Nitrogen loss is an important phenomenon in welding of super duplex stainless steels. In this study, a super duplex stainless steel was autogenously TIG-welded with one to four bead-on-plate passes ...with low or high heat inputs using pure argon shielding gas. The goal was to monitor nitrogen content and microstructure for each weld pass. Nitrogen content, measured by wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometry, was after four passes reduced from 0.28wt% in the base metal to 0.17wt% and 0.10wt% in low and high heat input samples, respectively. Nitrogen loss resulted in a more ferritic structure with larger grains and nitride precipitates. The ferrite grain width markedly increased with increasing number of passes and heat input. Ferrite content increased from 55% in base metal to 75% at low and 79% at high heat inputs after four passes. An increasing amount of nitrides were seen with increasing number of weld passes. An equation was suggested for calculation of the final nitrogen content of the weld metal as functions of initial nitrogen content and arc energy. Acceptable ferrite contents were seen for one or two passes. The recommendation is to use nitrogen in shielding gas and proper filler metals.
Display omitted
•A unique method was employed to produce controlled thermal cycles using robotic welding combined with thermal cycle analysis.•Ferrite content in autogeneous super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) welds were characterized as function of nitrogen content.•An equation was proposed to predict the nitrogen loss in SDSS welds as function of initial nitrogen content and arc energy.
Sigma phase is commonly considered to be the most deleterious secondary phase precipitating in duplex stainless steels, as it results in an extreme reduction of corrosion resistance and toughness. ...Previous studies have mainly focused on the kinetics of sigma phase precipitation and influences on properties and only a few works have studied the morphology of sigma phase and its influences on material properties. Therefore, the influence of sigma phase morphology on the degradation of corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of 2507 super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) was studied after 10 h of arc heat treatment using optical and scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction analysis, corrosion testing, and thermodynamic calculations. A stationary arc was applied on the 2507 SDSS disc mounted on a water-cooled chamber, producing a steady-state temperature gradient covering the entire temperature range from room temperature to the melting point. Sigma phase was the major intermetallic precipitating between 630 °C and 1010 °C and its morphology changed from blocky to fine coral-shaped with decreasing aging temperature. At the same time, the average thickness of the precipitates decreased from 2.9 µm to 0.5 µm. The chemical composition of sigma was similar to that predicted by thermodynamic calculations when formed at 800⁻900 °C, but deviated at higher and lower temperatures. The formation of blocky sigma phase introduced local strain in the bulk of the primary austenite grains. However, the local strain was most pronounced in the secondary austenite grains next to the coral-shaped sigma phase precipitating at lower temperatures. Microstructures with blocky and coral-shaped sigma phase particles were prone to develop microscale cracks and local corrosion, respectively. Local corrosion occurred primarily in ferrite and in secondary austenite, which was predicted by thermodynamic calculations to have a low pitting resistance equivalent. To conclude, the influence of sigma phase morphology on the degradation of properties was summarized in two diagrams as functions of the level of static load and the severity of the corrosive environment.
This paper aims at the phase identification and quantification in transformation induced plasticity duplex stainless steel (TDSS) base and weld metal containing ferrite, austenite, and martensite. ...Light optical microscopy (LOM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis were employed to analyze phases. Samples were either mechanically or electrolytically polished to study the effect of the preparation technique. Mechanical polishing produced up to 26% strain-induced martensite. Electrolytic polishing with 150 g citric acid, 300 g distilled water, 600 mL H3PO4, and 450 mL H2SO4 resulted in martensite free surfaces, providing high-quality samples for EBSD analysis. Martensite identification was challenging both with LOM, due to the similar etching response of ferrite and martensite, and with EBSD, due to the similar lattice structures of ferrite and martensite. An optimized Beraha color etching procedure was developed that etched martensite distinctively. A novel step-by-step EBSD methodology was also introduced considering grain size and orientation, which successfully identified and quantified martensite as well as ferrite and austenite in the studied TDSS. Although here applied to a TDSS, the presented EBSD methodology is general and can, in combination with knowledge of the metallurgy of the specific material and with suitable adaption, be applied to a multitude of multiphase materials. It is also general in the sense that it can be used for base material and weld metals as well as additive manufactured materials.
