Hot Cracking Susceptibility

of Austenitic Stainless Steels

Hot-cracking resistance is improved by (a) reducing

phosphorus and sulfur to < 0.002%, (b) decreasing silicon,
(c) increasing carbon when niobium is high, and (d)
increasing nitrogen when niobium is absent

BY T. OGAWA AND E. TSUNETOMI

ABSTRACT. In fully austenitic weld metal,

the hot-cracking susceptibility increases
remarkably for phosphorus and sulfur
contents in excess of 0.015% and
0.010%, respectively. Varestraint tests
revealed that an extra-low-P and -S (both
less than 0.002%) austenitic stainless steel,
refined by the Metal-bearing Solution
Refining (MSR) process exhibits superb
hot-cracking resistance comparable to
that of Type 304, even in fully austenitic
weld metal. Niobium has a detrimental
effect on fully austenitic weld metal, since
the hot-cracking susceptibility increases
considerably when the niobium content
exceeds 0.30%. The same tendency is
also observed in the heat-affected zone
of welds.
When the niobium content is high
(0.78%), increasing carbon decreases the
hot-cracking susceptibility. With carbon
contents higher than 0.10%, the cracking
of high-Nb steels is remarkably reduced.
O n the other hand, when the niobium
content is low (0.26% or less), the cracks
produced are small and carbon shows
hardly any effect.
Phosphorus, silicon and niobium have
considerable effects on the duplex
(7 + a) welds. That of niobium is especially strong; when present at the 0.300.40% level, it increases the hot-cracking
susceptibility of the weld metal and heataffected zone greatly, even when 5% 5
ferrite is present. Auger electron spectrographic (AES) analyses revealed pronounced segregation of phosphorus, sulfur, silicon and niobium on hot-cracking
fracture surfaces of Type 310S, and in
both high-Si and Nb-containing stainless
steels. Hot-crack fracture surfaces of
MSR-treated extra-low-P and -S steel
showed much less phosphorus and sulfur
segregation than did an ordinary commercial grade.

8 2 - s | M A R C H 1982

Introduction
The control of impurities and alloying
elements in steels has been facilitated by
the recent progress of steel refining techniques. This has led to intense activity in
research and development of stainless
steels. Austenitic stainless steels play an
important role as structural materials in
nuclear reactor and general chemical
plant applications. To enhance the quality
of such structural materials, this progress
of steel refining techniques should be
accompanied by a similar advancement
in the field of welding techniques.
Hot-cracking susceptibility of austenitic
stainless steels depends upon metallurgical phenomena related to the chemical
composition, and constitutes one of the
most important factors affecting weldability. Many studies have been made in
this respect (Ref. 5,6), but they have not
succeeded in thoroughly clarifying the
mechanism of hot cracking and the
effects of chemical composition. From
the view-point of steelmaking, there are
still some difficulties in quantitatively
determining the effect of each alloy element on the hot-cracking susceptibility of
stainless steel.
A study was made of the effect of
chemical composition of austenitic stainless steels on weldability. Emphasis was
placed on quantitative measurement hotcracking resistance with a view to the

application of the results to the production of materials for actual welded structures. Hot-cracking susceptibility was
investigated by the Varestraint test
method developed by W. F. Savage and
C. D. Lundin (Ref. 1), and the effects of C,
Si, P, S, Nb, N and <5 ferrite on hot cracking
of austenitic stainless steels were investigated. Segregation of these elements at
crack surfaces was investigated by auger
electron spectroscopy (beam diameter
0.2-1.0 nm).
From these investigations, minimization
of phosphorus, sulfur and other impurities was found to lower hot-cracking
susceptibility of fully austenitic stainless
steel to the level of that of Type 304.
With Nb-stabilized austenitic stainless
steel (Type 347), which is known to have
a high hot-cracking susceptibility, strict
control of niobium, impurities and 8 ferrite proved to impart high resistance to
hot cracking.
These findings were applied to production of 25 and 40 mm (1 and 1.6 in.)
thick plates of modified Type 347 austenitic stainless steel as a new material for the
piping system in boiling water nuclear
reactors (BWR). Joints of these thick
plates welded by gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), shielded metal arc welding
(SMAW), and submerged arc welding
(SAW) exhibited excellent hot-cracking
resistance (Ref. 8). Weldability of these
plates will be reported separately,
together with their stress-corrosioncracking resistance and mechanical properties (Ref. 21).

