by

Bjrn Holmberg,
Avesta Welding AB, P.O. Box 501, SE-774 27 Avesta, Sweden

Summary

Materials

Welding of duplex grades, e.g. 2205,

has been carried out using SMAW,
GTAW and SAW. The most sensitive
area, with frequent problems, is the
root side in single-side GTA-welded
joints. In this case the duplex filler in
the exposed area should either be
over-alloyed or, in the case of
GTAW, the filler material should be
welded with a nitrogen-bearing
shielding/purging gas. The impact
strength of the weld metal obtained
with SMAW is normally lower than
that of GTA welds. By using basic
covered electrodesor electrodes
which give low oxygen or inclusion
contents in the weldsacceptably
high impact strength at low temperatures can be obtained. Contrary
to expectations, the use of nickel base
filler for root runs can strongly reduce
the notch toughness.

The fillers and parent materials used

in the following trials are listed in
Tables 1 a and 1 b, page 2. The
shielding gas during GTAW was
pure argon mixed with 3% nitrogen.
Three different purging gases were
used: argon, argon + 3% nitrogen,
and 90% nitrogen + 10% hydrogen
(Formier gas).

Welding
For the experiments, 3, 5, 10, 12 and
30 mm plates were used. Pipe
welding in fixed position (6G) was
carried out in 8", t = 3.7 mm and
in 17", t = 10 mm pipes. Welds No.
15-17 were carried out from both
sides, all others were single-side
welded. The welding procedures are
shown in Table 2, page 3. For the
welding of plate material SMAW,
GTAW or SAW was used. For pipe
welding GTAW and SMAW were
used.

acom

How to Perform Welding

in Duplex Stainless Steels to Obtain
Optimum Weld Metal Properties

3-1997

Introduction
The requirements for modern duplex
stainless steel weldments have in
many cases been too stringent in the
past. In some cases these stringent
requirements have in fact caused
serious problems for welding engineers. The aim of this paper is to
propose more realistic requirements
to designers and to help fabricators
to select filler material, welding
methods and welding parameters
to fulfil those requirements. This is
realized by presenting a number of
welding trials including evaluation of
properties and examination of
microstructures.

Testing
The microstructure was studied by
optical microscopy and by a
modified electron probe micro analyser. The ferrite content in the weld
metal was measured with Feritscope
(MP3). The ductility was measured by
bend and impact testing.
ASTM G-48A testing was undertaken with test pieces in two conditions; with welded surfaces both
totally cleaned and in welded
condition but with the cap brushed
with a rotating disc. New specimens
were used at each exposure.

AVESTA SHEFFIELD
CORROSION MANAGEMENT
AND APPLICATION
ENGINEERING

acom No. 3-97

Table 1a.
Chemical composition of filler materials used and all weld metal impact strength.
PRE(N) = %Cr + 3.3 x %Mo + 16 x %N.
Type
Avesta Welding

Diam.
(mm)

Chemical composition, %
C
Si
Mn
Cr

Nb

PRE(N)

3.1
3.1
3.0

.168
.158
.158

35
35
36

Impact
strength (J)
+20C -40C
53
-

2205-PW

2.50
3.25
4.00

.023
.025
.029

.89
.82
.82

.90
.82
.81

22.3
22.6
23.4

9.5
9.8
9.8

2205 BAS

2.50
3.25
4.00

.026
.028
.027

.43
.44
.34

.64
.98
.94

23.5
23.4
23.3

9.5
9.3
9.4

3.2
3.0
3.0

.16
.146
.156

36
36
36

84
67

60
50

2205 super
2507/P100 Rut.

