Welding 400 series stainless cracking

The development of nonrusting stainless steels with distinct attributes that include varying degrees of corrosion resistance, strength, and workability has been a tremendous benefit to steel users. These carbides add useful hardness to the 400 series stainless steels. Stainless steels are heat treated for a variety of reasons. Number one is austenitic stainless steel, which includes the 200 and 300 series. Deep drawing stainless steel toledo metal spinning. Ferritic stainless steels this group of ferritic stainless steels 400 series contain 10. They are nonhardenable by heat treating, and always magnetic. Because they are vulnerable to cool cracking, they dont weld easily. Welding 400 series stainless american welding society. Weldable 400 series stainless steels are also called straight chromium steels, since their major alloying element is chromium. The 400 series group of stainless steels typically have an 11% chromium and 1% manganese increase, above the 300 series group.

A concern, when welding the austenitic stainless steels, is the susceptibility to solidification and liquation cracking. Im not sure does martensitic stainless steels is magnetic or not and if somebody tell me the answer i would like to appreciate himher. Optimized postweld heat treatment procedures for 1 74 ph. This group of steels in the 400 series contains 10. The 300 series stainless steel has an austenitic crystal structure. The 400 series can be divided into ferritic grades and martensitic grades. This level of chromium is the minimum level of chromium to ensure a continuous stable layer of protective chromiumrich oxide forms on the surface. Ease of fabrication combined with its corrosion resistance and economy have significantly broadened its utilization in automotive exhaust and other nonautomotive applications. Welding of 400 series stainless steels welding of most of the 400 series stainless steels call for maintaining preheat and interpass temperatures, and in some cases postweld heating to avoid formation of brittle structure called martensite. Either way, to get the best service and longest life out of a. The 400 series, stainless steel has a ferritic crystal structure. Steels with high strength level may be susceptible to hydrogeninduced cold cracking. While theyre strong and durable, they perform poorly when in corrosive environments.

Addressing welding challenges with 400series stainless. The susceptibility of this alloy to hot cracking during welding is not well documented. Stainless steel knives, for example, are made of 400 series alloys. Cracks can occur in various regions of the weld with different orientations, such as centerline cracks, transverse cracks, and microcracks in the underlying weld metal or adjacent heataffected zone haz.

The proper hot work range is 2000 to 2200 o f 1093 to 1204 o c do not work this material. As the compositions of the plate and the filler determine the weld metal composition they will, therefore, have a substantial influence on the susceptibility of the material. I would have tig welded it too, a lot cleaner then stick. Any hydrogen in the weld metal may diffuse into haz and may cause hydrogen embrittlement, resulting in delayed underbead or toe cracks outside of the weld. Reference is often made to stainless steel in the singular sense as if it were one material. The alloy series also has excellent mechanical properties and offers a desirable combination of high strength and. This development, however, also has made welding stainless steel more complicated than welding traditional carbon steel. Weld stainless steel exhaust welding tips and tricks. Alloy 405, 409cb, and 430 grades which are ferritic do not require preheat, but it is advisable. This wire is noted for its low spatter, excellent bead shape, sup. The 400 series of stainless steels have a higher carbon content, giving it a. The hamlet h400 series check valve is a fixed cracking pressure check valve for general purpose use.

Welding with contaminants such as cutting oils on the surface of the parent metal will also increase the build up of impurities in the weld pool and the risk of cracking. If youre using steel parts in a place that may come in contact with food or. The 400series ferritic stainless alloys 409, 430, 439 and 444 are used for exhaust systems, mufflers, catalytic converters, water heaters and tanks, furnace shells, heat exchangers, kitchen equipment, and other equipment requiring corrosion resistance at elevated temperatures. Precipitation hardened steels, high strength nickel base alloys, 400 series stainless steels. The first aspect of stainless steel that welders must be aware of is that there are five families of alloys, each of which has its own unique characteristics. Stainless steel400 series stainless steel ferritic.

Welding stainless steel is not much different from that required in welding standard carbon steel, with a few exceptions. Stainless steel 400 series stainless steel ferritic heat resistant characteristics. To reduce the chance of cracking, it is advisable to preheat the workpiece to 350500 f. Welding 1 thick stainless miller welding discussion forums. Zaki ahmad, in principles of corrosion engineering and corrosion control, 2006 a stress corrosion cracking of ferritic steels in chloride media. Current commercial grades of duplex stainless steels contain between 22 and 26 weight percent chromium, 4 to 7 weight percent nickel, up to 4. On the other hand, the same 400 series base metal can be easily welded with a rockmount geminia rod containing extra alloying ingredients and less. Excelloy bbl provides excellent buffer layers on unalloyed steels prior to joining to austenitic grades. To reduce the risk of cracking, it is suggested to preheat the work piece to 350 to 400 o f 177 to 204 o c post weld annealing is recommended to retain maximum ductility. Treatments include annealing, hardening and stress relieving. Both ferritic and martensitic stainless steels fall in 400 series. The loaded poppet controls fluid flow when differential pressure between inlet and outlet is higher than the set pressure of the spring. What are you recommendations for welding ar400 plate. Martensitic stainless steels fall into the 400 and 500 series of stainlesssteel alloys.