Paper presented at the 10th Golden Gate

Metals and Welding Conference held lanuary
3 l-February 2, 1979 in San Francisco, California.
Experimental Procedure
T. OGAWA is a Senior Researcher and E.
Tables 1-3 show the chemical compoTSUNETOMI is Manager of Welding Laboratory I, Products Research & Development Labo- sitions of the test materials used. The 10,
ratories. Nippon Steel Corporation, Fuchinobe 20 and 50 kg (22, 44 and 110 Ib) ingots
were forged, rolled and solid-solutionSagamihara kanagawa-ken, lapan.

heat-treated at 1050C (1922F) in the

laboratory.
The hot-cracking susceptibility was
evaluated either by the Varestraint (longitudinal type) test (Ref. 1) or by TIGAMAIIG (Spot Varestraint) test (Ref. 2,27,28).
The welding conditions for GTAW were
as follows: Varestraint test at 70 amperes
(A) and 16 volts (V) with a travel speed 75
mm/min. (2.95 ipm) on 5.0 mm (0.2 in.)
thick plates, and TIGAMAJIG test at 40 A
and 10 V arc-spot with 5 second (s) arc
time on 2.0 mm (0.08 in.) thick plates.
Hot cracking occurred both in the
weld metal and the heat-affected zone.
In the evaluation of hot cracking susceptibility by the TIGAMAJIG test, the total
crack length in the weld metal was normalized on the basis of the molten pool
diameter. TIGAMAJIG tests of dissimilar
metal joints were performed by applying
the arc-spot to the parts of specimens
containing the dissimilar weld metal. Figure 1 shows the Varestraint and TIGAMAJIG test methods in schematic form.
The crack and fracture surfaces in the
welds were studied by dye penetrant
inspection, optical microscopy, electron
probe microanalysis (EPMA), scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) and auger

electron spectroscopy (AES). The amount

of 8 ferrite in the weld metal was measured by a Ferrite Scope (manufactured
by Helmut Fischer G.m.b.H., West Germany).

Results
A comprehensive study of the hotcracking susceptibility of austenitic stainless steels should include a study of fully
austenitic weld metals as well as of
duplex weld metals consisting of a mixture of austenite and ferrite. This is because of the well-known fact that 8 ferrite
has such a great effect on the hotcracking susceptibility that the effect of
chemical components cannot be determined readily when ferrite is present.
Accordingly, the effect of phosphorus,
sulfur, silicon and niobium were studied in
both fully austenitic and duplex weld
metals. *^
Effects of P, S, Si, Nb, C and N on Hot
Cracking Susceptibility of Fully Austenitic
Alloys
Phosphorus and sulfur both have great
influence on hot-cracking susceptibility.
Figure 2 shows the effect of phosphorus.

Hot-cracking
susceptibility
increases
markedly as the phosphorus content
exceeds 0.015%. Figure 3 shows the
effect of sulfur; here phosphorus content
was maintained at approximately 0.002%
to eliminate its effect. Note that the
hot-cracking susceptibility increases rapidly for sulfur content above 0.010%.
Therefore, even fully austenitic weld
metals such as 25% Cr-20% Ni (Type
310S), can be improved substantially in
hot-cracking resistance by lowering both
phosphorus and sulfur contents to
approximately 0.002%. It should be
noted that both affect the hot-cracking
susceptibility, as will be discussed later.
Figure 4 shows the results of Varestraint tests of fully austenitic stainless
steels refined by the Metal-bearing Solution Refining (MSR) process which is one
of the most advanced steel refining techniques (Ref. 12). They are compared with
the test results for a commercial steel and
a low-P, low-S steel made by the induction melting process. The MSR-treated
extra-low-P and -S steels have extremely
high hot-cracking resistance compared to
that of the commercial Type 304 as
discussed later, and the low-P, low-S air
melted steel had intermediate resistance