4.00
4.00

.022
.031

.88
.46

.60
1.37

23.5
25.4

9.4
10.3

3.6
3.6

.188
.211

38
41

37
-

24
-

2205 wire
2205N wire
2205/Flux 805Cr

1.6
1.6
2.4

.014
.014
.016

.49
.49
.57

1.58
1.58
1.28

22.5
22.5
23.5

8.8
8.8
8.5

3.1
3.1
3.0

.130
.230
.128

35
36
35

183

150
149

2507/P 100 wire

PI 2 wire
P16 wire

1.6
1.6
1.6

.014
.008
.002

.39
.04
.02

.42
.03
.15

25.3
21.9
22.5

9.6
64.4
60.8

4.0
9.1
15.9

.280
.01
.03

3.7
-

43
52
76

120

110

Ni

Mo

Table 1b.
Chemical composition of parent materials
PRE(N) =%Cr + 3.3 x %Mo + 16 x %N.
Type
Avesta Sheffield

Thickn.
(mm)

Chemical composition, %
C
Si
Mn

Cr

Ni

Mo

2205 plate

3-30

.016-.022

21.5-22.2

5.5-5.7

2.9-3.1 .140-.184

Results
X-ray
In the first trials, welds No. 19 and 20
showed an unacceptable amount of
porosity. They were therefore rewelded. With the first welds, Nos 19
and 20, 10 and 13 beads, respectively, were used. With the re-welding
27 and 20 beads, respectively, were
used. The X-ray investigation result
after re-welding showed no porosity.

Microstructure
All welds for which duplex filler had
been used showed a ferrite level
inside the welds between 23 and
53%. Traces of nitrides were found in
the HAZ in some welds. The highest
amounts in the weld metal were

.37-.53

PRE(N)

1.40-1.52

noticed in No. 2 and No. 4. Secondary austenite was found in most

multiple welds. Small areas with
sigma phase and secondary
austenite were also present in some
welds carried out with super duplex
fillers.
In welds No. 1, 5 and 5b nickelbased fillers were used for the root
run and the duplex filler for the other
runs. The first bead duplex filler on
top of the high molybdenum root run
resulted in a ferrite with a high
molybdenum content, which transformed during cooling to sigma
phase. This structure already cracked
during welding. Micro-fissures in
sigma phase are shown in Figure 1.
The nitrogen content in the HAZ
was measured in welds No. 1 and
14. The nitrogen content in the ferrite
2

N
34-35

in weld No. 1 was 0.054% and in

weld No. 14 it was 0.055%. The
nitrogen content in matrix ferrite in
parent metal from weld No. 1 was
0.047% and in weld No. 14 it was
0.050%. The thin austenite phase
along the fusion line in weld No. 1
had a nitrogen content of 0.210.25% and in weld No. 14 the same
phase had 0.14-0.18% (see Figures
2a and 2b, page 4).
The hardness measurements across
the weld were carried out 1 mm from
the root side. The hardness varied
from 245 to 308 Hv5. The highest
hardness was measured in a pipe,
weld No. 19. This result is entirely
normal because the severe restraint
condition in a circumferential multiple
bead weld will cause great cold
deformation of the root bead.

acom No. 3-97

Table 2.
Welding procedures.
Weld
No.
1
2
3
4

Process*
Root Cap
141
111
141
111
141
111
141
111

Filler**
Root Cap
A
D
B
E
C
E
C
D

Gas types
Shielding
Ar
Ar
Ar + 3%N2
Ar

Purging
Ar
Ar
Ar + 3%N2
Ar

Heat input (kJ/mm)

