WELDING METALLURGY OF FERRITIC

STAINLESS STEEL

By
Manidipto Mukherjee
Metallurgical & Material Engg. Dept.
Jadavpur University
 Introduction
Stainless steel constitute of group of high-alloy steels based on the
Fe-Cr, Fe-Cr-C, & Fe-Cr-Ni systems.

To be stainless, these steels must contain a minimum of 10.5wt %

chromium.

Stainless steel also have good resistance to oxidation, and often

referred to as heat-resisting alloys.

Resistance to carburization is another form of heat resistance.

Most stainless steels are weldable, but many require special

procedures. In almost all cases, welding results in significant
alteration of weld metal and HAZ microstructure.
 Brief history
1821: Frenchman Berthier experiments with Cr addition to steel.

1897: German Goldschmidt develops technique to produce low

carbon, Cr-bearing alloys.

1904-1909: 13 wt% and 17 wt% Cr alloys

produced in France and Germany.

1913: Englishman Brearly casts first commercial ingot at

Thomas Firth and Sons, Cast no. 1008, August 20. Analysis
(wt%): 0.24%C, 0.2Si, 0.44%Mn, !2.86%Cr.

1916: U.S. Patent 1, 197, 256 for 9 to 16 wt% Cr steels with

less than 0.7 wt% Carbon, September 5.
 Types of Stainless Steel

Martensitic (4XX, Ferromagnetic)

Ferritic (4XX, Ferromagnetic)

Austenitic (2XX, 3XX, Non-magnetic)

Duplex (almost 50% austenite and 50% ferrite,

Strongly Magnetic)

Precipitation Hardened(PH).
 Iron-Chromium (Fe-Cr) System,

Iron-Chromium-Carbon (Fe-Cr-C) system, and

Iron-Chromium-Nickel (Fe-Cr-Ni) system.

Fe-Cr Equilibrium phase diagram
Effect of carbon on the expansion of the austenite phase field
Fe-Cr-C pseudobinary diagram at (a) 13 wt% and (b) 17wt% chromium.
C1 is a (Cr,Fe)23C6 carbide; C2 is a (Cr,Fe)7C3 carbide.
Iron--Chromium
Iron Chromium--Nickel (Fe-
(Fe-Cr
Cr--Ni) system

Pseudobinary sections of the Fe-Cr-Ni ternary system at (a) 70% Fe

and (b) 60% Fe.
 Ferrite and Austenite promoting elements

Ferrite-promoting elements Austenite-promoting elements

Chromium (Cr) Nickel (Ni)

Molybdenum (Mo) Manganese (Mn)
Silicon (Si) Carbon (C)
Niobium (Nb) Nitrogen (N)
Titanium (Ti) Copper (Cu)
Aluminum (Al) Cobalt (Co)
Vanadium (V)
Tungsten (W)
Constitution Diagrams
Constitution Diagrams (Contd.)
Constitution Diagrams (Contd.)
Constitution Diagrams (Contd.)
 Ferrite-Martensitic alloy system
Previous chromium equivalency values for the various alloying
elements were based on binary-phase diagrams and were
developed for base materials, Kaltenhauser modified these
constants and proposed a ferrite factor for determining the
tendency to from martensite in ferritic stainless steel welds.

This equation has come to be known as the Kaltenhauser factor or

K-factor:
K-factor = Cr+6Si+8Ti+4Mo+2Al+40(C+N)-2Mn-4Ni

When the K-factor falls below a certain level, a fully ferritic

microstructure is ensured.

For low-chromium grades critical K-factor is 13.5.

For medium-chromium grades critical K-factor is 17.

Ferrite-Martensitic alloy system (Contd.)

Ferritic stainless steel constitution Diagram for predicting the ferrite

diagram developed by Lippold using content In the HAZ of low-C low-Cr
K-Factor. ferritic-martensitic stainless steel
 Ferritic Stainless Steel
Predominant metallurgical phase present is ferrite.