Table 1.Chemical Composit on (wl %) of Laboratory Heats (10kg Melt) and Commercials- - C : X 1 0 ~ \ P,S: X 1 0 ' 3
N

,5F<a>

Si

Mn

Cr

Ni

S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7

204
400
385
438
550
160
422

0.11
0.24
0.23
0.24
0.24
0.25
0.24

1.62
1.52
1.53

2
2
2

1,51
1.49
1.51
1.50

2
2
2
2

3
3
5
12
14
15
18

24.67
24.88
24.79
25.02
22.14
21.80
24.80

19.43
19.70
19.58
19.69
19.98
19.87
19.83

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

PI
P2
P3
P4
P5

287
272
211
200
211

0.18
0.21

1.54
1.48

0.19
0.24
0. 18

1.51
1.54
1.54

2
12
15
18
21

3
3
4
5

24.79
23.87
24.92
21.66
25.07

19.75
18.45
19.62
20.14
19.71

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

Sil
Si2
Si3
Si4
Si5
Si6
Si7
Si8
Si9
Si 10

470
520
470
670
470
460
600
630
670
590

0.16
0.18
0.75
1.00
1.35
1.85
2.00
3.01
3.30
3.55

1.11
1.11

14
14
15
10
14
14
16
14
18
13

8
9
7
9
8
6
13
6
9
5

25.0
25.0
25.3
26.2
25.1
25.2
24.8
18.4
26.6
19.2

18.5
18.0
18.6
18.7
18.7
17.8
18.5
13.4
18.5
13.5

17

sin

204
180
130
234
640

1.22

Si12
Si13
Si14
Si15

1.24
1.65
2.04
0.24

1.50
1.50

2
2
3
2
2

4
2
2
3
3

23.50
22.74
22.64
22.94
25.64

20.43
21 9 8
20.93
20.54
19.80

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

304
316
316L
347
310S
STEEL-A
STEEL-B
STEEL-C
Incoloy 800

500
700
200
440
530
900
300
660
400

0.75
0.66
0.76
0.56
0.65
2.13
0.76
3.32
0.34

0.94
1.01
1.04
1.68
1.00
1.54
1.47
0.25
0.86

26
20
20
22
26
25
23
18
6

7
6
8
7
4
5
2
4
4

18.3
16.7
17.5
17.2
25.1
24.2
24.5
19.4

1.12
1.54
1.11
1.07
1.15
0.39
1.62
0.39
1.47
1.52
1.40

22.2

Nb

'TO

2.

Nil
0.3
3.0

160

M o 2.38
M o 2.33
0.72

Mo. 0.77
M o 0.78

170
2510
3500

Ti 0.50

200

f
^
0
g u00

1 -

\
-_
c
N
.. o. *
-g
=
fI

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

9.4
12.4
14.8
11.1
19.9
13.4
13.1
12.8
31.1

Note

5.0
1.0
0.2
Nil
Nil
2.0
2.0
3.0
Nil

I5

c5

i- .9P
.] i u

-i

-l
a
|
c

a>i5F Sferrite in autogenous weld metal.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT | 83-s

Table 2.Chemical Composition (wt-%) of Laboratory Heats (10kg Melt) with Variable Niobium ContentC: X10" 4 , S,P: X 10"
Mn