Root
Cap/fill
0.7
0.5
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.5

Total No
of beads
2
2
2
2

Parent***
materi al
PI
3.0
PI
3.0
PI
3.0
PI
3.0

3b
3c

141
141

111
111

C
C

D
D

Ar + 3%N2
Ar + 3%N2

Ar + 3%N2
N2+ 10%H2

1.3
0.9

0.9
0.9

2
2

PI
PI

5.0
5.0

5
5b
6
7
8
9
10

141
141
141
141
141
141
141

111
111
111
111
111
111
12

A
G
B
C
B
H
H

D
D
E
D
F
E
1

Ar
Ar + 3%N2
Ar
Ar
Ar
Ar
Ar

Ar
N2+ 10%H2
Ar
N2+ 10%H2
Ar
Ar
Ar

1.4
1.1
1.1
1.4
1.0
1.3
1.5

0.8-1.2
0.8-1.2
0.9-1.3
1.0-1.3
0.7-1.3
0.8-1.6
0.9-2.0

9
6
8
8
7
8
5

PI
PI
PI
PI
PI
PI
PI

12
10
12
12
12
12
12

18

141

111

Ar + 3%N2

N2+ 10%H2

1.1

0.8-1.5

28

PI

30

11
12
13
13b
14

141
141
141
141
141

141
111
141
141
141

B
H
C
C
G

B
D
C
C
G

Ar
Ar
Ar + 3%N2
Ar + 3%N2
Ar + 3%N2

Ar
Ar
Ar + 3%N2
N2+ 10%H2
Ar + 3%N2

0.6-0.8
0.5-1.2
0.5-0.9
1.2
0.5-0.9

0.3-0.5
0.6
0.4-0.5
0.8
0.3-0.4

3
2
3
2
3

Pi
Pi
Pi
Pi
Pi

3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7

19
20

141
141

141
111

C
C

C
E

Ar + 3%N2
Ar + 3%N2

N,+ 10%H2
N2+ 10%H2

2.0
2.0

0.6-1.4
0.6-0.9

27
20

Pi
Pi

10
10

15
16
17

111
111
111

111
111
111

J
E
F

J
E
F

0.9
1.0
1.3

0.8-1.1
1.0-1.3
0.9-1.3

9
8
7

PI
PI
PI

12
12
12

111 = SMAW
141 = GTAW
12 = SAW
** A=P12
B = 2205 N
C = 2205
D = 2205-PW AC/DC
E =2205 basic
F = 2205 sup. rutile
G=P16
H=2507/P100
I = 2205 + flux 805
J = 2507/P 100 rutile
*** Pi = pipe; wall (mm)
PI = plate; thickn. (mm)

N.B. Weld Nos 15, 16 and 17 are welded from both sides. All other welds are single-side welded.

Figure 1.
Weld No. 5. First bead duplex with microfissure in sigma phase, 400x. Root:
GTAW; filler PI 2 wire. Hot pass: SMAW;
filler 2205-PW.

acom No. 3-97

Figure 2a.
Micro-probe mapping of the HAZ in weld
No. 1 (GTAW, filler P 12 with Nb). Fusion
line in the middle, weld metal below.
P12 gave a slightly wider low-nitrogen
ferrite zone in the HAZ compared to weld
No.14.

Figure 2b.
Micro-probe mapping in the HAZ in weld
No. 14 (filler P16, no Nb).

acom No. 3-97

Mechanical properties
Impact strength. The pure GTAW
(No. 19) and the SAW (No. 10) gave
an impact strength at room temperature which was higher than all other
welds. Basic coated electrodes or
rutile electrodes with low Si content
(2507/P100) gave high impact
strength. At -20C all welds with only
duplex fillers had a higher impact
strength than 40 J independent of
coating type. The combination of
duplex and nickel base fillers gave
the lowest impact strength (Nos 5
and 5b).
Ductility. The results are given in
Table 3. The negative effect on
ductility when mixing duplex and
nickel base fillers could also be seen
during this test. All other welds
showed good ductility.

Weld

Root

Cap

3xT cracked
at 80C

3xT cracked
at 103C

2xT cracked
at 85C
3xT small cracks

3xT OK

5b

2xT cracked
at 65C

2xT cracked
at 85C

Figure 3a. p
Weld metal impact strength from GTAW,
SAW and SMAW basic coatings.

No.

