fe in GTAW and EBW joint exists as columnar structure. 3.2. Mechanical properties The tensile, impact toughness and hardness data of weldment made by FRW, EBW and GTAW joints are presented in Table 3. The tensile strength of all joints made by above mentioned processes had been evaluated and are shown in Figs. 9ac. In each condition, three specimens have been tested and the average tensile strength is obtained to ensure repeatability. The tensile strength of EBW joint is 681 MPa, while those of GTAW and FRW joints

B5

B7

B9

B12

Flash

Weld

2000m

2000m

2000m

2000m

Fig. 3c. Effect of burn off length on ash formation (Material on left side in the macrographs is AISI 304 stainless steel.) burn-off length: B5, B7, B9 and B12.

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Fig. 4a. X-ray diffraction patterns for friction weldment as welded condition burn-off length B5 and B7.

Fig. 4b. X-ray diffraction patterns for friction weldment as welded condition Burn-off length B9 and B12.

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Fig. 4c. X-ray diffraction patterns for Electron Beam weldment as welded condition.

Fig. 4d. X-ray diffraction patterns for TIG weldment as welded condition.

are 635 and 494 MPa respectively. The fractured surface of tensile specimens is analyzed using SEM. SEM fractograph macrostructure of all joints shown in Figs. 10a and 10b. Different fracture modes are observed for joints by three welding processes. Particularly, Surface slip and necking down region can be observed from FRW joint, which is the typical characteristic of cupcone shaped fracture. While for the EBW and GTAW joints, it is just the pure-shear fracture mode, resulting from the dislocation slip. Different microzones showed in Fig. 11(ivi) are investigated in detail to establish the nature of fracture. The fractograph shows that relatively minor size dimples which are surrounded by coarse dimples and a small quantity of tearing ridge in EBW and GTAW joint. There exists appreciable difference among EBW, GTAW and FRW joints in the appearance of dimples. The EBW joint invariably consists of ne and uniform dimples, which indicate that the specimen fails in a ductile manner under the action of tensile loading. For the FRW joint, the fractograph invariably contains of much smaller dimples with some coarse dimples distributed among the ne dimples. Micro-hardness analysis was carried out across the weld joint in the axial direction using a Vickers digital micro-hardness tester (Figs. 12iiii). In addition the peak hardness of FRW weldment in-

creases with increase in burn-off length, whereas the hardness values an adjacent low alloy steel further falls with an increase in burn-off length. It should be noted that with increase in burn-off length a soft region appears on the stainless steel adjacent to the interface. In general, the width of the hardened region is said to decrease with increase in burn-off length. The formation of soft region on the low alloy steel side can be attributed to decarburization while on the stainless steel it is due to softening of the material. This occurs by the buildup of heat as the thermal conductivity of the material is relatively lower. The reduction in the width of hard zones is attributed to the reason that loss of material in the form of ash has increased with burn-off length. The study shows that overall hardness as well as soft zone hardness on the low alloy steel side of the interface occurs mainly due to the increase in hardness at the interface. This behavior can be attributed to carbon migration from the low alloy steel side to stainless steel side. The hardness of the EBW weld region is in the range 600 Hv (min) to 700 Hv (max), whereas the hardness of the GTAW weld region is in the range 473 Hv (min) to 513 Hv (max). Highest hardness (698 Hv) observed at interface of AISI 304 side.

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CK Cr K Fe K Ni K

CK Cr K Fe K Ni K

a
CK OK Si K Cr K Mn K Fe K Ni K

b
CK OK Si K Cr K Mn K Fe K Ni K

CK Cr K Fe K Ni K

CK Cr K Fe K Ni K

Fig. 5. Elemental distribution across the weld centre in 4140-304 (a) FRW-B5, (b) FRW-B-12, (c and d) EBW, (e and f) GTAW.

In general the impact toughness values are lower than those of low alloy steel in the as received condition (65 J). At the lowest burn-off length (5 mm) the impact toughness is around 40% of the parent metal whereas at the highest burn-off length (12 mm) it is as low as 11 J, which is l/6th of the parent low alloy steel. Fractographs of the impact tested specimens of FRW, EBW and GTAW are shown in Fig 13ivi. For friction welded condition, predominantly cleavage fracture is observed which increases with burnoff length. For larger burn-off length welds (12 mm), long facets with micro void features are observed. There is a marked increase in facet size with increase in burn-off length and it indicates low energy fracture. This aids the decrease in toughness which is found to increase with burn-off length (Fig 13iv). Fractographs of the impact tested specimens of EBW welds shows dimple structure (ductile fracture). In the case of GTA welded joints, it has been observed that the structure exhibit primarily the cleavage fracture with occasional appearance of micro void features (Fig. 13v, vi).