Cr

Ni

Nb

<5F

NB1
NB2
NB3
NB4
NB5
NB6
NB7
NB8

120
130
150
170
130
120
150
160

0.19
0.18
0.19
0.19
0.22
0.20
0.21
0.19

1.35
1.47
1.46
1.46
1.49
1.40
1.50
1.43

2
2
3
2
3
2
3
3

12
13
13
13
13
13
13
12

23.31
24.43
24.34
24.53
23.65
22.27
24.35
24.15

21.93
23.04
22.89
22.93
22.51
22.41
22.99
22.69

0.15
0.24
0.31
0.41
0.52
0.73
0.94

NB13
NB14
NB15
NB16
NB17

140
390
460
990
1280

0.17
0.19
0.19
0.18
0.17

1.51
1.51
1.49
1.47
1.47

2
3
3
3
3

14
12
13
12
12

24.41
24.01
24.13
24.13
24.38

22.86
22.66
22.68
22.79
22.95

0.26
0.25
0.27
0.27
0.27

353
416
446
393
376

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

NB18
NB19
NB20
NB21
NB22

180
330
480
880
1120

0.17
0.17
0.21
0.19
0.20

1.48
1.44
1.49
1.50
1.46

3
3
3
2
3

12
12
12
12
12

24.16
23.90
24.51
24.16
24.17

22.72
22.45
22.96
23.05
22.66

0.75
0.76
0.80
0.78
0.77

397
390
340
319
406

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

NB23
NB24
NB25
NB26
NB27
NB28

150
150
160
190
200
250

0.19
0.20
0.19
0.19
0.19
0.19

1.45
1.47
1.48
1.54
1.47
1.44

5
5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4
4

21.05
20.81
20.99
21.13
20.93
20.97

22.51
22.33
22.26
22.40
22.52
22.46

0.25
0.25
0.24
0.24
0.24
0.25

247
379
506
722
983
1320

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

7B6
7B7
7B8
7B9

54
49
58
54

0.18
0.18
0.19
0.18

1.48
1.47
1.49
1.43

5
4
4
5

3
3
2
3

18.77
18.61
18.67
18.57

9.69
9.72
9.76
9.63

0.26
0.53
0.78
1.18

237
218
221
243

4.1
4.6
4.7
4.0

Kl
K2
K3
K4
K5
K6

150
140
150
160
150
220

0.34
0.34
0.36
0.36
0.36
0.37

1.69
1.72
1.60
1.62
1.68
1.70

13
14
14
14
15
15

7
7
7
7
7
7

17.7
17.6
17.7
17.6
17.7
17.7

11.0
10.9
11.2
11.1
11.0
11.2

0.12
0.15
0.18
0.23
0.30
0.45

40
36
35
35
34
37

2.5
2.6
2.9
3.1
3.1
2.5

7B1
7B2
7B3
7B4
7B5

200
180
240
220
290

0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20

1.56
1.47
1.48
1.52
1.46

5
4
4
5
5

3
3
3
3
3

18.46
18.68
18.81
18.88
20.22

10.00
10.02
9.35
9.31
9.28

0.23
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25

223
315
461
932
1330

2.7
3.0
3.2
2.3
3.4

03

2.

Note
I
Z

Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

"O

'Z-z L L .

>
I
.2 2
~ S ul
>

c 5

|1
1 u
T
z
0

c ^
m uT3

4.

J
rg

5 %
_Q

Z -o r-j
_ > oo
OS*

3 +
$

i
r

Table 3Chemical Composition wt-) of Laboratory Heats (20 -

5 'TJ M
4 - fc "

50kg)c: X10" 4 , P.S:X10" 3

Cr

Ni

Nb

150
150
140
140
160
140
140

0.35
0.34
0.33
0.32
0.34
0.35
0.33

1.61
1.61
1.62
1.72
1.76
1.67
1.73

8
4
3
3
24
27
26

4
4
4
4
8
7
7

18.0
17.6
17.9
17.8
17.9
17.7
17.9

9.9
10.0
9.8
9.4
9.9
9.7
9.5

0.29
0.29
0.29
0.29
0.28
0.28
0.30

220
490
480
500
450
470
460

4.5
3.5
3.0
3.3
3.2
3.0
4.0

D_

K7
K8
K9
KK)