Nanoscale phase separations, and effects of these, were studied for thick super duplex stainless steel products by atom probe tomography and mechanical testing. Although nanoscale phase separations ...typically occur during long-time service at intermediate temperatures (300–500° C, our results show that slowly cooled products start to develop Fe and Cr separation and/or precipitation of Cu-rich particles already during fabrication. Copper significantly slowed down the kinetics at the expense of Cu-rich particle precipitation, where the high-copper material subjected to hot isostatic pressing (HIP), with Δ
t
500–400
of 160 s and the low-copper hot-rolled plate with Δ
t
500–400
of 2 s had the same level of Fe and Cr separation. The phase separations resulted in lower toughness and higher hardness of the HIP material than for hot-rolled plate. Therefore, both local cooling rate dependent and alloy composition governed variations of phase separations can be expected in as-fabricated condition.
Avoiding low austenite fractions and nitride formation are major challenges in laser welding of duplex stainless steels (DSS). The present research aims at investigating efficient means of promoting ...austenite formation during autogenous laser welding of DSS without sacrificing productivity. In this study, effects of shielding gas and laser reheating were investigated in welding of 1.5-mm-thick FDX 27 (UNS S82031) DSS. Four conditions were investigated: Ar-shielded welding, N
2
-shielded welding, Ar-shielded welding followed by Ar-shielded laser reheating, and N
2
-shielded welding followed by N
2
-shielded laser reheating. Optical microscopy, thermodynamic calculations, and Gleeble heat treatment were performed to study the evolution of microstructure and chemical composition. The austenite fraction was 22% for Ar-shielded and 39% for N
2
-shielded as-welded conditions. Interestingly, laser reheating did not significantly affect the austenite fraction for Ar shielding, while the austenite fraction increased to 57% for N
2
-shielding. The amount of nitrides was lower in N
2
-shielded samples compared to in Ar-shielded samples. The same trends were also observed in the heat-affected zone. The nitrogen content of weld metals, evaluated from calculated equilibrium phase diagrams and austenite fractions after Gleeble equilibrating heat treatments at 1100 °C, was 0.16% for N
2
-shielded and 0.11% for Ar-shielded welds, confirming the importance of nitrogen for promoting the austenite formation during welding and especially reheating. Finally, it is recommended that combining welding with pure nitrogen as shielding gas and a laser reheating pass can significantly improve austenite formation and reduce nitride formation in DSS laser welds.
Display omitted
•Plate showed more Cr and Fe phase separation, increase in ferrite microhardness, and drop in toughness compared to the welds.•Plate-surface with smaller austenite spacing and higher ...level misorientation and mean angular deviation had more phase separation than plate-center.•Higher Ni content super duplex stainless steel welds caused more phase separation than the hyper duplex stainless steel weld.•Processing history was more impactful on kinetics of 475˚C-embrittlement than slight variations in composition.
Fe and Cr phase separation in ferrite, causing 475 °C-embrittlement, was studied after very short aging times in super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) and hyper duplex stainless steel (HDSS) plates and welds. Atom probe tomography showed that hot-rolled SDSS, experiencing significant metal working, had faster kinetics of phase separations compared to the SDSS and HDSS welds after 5 min aging at 475 °C. The surface of the 33-mm SDSS plate had faster Fe and Cr phase separation and larger toughness drop. A higher density of dislocations next to the austenite phase boundary in ferrite, detected by electron channeling contrast, can promote the phase separation at the surface of the plate with lower austenite spacing. The toughness dropped in HDSS welds after aging, but SDSS welds maintained their toughness. An inverse simulation method considering an initial sinusoidal nanometric Cr and Fe fluctuation showed that Ni increases the interdiffusion of Cr in the system, resulting a higher degree of phase separation in SDSS welds than the HDSS weld. Within the composition range of the studied SDSS and HDSS materials, the processing influences the Fe and Cr phase separation more than the variation in composition during short aging or typical fabrication times.