Pitting corrosion resistance

Brushed and pickled test specimens. The root side in the singlesided GTA weldments was the
weakest area from corrosion point of
view when standard 2205 filler and
pure argon were used. In many
cases, the cap-side weld metal
welded with covered electrodes had
a higher pitting resistance than the
adjacent HAZ. Nickel base fillers and
super duplex fillers also gave enhanced pitting resistance. The use of
a nitrogen-alloyed 2205 wire combined with a purging/shielding gas
of pure argon improved the pitting
resistance but only to a limited extent.
The addition of nitrogen in the
shielding gas seemed to have more
effect.
5

Figure 3b.
Weld metal impact strength from super
duplex fillers with higher silicon and
oxygen contents.

Table 3.
Bend testing to 180 angle.

acom No. 3-97

Table 4.
Pitting corrosion test results in ASTM G48-A.
Weld
No.
1
2
3
3B
3C

Brushed and pickled

Test temperature (C)
no pitting
pitting
35.0
32.5
35.0
25.0
27.5
25.0
27.5
22.5
25.0

Weight loss
at pitting
(mg)
30.1
1.8
0.8
0.2

4
5
5B
6
7

17.5
32.5
40.0
27.5

20.0
35.0
45.0
22.5
-

0.4
73.4
283.9
1.0
-

8
9
10
11
12

22.5
25.0
20.0
32.5

22.5
25.0
27.5
22.5
35.0

40.7
2.2
0.7
4.2
3.9

13
13B
14
15
16

20.0
30.0
30.0
27.5
27.5

22.5
32.5
32.5
30.0
-

2.2
7.6
1.5
2.5
-

17
18
19
20

30.0
22.5
25.0
17.5

32.5
25.0
27.5
20.0*

5.7
7.2
8.0
1.1

* Not valid due to grinding marks

Cap brushedroot "as-welded".

Brushed and pickled samples gave
significantly better values than the
ones only cleaned on the cap side
with rotating fibre disc. Most pitting
occurred on the root side in the HAZ
or in the fusion line. These results
showed that pitting in the HAZ was
found down to 12.5C. By using the
addition of nitrogen in the purging/
shielding gas the pitting resistance in
the root could be increased up to at
least 22.5C. Super duplex and nickel
base wires combined with pure argon
gave the same pitting resistance.

Pitting location

As-welded root
Test temperature
no pitting pitting
22.5
20.0

Weight loss
at pitting
(mg)
1.0
1.7

Pitting location
cap
H

root
F
H, F

22.5
22.5

25.0
25.0

3.9
3.8

P, H
P, H

W, F

12.5

0.9

P, H
W

27.5
-

32.5
20.0
22.5

52.2
5.3
1.8

22.5
-

27.5
22.5

36.6
6.2

H, W
H, W

22.5

1.5

20.0
25.0
-

22.5
27.5
22.5

5.2
4.0
2.5

17.5
22.5
20.0

22.5
22.5
25.0
22.5

16.3
6.5
3.8
1.1

H
H, W
H
H

cap

root

W
H

F
W
P

P
H (W)
F

W
W
H
H

W
F
W
H

H
H
H

P, H
H
grinding
marks

H
H

H
W

H, W

F
W
F

H
H
H

H = HAZ; W = weld metal; F = fusion line; P = parent metal

Discussion
In these types of weld metals the
contents of ferrite, secondary
austenite, nitrides, oxides and sigma
phase will in varying degree affect
the mechanical properties and
corrosion resistance. It is also very
important to realize that, for example,
ferrite content, secondary austenite
level and so on, are not material
properties in themselves. The ductility
is acceptable when duplex filler is
used, but not when duplex fillers are
welded on top of nickel base fillers.
The notably higher impact strength in
weld Nos 10 and 19 is a result of
welding procedures giving clean
weld metals with very few oxides.
When standard rutile electrodes are
used, the amount of oxides will

increase and consequently the impact

strength will be lower. To compensate
this in certain joints the welding
engineer can increase the number of
GTAW runs and lower the SMAW
runs.
The result shows that fabrication
specifications stipulating "no pitting at
22C on as-welded samples" can be
very difficult to pass independent of
the filler metal used, because the
pitting might start in the HAZ or in the
fusion line. The use of a new
specimen for each temperature,
instead of using the same piece and
increasing test temperature until
pitting occurs, most likely explains
why this investigation shows a 510C lower pitting resistance result
than some other laboratories.