150
160
160
180

0.38
0.36
0.35
0.35

1.74
1.69
1.69
1.70

18
25
25
25

8
7
7
7

17.5
18.0
17.7
18.0

11.4
11.1
11.4
11.2

0.30
0.29
0.30
0.30

300
430
620
800

1.0
0.2
Nil
Nil

_0)

No.94
No.95

140
130

0.01
0.01

1.48
1.48

2
2

3
3

24.8
24.8

21.0
21.2

Nil
Nil

B
No.942

423
2.50

0.29
0.20

2.79
1.50

4
< 2

< 2
<2

16.57
25.00

12.64
21.01

Mo.
0.94

290

Nil
Nil

No. 104

240

0.18

1.80

< 2

< 2

25.15

29.57

0.27

Mo.
376

84-s | MARCH 1982

-5-

Oj O ffl

K11
K12
K13
K14
K15
K16
K17

nF

Note

o
I

*
03 DC

z^

m a

> op

z
1
-9 c/,
I

- ^r

Extr<
low S
MSR

Nil
<

Mn

O DO

.9P

normalized total crack length does not

fall below about 2.5 mm (0.1 in.) even
when its silicon content is lowered to
0.15%. This value is much higher than the
value (under 1.0 mm) in the vicinity of
3.5% Si content where 5 ferrite is present.
Figure 6 shows the effect of niobium
on the hot-cracking susceptibility of a
fully austenitic weld metal. In the weld
metal, the hot-cracking susceptibility
increases rapidly as the niobium content
exceeds 0.30%, and is equivalent to or
rather higher than that of commercial
Type 310S at a niobium content of
0.40%. The heat-affected zone exhibits a
similar tendency; larger cracks occur as
the niobium content exceeds 0.40%.
Figure 7 shows the effect of increasing
carbon content on the hot-cracking susceptibility of 0.26% and 0.78% Nb-containing steels. The effect of carbon is
remarkable with 0.787X, Nb-containing
steels. Note that the hot-cracking susceptibility
decreases
substantially
with
Fig. 1 Varestraint test: A longitudinal-type increase in carbon content. On the other
test; B- TIGAMAIIG (spot-Varestraint test)
hand, the hot-cracking susceptibility of
0.26% Nb steel is low and relatively
independent of carbon content below
to hot-cracking.
about 0.10% C.
Silicon has an effect similar to that of
Nitrogen has a differing effect on hotphosphorus and sulfur on the hot-crackcracking susceptibility, depending on
ing susceptibility of fully austenitic weld
whether or not niobium is present. Figure
metal. Figure 5 shows the effect of silicon
8 shows the effect of nitrogen on the
on hot-cracking susceptibility of 0.01% P,
hot-cracking susceptibility of a commer0.008% S steel and another steel whose
cial 25% Cr-20% Ni Type 310S, which is a
phosphorus and sulfur contents were
niobium-free steel. In this case, nitrogen
limited to below 0.003% in order to
was added to the weld metal by adding
minimize their effects.
nitrogen gas to the argon shielding gas
The effect of Si is remarkable in both
used in performing the Varestraint Test.
steels. Hot-cracking susceptibility inThe strain rate was varied from 1.0% per
creases linearly with silicon content until
second to 10.0% per second. At all strain
approximately 1.5%, drops sharply berates, the crack lengths were shorter with
yond 2.0%, at which point 8 ferrite begins
(Ar + 5%N) shielding than with pure Ar
to form, and settles to the level of Type
shielding by a substantially constant
304 in the vicinity of 3.5% Si. In the steel
amount.
with higher phosphorus and sulfur conFigure 9 shows the results of hot cracktent, also shown in Fig. 5, the value of