4. Discussions Welding of dissimilar metals of AISI 4140 and AISI 304 by FRW, EBW and GTAW techniques can produce satisfactory joints in terms of weldability and room temperature mechanical properties. The cumulative mechanical properties of AISI 4140 and AISI 304 dissimilar metals made by FRW, EBW and GTAW are shown in Fig. 14. Investigation on the effect of burn-off length on mechanical properties of AISI 4140AISI 304 dissimilar welds revealed that the toughness of these welds is very low while the hardness is high. The reduction in toughness and increase in hardness with increase in burn-off length may be attributed to increased carbon migration from the low alloy steel side towards stainless steel. Increased burn-off length leads to increased friction time that aids in raising the temperature of the surroundings of the interface [22,23]. The measured value of hardness is in good agreement with

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304

4140

304
Precipitation

304
Inter mixing zone Deformation band Coarser martensitic 50 m Developed grain boundaries

4140

50 m

Fig. 6. Microstructures in different regions of AISI 304 in burn-off length 12.

AISI 304

AISI 4140

HAZ Weld HAZ

Weld Interface

Weld Interface

100m

100m

Carbid

40m

40m
AISI 4140

Weld zone

100m

100m
Fig. 7. Microstructure of electron beam welded dissimilar AISI 4140 and AISI 304 metals.

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AISI 304 (HAZ)

Carbide

Weld

40m

40m

Weld Weld Zone AISI 4140 (HAZ) 40m 40m

AISI 4140

40m
Fig. 8. Microstructure of TIG welded AISI 4140 and AISI 304 dissimilar metals.

previous ndings by other researchers [2426]. The hardness at the weld interface obtained in the present study is less than one reported for laser beam welding [27]. This may be attributed to lesser tendency of carbide precipitation and intermetallics formation in the weld region of FRW weldments. Moreover the soft zone observed on the low alloy steel side can be ascribed to carbon depletion whereas enrichment in the stainless steel side results leads to formation of hard and brittle carbide phases formation (Fig. 12i), which is also supported by Kuchuk and Lippold and Odegaard [28,29]. The higher hardness at weld interface can be due to enrichment of this zone with Fe, Ni and Cr and subsequent formation of intermetallic FeNi/CrNiFe phases (Figs. 4ad, Fig 5) which also supported by Murti and Sundarsean [30]. Elemental distribution across the interface and predominantly cleavage fracture features suggest that inter-diffusion of elements has lead to creation of low ductility quassi cleavage fracture (Fig. 13iv). Similar observation has been made by Cheng and Wang [22,23]. At lower burn-off length, the weldment attains to lower interface temperature at which metal starts getting extruded resulting in less susceptibility to formation of intermetallics and carbide precipitation. Whereas with increase in the burn-off length, the welding time is increased thereby allowing more time for precipitation of carbide and intermetallics compound which may lead to reduced

corrosion resistance. The micro-hardness curves indicate the EBW and GTAW joints, which also follow the same trend as FRW shown in Figs. 12ii and iii. The HAZ in GTAW joint is attributed to the low welding speed and high heat input used in the experiment. It causes to the fusion pool longer residence in high temperature zone and slower cooling rate, while for the EBW, higher welding speed and lower heat-input are adopted. The size of fusion pool is small and the cooling rate is very fast. Moreover in the cooling process, the grains between parent material and fusion zone have no time to grow up. It should be noted that the HAZ is absent in EBW joints which results the higher tensile strength as compared to GTAW and FRW joints (Figs. 68). Furthermore, high heat-input was likely to induce the micro-segregation of alloying elements and formation of Cr-depleted zones, resulting in the degradation in mechanical properties for the GTAW joint [31]. Since the formation of the Cr carbides is caused by exposure to the temperature range of 773 1073 K, rapid cooling rate and shorter exposure time to the sensitization temperatures in EBW joints are preferable for prevention of sensitization and reduce the amount of Cr-rich carbides formed on the grain boundaries [32,33]. Therefore, a signicant improvement in mechanical properties can be achieved in EBW joints when compared with GTAW and FRW joints. In FRW joints volume of vis-

N. Arivazhagan et al. / Materials and Design 32 (2011) 30363050 Table 3 The cumulative mechanical properties of AISI 4140 and AISI 304 dissimilar welment made by FRW, EBW and TIG. Welding B.L (mm) 5 XRD Max. Hard. At weld (HV) 305 Yield strength (MPa) 485.2 % of Elongation 18.15 Tensile fractography Failure at low alloy steel side. micro void ductile fracture Impact toughness (J) 26 Impact fractography Low burn-off length indicates ductile fracture and higher burnoff length shows brittle fracture. Remark

3045

Friction welding

FeNi, Ni3C

Diffusion of Fe, Cr Ni, C high at higher burn-off length. At lower burn good mechanical property noted.