The present study aims at investigating bead geometry and the evolution of microstructure with thermal cycles in multipass shielded metal arc welding of a V-groove 13-mm type-2507 super-duplex ...stainless steel (SDSS) plate. The weld consisted of 4 beads produced with arc energies of 0.81–1.06 kJ/mm. The upper beads showed lower base metal (BM) dilution than the first bead. Thermal cycles were recorded with thermocouples, indicating that the cooling rate decreased in the as-deposited weld zone when adding a new bead. Ferrite fraction in the as-welded condition was lower for the upper beads. The austenite grain morphology in reheated passes varied depending on the local peak temperatures and the number of reheating passes. Sigma phase precipitated in a location reheated by the third and fourth passes that was subjected to a critical peak temperature for sigma precipitation. Ferrite content, measured using image analysis and Fisher FERITSCOPE technique, showed that the ferrite fraction moved toward 50/50% in the weld metal with an increasing number of reheating cycles. Finally, a schematic map showing an overview of the microstructure in the multipass SDSS weld was introduced.
•Effects of residual stress and weld toe geometry on the fatigue life are studied.•Residual stresses are varied by using two different welding filler materials.•The use of Low Transformation ...Temperature consumables increase fatigue life.•Residual stress has a larger effect than the weld toe radius on fatigue strength.
The weld toe is one of the most probable fatigue crack initiation sites in welded components. In this paper, the relative influences of residual stresses and weld toe geometry on the fatigue life of cruciform welds was studied. Fatigue strength of cruciform welds produced using Low Transformation Temperature (LTT) filler material has been compared to that of welds produced with a conventional filler material. LTT welds had higher fatigue strength than conventional welds. A moderate decrease in residual stress of about 15% at the 300MPa stress level had the same effect on fatigue strength as increasing the weld toe radius by approximately 85% from 1.4mm to 2.6mm. It was concluded that residual stress had a relatively larger influence than the weld toe geometry on fatigue strength.
This research work is the first step in evaluating the feasibility of producing industrial components by using Laser Metal Deposition with duplex stainless steel Wire (LMDw). The influence of Ar and ...N
2
shielding gases was investigated in terms of nitrogen loss and in the microstructure and austenite content of different deposited geometries. The evolution of the microstructure in the build-up direction of the Ar and N
2
-shielded blocks was compared in the heat-treated and as-deposited conditions. The susceptibility for oxygen pick-up in the LMDw deposits was also analyzed, and oxygen was found to be in the range of conventional gas-shielded weldments. Nitrogen loss occurred when Ar-shielding was used; however, the use of N
2
-shielding prevented nitrogen loss. Austenite content was nearly doubled by using N
2
-shielding instead of Ar-shielding. The heat treatment resulted in an increase of the austenite content and of the homogeneity in the microstructure regardless of the shielding gas used. The similarity in microstructure and the low spread in the phase balance for the as-deposited geometries is a sign of having achieved a stable and consistent LMDw process in order to proceed with the build-up of more complex geometries closer to industrial full-size components.
Super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) weld metal microstructures, covering the complete temperature range from ambient to liquidus, were produced by arc heat treatment for 1 and 10 min. Temperature ...modeling and thermodynamic calculations complemented microstructural studies, hardness mapping and sensitization testing. After 1 min, intermetallics such as sigma and chi phase had precipitated, resulting in moderate sensitization at 720–840 °C. After 10 min, larger amounts of intermetallics resulted in hardness up to 400 HV0.5 and more severe sensitization at 580–920 °C. Coarse and fine secondary austenite precipitated at high and low temperatures, respectively: The finer secondary austenite was more detrimental to corrosion resistance due to its lower content of Cr, Mo, and N as predicted by thermodynamic calculations. Increased hardness and etching response suggest that 475 °C embrittlement had occurred after 10 min. Results are summarized as time-temperature-precipitation and property diagrams for hardness and sensitization.
PDF