Hamlet h400 series stainless steel 316 check valve. Postweld annealing is recommended to reattain maximum ductility. Preheat is not required although it may be helpful when welding sections over, say, 10mm thick, where grain growth and welding restraint may result in cracking of the joint. A briny acidic substance can and will damage 308 filler, it will over time etch it and this would over time reveal the grain structure of both the weld and the metal. I have never had any dealings with the 400 series stainless, around these parts in what i do its all 300s. Topic welding industry general welding discussion welding 400 series stainless by boring date 05072003 23. High purity ferritic stainless steels are subjected to scc in boiling 30% sodium hydroxide in tests exceeding h and in 42% mgcl 2 in a sensitized. Stainless exhaust is sometimes made from 304 stainless, but there are also quite a few exhaust components that use 400 series stainless like 409. Proper preheating, as well as ensuring the metal stays above the minimum interpass temperature, will minimize the risk of cracking. Stainless steel for automotive exhaust components to ensure a good resistance to oxidation and corrosion. Ferritic stainless steel is used in applications where resistance to corrosion and oxidation is important. Three general classifications are used to identify stainless steels.

It may be used in either the annealed, cold formed or aswelded condition in many applications where other stainless steel alloys such as type 304, type 410, type 409 and type 430are used. Today any weld shop welding stainless should look first at the worlds best process for stainless and all alloy gage welds, its called the tip tig process. Heat, stress and cracking in general, stainless steels should be welded with a minimum of heat input to the base metal. First, you must exercise more care and control with regard to heating and cooling stainless steel. Solidification cracking and hydrogen cracking are concerns when welding duplex stainless steels, but not as significant for some other stainless steel alloys. Ferritic stainless steels are nonhardenable fecr alloys. Low 400 series, generally lower cost stainless steel than 300 series since there is typically very little or no nickel, is not ideal for extremely deep parts since the lack of nickel reduces stainless steels deep draw ability. Second, its important to properly match filler metals with the material being welded. Food grade stuff is usually 304 so you should have been fine using 308l or 316l. Ferritic stainless steels the ferritic 400 series of stainless steel typically have very little to no nickel and do not possess as good weldability when compared to the austenitic grades. Welding consumables for the ferritic steels are generally of the austenitic type. The weldability of different stainless steel alloys.

Types 405, 409, 430, 422 and 446 are representative of this group. Most common methods of welding, can be successfully employed with this alloy. Alloy provides excellent heat resistance and is the best selection for. And your answer, ferritic stainless steels can be welded very well by austenitic fillers but keep your heat input as low as possible. Also known as 300 series, austenitic stainless steel poses distinct challenges when tig welded, the greatest of which are carbide precipitation and distortion. Down and dirty welding metallurgy of stainless steels. The primary alloying additions are chromium and nickel. For example, the spoon you used this morning to put sugar in your coffee is made from a 300 series stainless steel most likely 304 stainless.

Welding of ferritic martensitic stainless steels twi. Figure 1 thermal affected area of metal due to welding austenitic stainless steels austenitic stainless steels table 1 containing chromium and nickel as the principal alloying elements in addition to iron are identified as aisi 300 series types. This alloy is suitable for welding stainless grades 201 202, 301, 302, 302b,303, 303se, 304, 304l, 305 and 308 and can be used in some cases as an alternate alloy for welding 321, 347 and many 400 series stainlesses. Welding stainless steel the stainless properties of stainless steels are primarily due to the presence of chromium in quantities greater than roughly 12 weight percent. Ferritic stainless steel an overview sciencedirect topics. Compared to chromiumnickel stainless, straight chromium stainless grades and carbon steel have similarly low coefficients of linear expansion, which determines how materials expand and contract. The use of freemachining grades should be avoided because these stainless steels contain sulfur that can lead to hot cracking during laser welding. The base steel around the weld rapidly heats and cools during welding, resulting in a heat affected zone haz with high hardness. Mig welding stainless steel, tig welding weld reality. Common stainless steels come in chromiumnickel austenitic, or 300 series or straight chromium martensitic and ferritic, or 400 series grades. Welding of abovementioned materials may prone to hydrogen embrittlement in their microstructure consequently results in cold cracks. Note that these stainless steels are not the stainless steels that generally first spring to mind. Austenitic stainless steels include the 200 and 300 series of which type 304 is the most common.

The dozens of alloy variants make welding stainless steel more complicated than welding traditional carbon steel. Type 439 stainless steel is a ferritic stainless steel designed to resist corrosion in a variety of oxidizing environments from fresh water to boiling acids. A universal alloy for welding austenitic stainless steels to unalloyed or low alloy steels. Known for its corrosion resistance and wide range of uses in food handling, cutlery, and many other applications, stainless steel is one of the most popular metals in use today.

The valve body is made of stainless steel 316 for strength and greater ease in welding than stainless steel. Stainless steels austenitic stainless steels include the 200 and 300 series of which type 304 is the most common. Is it ok to weld stainless steel exhaust tubing with carbon steel mig wire. New castle stainless produces a wide array of duplex grades ranging from lean duplex steels to superduplex suitable for a variety of applications requiring high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and enhanced resistance to stress corrosion cracking. This stainless steel series tends to be susceptible to rust and corrosion under some conditions although heattreating will harden them.