These alloys possess good resistance to stress corrosion cracking, pitting corrosion,
and crevice corrosion.

Low-chromium (10.5 to 12.5 wt%) grades are used for automotive exhaust system,
railway bogies and coaches.

Historically, ferritic stainless steel had been used in the greatest tonnage in
application that do not require welding. Since the early 1980s, the use of low- and
medium-chromium grades for automotive exhaust system as well as railways has
increased dramatically.

Since exhaust tube and connections are welded, the weldability of ferritic stainless
steel has received increased attention.

Ferritic stainless steel are generally limited to service temperature below 400C due
to the formation of embrittlement phases.

Welds in these alloys are primarily ferrite, although martensite may be present
under certain conditions, and precipitation of carbide and nitride is common.
Consumables
 Effect of alloying additions on
microstructure

The presence of other elements can significantly alter the

shape and extent of the austenite regime or influence the
microstructure of ferritic stainless steel.

Nitrogen, carbon, and manganese are main austenite

promoting elements.

Thus, either reduction of carbon, nitrogen and manganese

to extremely low level or addition of alloying elements
that promotes ferritic formation, is necessary to maintain
a primarily ferrite microstructure in low-chromium
steels.
 Effect of Martensite
Martensite in ferritic stainless steel has been shown to have both beneficial and
detrimental effects.

Martensite is a source of embrittlement due to its fracture and deformation

characteristics relative to ferrite,

Although, some literature shown that ferritic-martensitic microstructure have

superior impact toughness properties relative to either fully ferritic or fully
martensitic steels of similar composition.

Depending on the carbon content of the alloy and volume fraction of martensite
present, the martensite that forms in the ferritic stainless steels is typically of a
low carbon variety.

It will be seen that, martensite formation in the weld metal and HAZ of low and
medium-chromium ferritic stainless steels is quite common.

The presence of martensite in low-chromium ferritic stainless steels has been

related to a loss of corrosion resistance.

There is also some evidence that the martensite-ferrite interface is a

preferential site for intergranular stress corrosion cracking.
 Embrittlement Phenomena
There are three embrittlement
phenomena that influence the mechanical
properties of ferritic stainless steels:

1) 475C embrittlement,
2) Sigma phase precipitation, and
3) High Temperature Embrittlement.
 High-Temperature Embrittlement (HTE)

HTE results from metallurgical changes that occur during exposure to

temperatures above approximately 0.7Tm.

HTE normally occurs during welding.

Severe loss in corrosion resistance can also results due to HTE.

Susceptibility to HTE is influenced primarily by, composition,

particularly chromium and interstitial concentration, and grain size.

Low-chromium grades are relatively insensitive to HTE.

Effect of composition and microstructure on HTE
Variable Effects

Carbon+Nitrogen Intensifies severely

Chromium Intensifies

Grain size Small for high C+N, large for

high Cr and low C+N

Oxygen Intensifies slightly

Titanium, Niobium Reduces

1. Fusion Zone
Solidification and Transformation
sequence
Precipitation Behaviour
Microstructure Prediction

2. Heat Affected Zone

 Solidification and Transformation
sequence
Initial solidification of ferritic stainless steel welds always
occurs as primary ferrite.
The fusion zone microstructure may either be fully ferrite or
consist of a mixture of ferrite and martensite, with the
martensite located at the ferrite grain boundaries.
Three solidification and transformation sequence are possible
for the ferritic stainless steel. They are,
a) Transformation Path 1: Fully Ferritic microstructure
L L+F F

b) Transformation Path 2: Ferrite and Martensite

L L+F F F+A F+M
c) Transformation Path 3: Ferrite and Martensite
L L+F L+F+A F+A F+M
 Solidification and Transformation
sequence (Contd.)
Transformation path 1 is dominant when the ratio of ferrite promoting
elements to austenite promoting elements is high and austenite formation
at elevated temperature is suppressed completely.

This transformation path is common for low-chromium alloys, some

medium-chromium and few high-chromium alloys.

