Proceedings of National Symposium for Post Graduate Students (NSPGS 2010), 24 25 April, 2010: Vol 4 Civil, Materials &

p; Metallurgy

HARDFACING OF STELLITE- 6 ON MARTENSITIC

STAINLESS STEEL BY GTAW PROCESS
R. Rameshkumar, P.C Angelo, Professor, N. Naveen Kumar, Lecturer
Department of Metallurgical Engineering,
PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore
Abstract
Wear has drastic effects on metallic components during application and cost. In
solving wear problems, hard facing technique has grown considerably in recent years.
Hard facing is a low cost method of depositing wear resistant surfaces on metal
components to extend service life. This paper presents an experimental work on the Hard
facing of Stellite- 6 on Martensitic Stainless Steel with and without buffer layer by
GTAW Process.
A study was made to compare the microstructure and abrasion resistance of
hardfacing alloys, the hardfacing stellite -6 (Co-Cr.-W alloy) alloys were deposited onto
MSS by GTAW. The pin-on-wear test will be carried out according to the procedure of
ASTM 99 standard. Microstructure characterization and surface analysis made using
optical and scanning electron microscopy. Optimization of the suitable parameters based
on the experimental results and the service properties like wear behavior and corrosion
resistance, mechanical and metallurgical properties of hard faced martensitic stainless
steel reviewed and the use of various applications was assessed.

1. Introduction
Hardfacing is the deposition of a filler metal on the surface of a base metal. Its
purpose is to provide the properties or dimensions necessary to meet a given service
requirements [1].The basic requirements are higher wear resistance, resistance to
corrosion and resistance to deformation at elevated temperatures.

Why stellite-6 on Martensitic Stainless Steel?

Hardfacing is applied to the contact surfaces of the valve trims and movable
elements of valves in order to ensure and maintain for a long period of time tightness of
the body, trim / disc seating areas of valves with the functions of closing, opening,
throttling and controlling. Hardfacing by means of cobalt base alloys (stellite -6) to obtain
wear-resistant surfaces has been used in the valve industry since the twenties

The basic requirements of MSS are

High strength and hardness
Moderate corrosion resistance
Very poor weldability due to their hardenability

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The basic requirements of stellite-6 are,
Higher wear resistance,
Resistance to corrosion and
Resistance to deformation at elevated temperatures.

Among the various welding processes that are used for the hardfacing of valve
seats, plasma transferred arc1) hardfacing (PTA) is popularly employed because of its
inherent advantages like high deposition rate, low penetration and dilution, and smooth
weld surface profile with minimum finishing. But due to economic reason and scarcity
factor, we were used tungsten inert gas welding (GTAW) The selection of appropriate
values of process parameters to get the desired quality of hardfaced layer is very
important. The successful hardfacing requires optimization of the process parameters to
have low dilution and a crack free overlay, which necessiates a thorough understanding
of the process characteristics affecting the technological and metallurgical characteristics
of the overlays.

The main purpose of this study is to minimize the percentage of dilution of the
bead geometry using other important bead parameters with their limits as constraints, in
order to retain the metallurgical properties of deposited metal.

Benefits of Hardfacing [2]

Low cost method of depositing of wear resistant surfaces on metal components to
extend service life
Hardfacing is applied to components before being placed into service to avoid
worn out damages during service
Operating efficiency is increased
Less expensive base metal can be used
Overall costs are reduced

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 2. Experiments procedure
Materials
The substrate metal used here was martensitic stainless steel (EN 10088 grade
1.4122) with dimension of outer diameter 25 mm and height of 70 mm. the valve
ram/stem is manufactured from this alloy. The filler wire of 2mm diameter mainly,
stellite-6 and ER309L (for buffer layer) were used

Table 1: Chemical composition of Base metal & filler wire by weight %

Chemical
C% Mn% Si% P% S% Cr% Ni% Mo% Fe% Co% W%
Composition
EN 1.4122 0.376 0.640 0.380 0.024 0.0087 15.640 0.290 0.920 Bal - -
Stellite-6 1.240 0.360 1.080 0.008 0.014 29.90 2.380 0.310 2.19 Bal 4.45
ER 309L 0.028 1.02 0.330 0.023 0.008 23.18 12.13 - Bal - -
Table 2: test welding properties used in weld overlay test specimen
No of Current Voltage Preheat Interpass Welding speed
Hardfacing condition
layers (A) (V) temperature temperature (mm/min)
Without Buffer layer
2 160-180 21-23 - 150C 2.5
(only ST-6)
With Buffer layer (ER
309L + 1 110-120 20-22 - 150C 2.9
ST-6) 2 160-180 21-23 150C 300C 2.4

NDT testing on hardfaced components

Visual inspection
Visual inspection done with naked eye and with help of 20X lens and found no
macro defects after harfacing of stellite on martensitic stainless steel stem.

