Welding Requirements

To weld stainless steels, three factors are to be considered:

1. The type of stainless steel material that is to be welded.
2. The process of welding.
3. The distortion due to welding.
Suggestions for Welding Stainless Steel
Stainless steels were primarily developed to render corrosion
resistance. There are certain other requirements that must be
met in every stainless application. They may include corrosion
resistance in a particular medium, avoidance of contamination
of product, resistance to oxidation and carburiation at
elevated temperatures as well as the ability to provide
requisite mechanical strength. There are several grades of
stainless steels which can be broadly grouped into !"" Series,
#"" Series and others. !"" Series stainless steels contain iron,
chromium, nic$el and carbon as well as principal ingredients.
#"" Series stainless steels contain iron, chromium and carbon
as principal ingredients. %ot all #"" Series are weldable.
Weldable #"" Series stainless steels are also called straight
chromium steels since their ma&or alloying element is
chromium. The #"" Series can be divided into ferritic grades
and martensitic grades. 'ach grade calls for different preheat
and interpass welding temperatures. The martensitic grades
contain chromium from (()(#* and are air hardenable unless
modified with an addition of aluminum, titanium, columbium or
carbon levels below ".(*. These modified grades and the
higher chromium grades up to !"* have mar$edly decreased
hardenability and are called ferritic stainless steels.
The second group of stainless steels are !"" Series. These
grades are very popular in the fabrication industry, as they can
withstand a variety of corrosion media. The chromium content
of these steels range from (+* to !"*, and the nic$el content
from ,* to !,*. These are called austenitic steels, as the
micro)structure of these grades is predominantly austenite.
%onetheless, there is some ferrite in several grades. The other
grades which do not contain any ferrite are called fully
austenitic grades. - small amount of ferrite is necessary to
stop crac$ing during solidification of welds. .owever, in certain
media, ferrite causes corrosion, and the only choice for such
media is to opt for fully austenitic grades. /ully austenitic
grades give rise to micro)fissuring during welding, which could
be eliminated by choosing low heat input processes along with
restricted low melting constituents in the weld metal.
0n addition to the !"" and #"" Series, stainless steels are also
classified as 1"" Series, ,",, ,", modified, +!", 11"2, 11,!,
etc. These products are used for specific purposes which will be
discussed under their respective item description in the
following pages. .owever, duplex and super duplex stainless
steels call for special mention.
Welding of !"" Series Stainless Steels
The !"" Series is comprised of two types of material: those
which contain ferrite and austenite3 and those which contain
only austenite.
%one of the above require any preheat or interpass
temperature or post weld heat treatment. .owever, heating up
to (," degrees / before welding is advisable to evaporate any
condensed moisture in the &oint. The stainless steels which do
not contain any ferrite are called fully austenitic steels. These
materials are prone to develop micro)fissures during welding.
/ormation of micro)fissures could be avoided by selecting the
low heat input process of welding such as T04 or shielded
metal arc with up to (567 diameter electrodes. The
consumables selected for welding of these materials should be
able to deposit weld metal with low levels of impurities and low
melting constituents. Welding of austenitic stainless steels with
more than ("* ferrite should be done with low interpass
temperature in order to avoid temper embrittlement, which
could occur between 6"" degrees / and (("" degrees /. Some
grades, such as !"28, !"28Si and !(1, which contain higher
ferrite are used for welding of dissimilar metals, in which cause
the resulting ferrite in the weld deposit, after dilution from the
base materials, should be ta$en into consideration. 0f the
ferrite after dilution is too low))say less than 1/% or less))there
could be a problem of microfissuring in the welds. 0f the
resulting ferrite is too high, such welds undergo faster
embrittlement and it is advisable to limit such welds to one or
two layers.
Welding of #"" Series Stainless Steels
Welding of most of the #"" Series stainless steels call for
maintaining preheat and interpass temperatures, and in some
cases post)weld heating to avoid formation of brittle structure
called martensite.
Techalloy #",, #"29b and #!" grades which are ferritic do not
require preheat, but it is advisable to heat to 1"" degrees / to
avoid possible formation of martensite. Techalloy #1" is a
martensitic grade, and is extremely sensitive to air hardening,
and should be preheated and weld above +"" degrees /. and
sub&ected to post)weld heating at ,"" degrees / for one hour.
:rocess of Welding
0nfluence of welding processes and parameters also are to be
considered for welding of stainless steels. The ma&or welding
processes are:
Shielded metal are welding ;S<-W=
Submerged arc welding ;S-W=
T04 welding
<04 welding
S<-W Welding
0n shielded metal arc welding, the consumable used for
welding is a coated electrode. The coating flux contains various
minerals in order to impart different characteristics to welding.
Some principal functions of the flux are:
To ionie the arc atmosphere and improve metal