Specimen :0.02/0.03C-1.5Mn-0.003S-25Cr-20Ni

ing tests for the Nb-containing (0.25%)

stainless steel, the nitrogen content of
which was varied by adjusting the nitrogen addition during the melting and refining processes. Figure 9 also shows the
results for this steel after having been
heat-treated at 860C (1580F) for 17 h
to precipitate niobium carbo-nitride.
Within the nitrogen range from 0.02 to
0.13%, the hot-cracking susceptibility of
the low Nb (0.25%) fully austenitic weld
metal did not vary significantly with the
nitrogen content whether or not heat
treatment was applied prior to welding.
Effects of 6 Ferrite on Hot-Cracking
Susceptibility
Figure 10 shows the effect of 8 ferrite
on hot-cracking susceptibility, as investigated by Varestraint test. The nitrogen
content of the weld metal was varied by
adding nitrogen to the argon shielding
gas. In pure argon shielding gas, 3 to 4%
Herrite exists in the weld metal of Type
304 and steel A and steel B. With a 5
vol-% nitrogen addition, the 8 ferrite is
eliminated in steel A and steel B, but a
little remains in Type 304. The crack
length increases as the amount of
5-ferrite decreases, and decreases to 6 to
8 mm (0.24 to 0.31 in.) in steel A, to 3 to 5
mm (0.12 to 0.2 in.) in steel B, and to
approximately 1 mm (0.04 in.) in Type
304.
Figure 11 shows the results of hotcracking tests of laboratory-melted, niobium-containing materials with varying
nitrogen contents. As with the results
shown in Fig. 10, considerably larger
cracks were observed in the weld metal
without ferrite. The cracks were somewhat larger than in commercial Type
310S Fig. 4.
The addition of nitrogen has a great
effect on duplex weld metal as it renders
8 ferrite unstable. Because of the strong
influence of nitrogen as an austenite

Specimen :0.02/0.05C-1.5Mn-0.002P-25Cr-20Ni

fully 7-

fully 7
Aug. Strain: 1.0%
Thickness.:2.0mm

Aug. Strain: 1.0%

1 Thickness, :2.0mm

0.010

0.020
P(%)

0.030

0.010

0.020

0.030

S(%)

Fig. 2 Effect of P on hot-cracking susceptibility in fully austenitic weld Fig. 3-- Effect of S on hot-cracking susceptibility in fully austenitic weld
metal
metal
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT | 85-s

Fig. 4 Effect of P and S on hot-cracking susceptibility

of fully austenitic stainless steels

MSR:Metal Bearing Solution Refining

CN

< A

0O

a
o

. ^ - - ~ *

~"

m ^'"^ O

"ggg

A T

00

fully 7

,_

o
cc
<

25Cr-30Ni-3.7Mo-0.27Nblf' *^
MSR
25Cr-20Ni
J
D
25Cr-20Ni. low S.P

r~

LU

(A

CO

Ul
CC

A 25Cr-20Ni, Commercial

_l

a.
o

LJ

"ra
o
1-

_ i

>

-a-<

LU
Q

y\
\ \
\
\.^
v^\
\
J&*^~^^^
v\
<c^\^Jf^^
J^A

>^" Q O ^

\^0r

X
O

yCx

TJ
CD

s ' y

CO

/'

<<\

U)
0

tr
<
ui
<s>
ui

ra

"ra

CO
i_
-i-a

\ A^
^ D

low S P

S<CA^\^y

o
CU

^*<^
t

several percent of 5 ferrite in weld metal.

However, even in weld metal containing
8 ferrite, other elements have significant
effects on the hot-cracking susceptibility.
Figure 12 shows the effect of niobium
on the hot-cracking susceptibility of the
welds in an extra-low C steel with 4-5% 5
ferrite. Both in the weld metal and the
heat-affected zone, the hot-cracking susceptibility increases rapidly when the niobium content exceeds about 0.4%.
Figures 13 and 14 show how the hotcracking susceptibility of Nb-containing
steel changes wth varying nitrogen and
phosphorus contents. The effect of
nitrogen on the hot-cracking susceptibility is not very significant within the range
of 0.015 to 0.12%. However, both the
weld metal and the heat-affected zone
exhibit higher hot-cracking susceptibility
with 0.025% phosphorus than with
0.005%, as is shown in Fig. 14.