12 Electron beam welding

(Cr,Fe)7C3, CrNi Mo, CrSiC, FeNi, CrNiFe CrNiFe, (Cr,Fe)7C3, CrNi Mo, Ni,Fe, Ni3C, FeNi CrNiMo, CrNi Fe, Ni3C, FeNi (Cr,Fe)7C3, Ni,Fe, CrNiMo, Ni3C, CrNiFe

322

493.7

18.89

22

351

474.35

17.15

16

386 400

476.4 681

18.30 31.97 Failure at HAZ of 4140 side. micro void ductile fracture Failure at HAZ of 4140 side. micro void ductile fracture

11 21 Ductile fracture Excellent mechanical property

Tungsten inert gas welding

(Cr,Fe)7C3, CrNi Fe, Ni3C, FeNi, Ni,Fe, CrNiMo

400

634.5

24.96

25.5

Cleavage fracture

Excellent mechanical property also micro cracks noted at weld

B5

B7

B9

B12 AISI 304

Weld

AISI 4140

Fig. 9a. Photograph for fractured tensile specimen of friction welded specimen.

AISI 304

AISI 4140

AISI 304

AISI 4140

Weld

Weld

Fig. 9b. Photograph of tensile fractured weldment made by EBW.

Fig. 9c. Photograph for tensile fractured GTA welded AISI 4140 and AISI 304.

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Fig. 10a. Tensile fractographs of friction welded AISI 304 and AISI 4140 by keeping burn-off length 5,7,9 and 12 mm.

Fig. 10b. SEM fractographs for tensile specimen for EBW (i) and GTAW (ii) welded AISI 4140 and AISI 304.

cous material transferred at the weld interface decreases as a result of more mass discarded from the welding interface, which resulted in lower tensile strength. The fractograph of tensile tested specimen shows that relatively minor sized imples surround coarse dimples and a small quantity of tearing ridge (Fig. 13vi) can be observed in GTAW joint. Fractograph of impact test GTAW weldment shows that the fracture during impact loading propagated in the weld metal near the toe of the weld. It should be noted that the fractography of EBW shows ductile fracture both tensile and impact toughness test. The EBW joint invariably consists of ne and uniform dimples (Fig. 13v), which indicate that the specimen fails in a ductile manner under the action of tensile loading. Since the failure of EBW tensile spec-

imen at the HAZ on AISI 4140 side, the weld strength is equal or more than 681 (MPa) and the maximum impact toughness (21 J) were noted. The strength of the EBW is higher as compared to GTAW (635 MPa) and FRW (494 MPa). 5. Conclusions On the basis of this investigation, the following conclusions can be drawn. (1) Sound welds could be obtained between AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel and AISI 4140 low alloy steel by all the three welding techniques.

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Fig. 11. Tensile Fractographs of welded AISI 304 and AISI 4140 by FRW (iiv), EBW (v) and GTAW (vi).

Fig. 12i. Effect of burn-off length (B 5, B7, B9 and B12) on hardness distribution across the weldment.

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800 700 600

Hardness (HV)

500 400 300 200 100 0

Distance across the weld (mm)

Fig. 12ii. Hardness distributions across the EBW weldment of AISI 4140 and AISI 304.

800 700 600

Hardness (HV)

500 400 300 200 100 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Distance across the weld (mm)

Fig. 12iii. Hardness distributions across the TIG weldment of AISI 4140 and AISI 304.

(2) In friction welded AISI 304 and AISI 4140 dissimilar metals, the reduction in toughness and increase in hardness across the weld with increase in burn-off length is related to increased carbon migration from the low alloy steel side towards stainless steel due to higher temperatures that prevail around the interface region with increase in burn-off length. (3) In friction weldment that brittle fracture was observed as we increase the burn-off length which further supporting the formation of carbides and intermetallic compounds. From the SEM fractogaphic of impact tested dissimilar weldment made by EBW and GTAW shows cleavage fracture.

(4) The yield strength of dissimilar weldment made by EBW is higher as compared to GTAW and FRW. The failure was observed on AISI 4140 side for friction weldement, where as in the case of weldment made by EBW and GTAW, the failure occurred on HAZ of AISI 4140. (5) From EPMA analysis on the dissimilar weldment it is observed that chromium and nickel diffuse towards AISI 4140 from the AISI 304 and diffusion of iron from AISI 4140 side towards AISI 304. The extent of diffusion is more in case of EBW welded dissimilar metals as compared to the weldment made by GTAW and FRW.

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Fig. 13. Fractographs of 304-4140 weld made by FRW (iiv), EBW (v) and GTAW (vi).

800 700 600

EBW FRW-B5 FRW-B7 FRW-B9 FRW-B12

500 400 300 200 100 0

TIG

Maximum weld hardness (HV)

Yield strength (Mpa)

Impact toughness (J)

Fig. 14. Bar charts showing cumulative mechanical properties of AISI 4140 and AISI 304 dissimilar metals made by FRW, EBW and TIG.

(6) A distinct weld region with enrichment of chromium, nickel, iron and carbon is prominent the weldment made by EBW as compared to GTAW and FRW.

(7) The Electron beam welding is suitable for welding AISI 304 with AISI 4140 in industry application owing to high welding speed and excellent mechanical properties.

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