transfer.
To generate shielding gases, and thus protect the molten
weld metal from atmospheric oxidation.
To provide slag coverage to the molten weld metal.
To provide deoxidants to react with dissolved oxygen in
the weld metal and protect alloying elements.
To provide alloying elements to the weld.
To ma$e a clean slag)metal separation on solidification.
The electrode should be transferred to a holding oven when the
pac$age is opened to stop them from absorbing moisture from
the atmosphere.
S-W Welding
0n submerged arc welding, the flux is separately fed into the
&oint where the consumable wire establishes an arc beneath
the flux. 0n the heat generated from the arc, the wire as well as
some part of the flux melts. -s the welding head moves on
along the &oint, slag and metal separate by virtue of difference
in their specific gravities, and on solidification, the weld metal
ma$es the &oint, and the slag will be chipped off. The functions
of the flux are similar to those in shielded metal arc welding.
.eat input is high in S-W, leading to higher productivity.
T04 Welding
0n T04 welding, the arc is struc$ between the wor$ piece and
the non)consumable tungsten electrode. The consumable wire
is melted in the arc atmosphere and the inert)gases li$e -rgon
or .elium or their mixture are used as shielding gases. T04 is
extremely suited to &oin thin sheets, tubes and ma$ing root
pass welding in pipes, since the heat input in this process is
minimal. T04 welds do not cause any undercuts or excessive
penetration and the distortion is lowest compares to any other
welding process. T04 welds offer superior quality, but result in
low productivity.
<04 Welding
4as)<etal)-rc welding is generally called <04 ;<etal 0nert
4as= welding. 0n this process the consumable wire travels
through a nole and tip before it ma$es an arc with the wor$
piece. The arc atmosphere is shielded by gases li$e:
(""* argon
22* argon with (* oxygen
2>* argon with !* carbon dioxide
<04 welding is a high)productivity process. <04 welding
doesn?t need expensive machinery, and the welding machines
are easily transportable, ma$ing this process very popular on
construction sites. 0n <04 welding, shielding gas, welding
parameters, and the consumable assume an important role.
Shielding gases are chosen ta$ing quality, cost and operability
into consideration.
0n the case of welding with flux cored wires, (""* 9@1 and
>,* -rgon A 1,* 9@1 are used as shielding gases.
9ontrol of Bistortion Bue to Welding
Two factors contribute to distortion:
1. The thermal coefficient of expansion of austenitic
stainless steels is very high compared to that of mild
steels.
2. The conductivity of heat of stainless steels is much less
than that of mild steels.
Bue to the combination of above factors, stainless steels
undergo distortion, which must be controlled by using suitable
&igs, fixtures and balanced heat input during welding.
'stimation of Belta /errite in -ustenitic Stainless
Steel
There are three methods of estimating ferrite in stainless
steels:
1. Cy measuring with instruments li$e <agna)4auge, which
wor$ on the principal of measuring the magnetic
strength.
2. Cy calculating from the chemical composition with the
help of diagrams developed by Schaeffler, Belong and
Welding Research 9ouncil.
3. Cy metallographic methods.
@f the above, the first two items are popular, while the third
approach is laborious and time)consuming. /errite can be
measured from an undiluted weld metal employing a calibrated
instrument. /errite can also be estimated from the chemical
composition of undiluted weld metal using multiple regression
charts. <easured ferrite and estimated ferrite could differ to a
certain extent.
The weld parameters, thermal experience, and the sie, shape
and orientation of ferrite could influence the accuracy of
measurements.
Welding Wire /eatured
-WS ) 'R11"2
- duplex stainless steel wire used to weld 11", grade. .igh
resistance to stress corrosion crac$ing and pitting with higher
tensile and yield strength.
AWS - ER308/308H
/or welding 1"(, 1"1, !"(, !"1, !"#, !", and !"6 stainless.
4ood resistance to general corrosion.
AWS - ER308L
/or welding !"(, !"1, !"#, !"#8, !",, !"6, !1( and 1#>
stainless3 for transition welds in clad steels. 8ow carbon
maintains stability from intergranular corrosion due to carbide
precipitation.
-WS ) 'R!"68 Si
.igh silicon version of !"683 used for similar applications.
Silicon content improves arc stability and bead appearance.
:roduces exceptionally smooth fillet welds and flatter butt
welds.
-WS ) 'R!"2
/or welding !"2 stainless grades and ##1 for some applications
and stainless clad sheets3 for &oining stainless to mild steel3 for
stainless overlay wor$.
-WS ) 'R!"28 Si
Recommended for welding !"2 base material and !"2 to lower
alloys and mild steels. 'xcellent contour of the weld,
minimiing the need for grinding.
-WS ) 'R!"28 <o
/or welding equipment sub&ected to severe corrosive
environments such as paper mill machinery.
/or overlay cladding or buttering layer on mild5low alloy steels.
-WS ) 'R!("
/or !(" stainless3 dissimilar metals including high carbon,
armor, stainless clad and air hardening steels ;#",, #(", #!"=.
-WS ) 'R!(1
Welding stainless to mild, high strength and high yield steels3
!"# clad and dissimilar steels3 &oining abrasion)resistant steels.
AWS - ER316
/or welding !(+ stainless, especially for high temperature
service. <olybdenum provides increased creep resistance at
elevated temperatures. /or high corrosion resistance ;sulfite
liquors= and chemicals.