If martensite is present in the fusion zone, there are two transformation

paths by witch that can occur. They are Transformation path 2 and 3.

Transformation path 2 mostly observed in the carbon content range of

0.05 to 0.15 wt%. It is also a common transformation path for low-
chromium alloys.

Transformation path 3 occurs depending upon the high carbon content of

greater than 0.15 wt%. This type of transformation path is uncommon to
the low-chromium grades.
 Precipitation Behavior
Ferritic stainless steel weld metals often exhibit a fine dispersion of precipitates
within the ferrite or at the ferrite-martensite boundary.

These precipitates are primarily chromium rich (M23C6) Cr23C6 carbides , or

chromium rich nitrides.

A similar precipitation behavior is observed in the HAZ.

These precipitates forms due to super-saturation of carbon and nitrogen in the

ferrite phase at elevated temperature.

Upon cooling, precipitates may form both inter and intra granularly. At high cooling
rate intra-granular precipitation is observed.

In 12 to 13 wt% Cr alloys, up to 0.1 wt% carbon is soluble in ferrite at 1400C ,

but the solubility drops to almost zero at 1100C.

Many modern ferritic stainless steels (e.g. 409M) contains 0.02 to 0.03 wt% carbon
to avoid extensive carbide precipitation, but even in these steels some carbide
precipitation is expected.
 Precipitation Behaviour (Contd.)
If austenite is present at elevated temperature, precipitation will not occur
in the austenite, due to its high solubility of carbon and nitrogen.

Austenite act as a sink for these interstitial elements at elevated

temperature and there will often be a precipitate-free zone in the ferrite
adjacent to the martensite.

Precipitation can also occur along the ferrite-ferrite or ferrite-martensite

boundary. These precipitation can lead to a local reduction in chromium
adjacent to the boundary, making the boundary potentially sensitive to
corrosion attack. This phenomenon known as sensitization.

Using low carbon content (less than 0.05 wt%) alloys decrease
sensitization.
 Microstructural Prediction

Balmforth constitution diagram with composition ranges of Types 409, 430 and 439
 Heat Affected Zone
The microstructure of most ferritic stainless steels consists of
mixture of ferrite and carbides.

Depending on the composition of the alloy, the HAZ microstructure

can either be fully ferritic or a mixture of ferrite and martensite.

In the absence of precipitates and grain boundary austenite, the

ferrite grains will grow quite rapidly and the HAZ of most ferritic
stainless steels exhibits relatively large ferrite grains.

If austenite is stable in the microstructure at elevated temperature, it

can act to inhibit ferrite grain growth by pinning the grain
boundaries. Upon cooling rates these stable grain boundary
austenite forms martensite which also restrict the ferrite grain
growth.
 Heat Affected Zone (Contd.)

HAZ microstructure of a type 409 stainless steel that is essentially fully ferritic
 Corrosion Resistance
Welding reduces the corrosion resistance
properties of ferritic stainless steel.

Theses steels may be susceptible to various

forms of corrosive attack, including
intergranular corrosion (IGC), crevice and
pitting.

Crevice an pitting corrosion are generally

avoided by proper alloy selection, while IGC is
extremely sensitive to welding procedure and
post weld conditioning.

IGC results from a sensitization mechanism.

Resistance to IGC is a strong function of

Effect of interstitial contents an as welded
interstitial content. ductility and IGC resistance.
 Conclusion
Welding of ferritic stainless steel depends upon several parameters.
Some of them provide good mechanical properties and some
provide good corrosion resistance.

From the previous discussion it is clear that all these properties

highly depends on microstructure and microstructure mostly
depends on compositions of base metal and filler wire.

If we can control all those parameters then the desired properties

can be achieved for this type of stainless steels. For an example,
increase of corrosion resistance of weld metal can be achieved by
increasing Cr equivalents and decreasing carbon content to a
minimum level, thus the sensitization could not occur.

Optimum welding parameters of ferritic stainless steel are still

properly not known, several researches are going on to it.