acom No. 3-97

Joints welded from both sides give

better pitting resistance in the weld
when slag forming processes such as
SMAW are used. Duplex fillers for
SMAW and SAW with PRE(N) >35
can give weld metals which are more
resistant to pitting than the HAZ.
Good pitting resistance was
obtained when the shielding/purging
gas was mixed with nitrogen.
Nitrogen addition in the gas reduces
nitrogen loss in the weld pool. There
was no significant difference in pitting
temperature when the purging gas
was Ar + 3 N2 or 90 N2+ 10 H2 but
there was a tendency that the root
weld metal had a better pitting
resistance: pitting occurred in the
HAZ instead. Addition of nitrogen
seems to improve the pitting resistance in 6% ferric chloride (ASTM
G48A) by about 5C.
When studying the total test results
it is obvious that a weld metal from
standard 2205 electrode in brushed
condition will be attacked at 22.527.5C. In pickled condition the result
was always above 27.5C. For both
surface conditions SMAW welds are
equal or better than the HAZ. The
heat input level in the root run or the
second run did not affect the pitting
resistance (0.5-2.0 Id/mm) in these
tests. The same was valid for the cap
run (0.3-2.0 Id/mm).
Pitting resistance of welds in the aswelded condition will give lower
values than can be obtained with
parent materials in pickled condition.
In the case of single-sided welded
pipes it is realistic to expect that the
GTAW welded sample can pass
+20C without pitting when standard
filler and nitrogen addition in the
shielding/purging gas are used. The
problems with passing +20C during
CPT testing without pitting have been
reported earlier (1).
A reduction of nitrogen content in
the HAZ, when using Nb-stabilized

nickel base fillers, causing reduction

in austenite content, could to some
extent be illustrated (Figure 2). This is
also emphasised in literature (3).
However, this investigation could not
measure any difference in pitting
resistance in the HAZ when a Nballoyedor Nb-freenickel base filler
was used.

References
1. R. Gunn: "Comparison of Corrosion and
Mechanical Properties of Weldments in
Wrought 25% Cr and Super Duplex
Stainless Steels", Duplex Conf. '94, Glasgow,
UK, paper 32.
2. "Recommended Practice for Pitting Corrosion
Testing of Duplex Stainless Steel Weldments
by the Use of Ferric Chloride Solution", TWI
5632/16/93.
3. L. degrd et al.: Proc. Duplex Stainless
Steel '91, Beaune, France, Les ditions de
Physique P441.

Conclusions
Pitting resistance of single-sided
GTA-welds with conventional
2205-fillers and pure argon may be
enhanced by using either nitrogen
additions to the shielding- and
backing gas or by using super
duplex fillers.
Pitting resistance increases by 2.55C when nitrogen is added to the
shielding-purging gas.
GTAW weldments with standard
duplex fillers in as-welded
condition can give a CPT value of
22.5C with N2 addition. The same
temperature is also valid for the
HAZ/fusion line.
Standard duplex covered electrodes with PRE(N) >35 give
sufficient pitting resistance.
The highest impact strength in
duplex weldments can be obtained
with GTAW. Rutile coated electrodes give the lowest impact
strength.
Due to lack of ductility, duplex
fillers should not be welded on top
of nickel base fillers.
The corrosion resistance and
mechanical properties do not vary
significantly for normal heat input
(0.3-2.0 kJ/mm) or for a ferrite
level between 23 and 53%.
Welding with a few thick beads
increases the tendency to porosity.

This paper was first printed in

Stainless Steel World, March 1997,
pp. 28-33. Reprinted with the kind
permission of the copyright holder.

Although Avesta Sheffield has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this publication, neither it nor any contributor can accept any legal
responsibility whatsoever for errors or omissions or information found to be misleading or any opinions or advice gen.

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