-WS ) 'R!(+8
/or welding !(+8 and !(6 stainless3 low carbon version of !(+
provides stability from intergranular corrosion due to carbide
precipitation.
AWS - ER316L Si
/or <04 welding of !(+, !(+8, (656 <o and (+)6)1 grades.
'levated silicon content improves weld metal flow.
-WS ) 'R!(>8
/or welding !(>, !(6, !(+, !(+8, (656 <o and (+)6)1 grades.
Resistant to corrosion in most organic5inorganic acids and
pitting in chloride)bearing solutions.
-WS ) 'R!1"
/or welding 9arpenter 1"9b)! stainless3 offers superior
resistance to corrosion.

-WS ) 'R!1"8R
Similar chemical composition to !1" except 9b and <n are
controlled and 9, Si, : and S are reduced to eliminate micro
fissuring and hot crac$ing in welds.
-WS ) 'R!!"
To weld !!" stainless, cast and wrought material of similar
analysis. 'xcellent strength: exc. heat and scale resistance to
(6"" degrees /.
-WS ) 'R!#>
/or welding !1( and !#> stainless where maximum corrosion
resistance is required 3 also for !"(, !"1, !"#, !"#8 and !"6.

-WS ) 'R!6,
/or &oining of base materials of similar composition ;2"#8=
including -ST< C +1,, C +># and C +>>. 4ood resistance to
stress corrosion crac$ing, pitting and crevice corrosion.
-WS ) 'R#"29b
This is a ferritic stainless stabilied with 9olumbium ;%iobium=.
0t can be used for the &oining of type #"2 stainless and is used
extensively in the automotive industry.
-WS ) 'R#("
/or welding #"!, #",, #(" and #(+ stainless3 overlaying carbon
steels for corrosion, erosion and abrasion resistance. 9orrosion
resistant to atmosphere, fresh water and mild acids.
-WS ) 'R#(" %i<o
/or welding and repair of #(" and #(" %i<o castings. 'xtra low
carbon3 provides better crac$ resistance and ductility than type
#(" filler metal.
-WS ) 'R#1"
/or welding #1" stainless. 0deal for overlaying where higher
hardness provides excellent abrasion, erosion and corrosion
resistance. Dsed for wear)resistant purposes.
-WS ) 'R#!"
Dsed for welding of #!" stainless steels and overlay cladding
on mild and low alloy steels. #!" is a ferritic, non)hardenable
material, but when welded on mild and low alloy steels, the
welds become
hard due to dilution.
-WS ) 'R+!"
This precipitation hardening alloy is used for welding (>)#:. to
itself and similar alloys.