Dye penetrant test

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 After visual inspection, stem has been machined in the surface and dye penetrant
test was carried out and found satisfactory

Study of metallurgical parameters

1. Wear Test :

WEAR defined as the prgrossive loss of substance from the operating surface of a
body occurring as a results of relative motion at the surface. Metal to metal wear occurs
when two metallic surfaces slide against each other under load in dry condtions and this
wear is analysed in this test. The sliding wear test apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 . at
normal atomsheric temperature according to ASTM G99-95 standards . the sliding speed,
sliding distance and normal load used in this test are tabulated in Table 3.

BM- ST-6
weight Weight B+ST-6
Load loss in Loss in Weight
in Kg gm gm Loss in gm
1.5 0.3070 0.0080 0.0045
3.5 0.5328 0.0026 0.0015
6.5 0.4621 0.0014 0.0016
8.5 0.3268 0.0012 0.0009
10.5 0.3036 0.0008 0.0006
The initial weight of the samples were
measured using an electronic weighing machine with an accuracy of 0.0001gm . The
wear of the hardacing layers were analyzed as a function of sliding velocity for the stated
applied normal load and sliding distance. After running through the fixed sliding time 15
min for each samples, the samples were cleaned with acetone and weighed again to find
the weight loss,
Wear Rate Analysis:
Wear Rate comparison
BM-weight loss

ST-6 Weight
Loss
0.6000 B+ST-6 Weight
Loss
weigh 0.5000
t loss
in g 0.4000

0.3000

0.2000

0.1000

0.0000
1.5 3.5 6.5 8.5 10.5
Load in kg
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2. Hardness Analysis
The hardness tests were carried out using Vickers Hardness instruments with 5 Kg
load (HV 5 Kg). Hardness survey was conducted along the central axis of the weld
cross sections. The indentations were made for every 1 mm interval. The hardness in
the base metal, HAZ hardfaced areas was summarized. The results were shown in the
Fig-2.

a. Hardness survey for hardfaced stellite without buffer layer

Micro Hardness Survey

450
400
hardness in Vickers

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
BM-core BM HAZ interface-3 Stellite-6

b. Hardness survey for hardfaced stellite with buffer layer

Micro Hardness Survey

500
Hard ness in vickers

400
300
200
100
0
BM-core BM HAZ ASS&MSS Buffer ASS&St-6 Stellite-6
interface layer interface
(ER309L)

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 3. Optical microscope
a. Hardfaced without Buffer Layer b. Hardfaced with Buffer Layer

Co rich intermetallic compound Isolated Ferrite fools ASS interface

found in interface. and complex carbides in the matrix

Conclusions:
Wear resistance in the weld overlay has increased n the sample by stellite. As a
result of buffer layer no intermetallic phases in the interface of austenitic filler wire
and stellite-6. Values comfortably are in agreements with the average hardness test
results. Due to buffer layer, there is a progressive micro structural refinement in the
welded layer. Compare to without buffer layer on stellite, with buffer layer stellite
gives good bonding and life of hardfaced materials

Reference:
1. Hardfacing alloy, Pub. No : US 2006/0165551 A1 JUL 27, 2006
2. Selection guide for hardfacing and materials by Lincoln Laser cladding of Ni-
based hardfacing materials as an alternative of stellite by G.L Goswami and
santosh kumar, BARC news letter, issue No. 249
3. Deloro Stellite Techanical Data book
4. Guidelines for stellite hardfacing alloys omto steels page 1, march22, 2007
5. Influence of stress on intregranular brittleness of MSS by F. Christien , defect and
diffusion forum Vols. 216-217(2003) Page No. 275-284
6. In-Situ characterization of austenite to martensite decomposition in 9Cr 1 Mo
Steel welds, The Minerals, Metal & Materials Society, 2003.
7. Elevated temperature ferrtic and martensitic steels and their application to
future nuclear reactors by R.L.Klueh, November 2004.

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