CN

>

cr
z

,_

LJ

/</^t*^\

a^PS**

9J < ^ \ \ \ V ^

o_

1 nr>

'

'

Augumented Strain

Microscopic Observation of Weld Crack

Surfaces
extra low S.P
'

(%)

>
LU

Q
I
O
CC

<
LU

z
LLI

former, the weld metal is made fully

austenitic by nitrogen pick-up and its
hot-cracking susceptibility increases considerably. The increase in hot-cracking
susceptibility is particularly severe, both in
steel A, with 2.13% Si, and the laboratory-melted materials in Fig. 11, with 0.3%

Nb.

a.
o
_i
UJ

>
LLI

o
or
<
UJ

a.
o
_ i

UJ

>
X
O

<
(/)
LLI

UJ

A marked increase in the crack length

was observed to occur when sufficient
nitrogen was added to eliminate the 8
ferrite. In the case of Type 304, which has
sufficient 8 ferrite in the weld metal, the
hot-cracking susceptibility is lower even
when nitrogen is added. Hence, it is an
accepted welding procedure to provide

Silicon is one of the elements that

increases the hot-cracking tendency considerably. The following are some observations on the surfaces of cracks caused
by high silicon in welded joints in high
silicon material. Cracks of this type are
often found in dissimilar weld joints
where the steels, such as high-Si austenitic stainless steels (e.g., Type 302B and
3.5% Si-19% Cr-13% Ni, steel C) and fully
austenitic steels (e.g., Type 310S and
Incoloy 800), are welded together.
The weld bead cracks shown in Fig. 15
are examples.
Figure 16 summarizes the number and
length of cracks in an actual dissimilar
metal joint and the results of a TIGAMAJIG test applied to such dissimilar weld
beads. Figure 17 is an example of the
crack surface in such dissimilar weld
metal, and Fig. 18 shows the results of
AES analyses made on the crack surface
shown in Fig. 17 at a point near the center
of the figure. Argon sputtering to remove
the absorbed gas layer from the crack
surface increased the auger electron
intensity from each element. Further
sputtering reduced the amount of segregation until the concentration of the segregated elements ultimately fell to their
level in the matrix. This segregation is
particularly pronounced with silicon,
phosphorus and sulfur. As discussed later,
the segregation of phosphorus and sulfur
is sharply reduced in the metal produced
by special refining processes, such as
MSR. This reduced segregation in the
weld metal significantly decreased the

cc
Fig. 5 Effect of Si on hot-cracking susceptibility in
austenitic weld metal

86-s | MARCH 1982

Specimen :0.20Si-1.5Mn-0.003P-0.011S-24Cr-23Ni-0.04N

Specimen :0.013C-0.2Si-1.4Mn-0.003P-0.011S-24Cr-23Ni
"

a^

IS e
CJ

-C

*ir~~h~~t}

^cf ! "

i
O

o
.c
on
cID

o -

\
0.78NbV*

fully 7

\\

Nb

\
\\

_J

LO

.*o

\
\

0.78% 0.26%

\
\

CO
O

\^
\
\

aE

,
E
F-v5
^c

o
ro

J5

\
o \

co (1)

iS
in
C=
U "m
TJ
1

>s

o o ^

*o
"

o
I

m
o

Fig. 7 Effect of carbon on hot-cracking susceptibility of fully austenitic

Nb-containing stainless steel

susceptibility of fully austenitic

c a r b o n is principally a result o f the c o n tamination of the hot-crack surface b y

e x p o s u r e t o air. T h e crack surfaces o f
0.75% N b - c o n t a i n i n g steel exhibit either
s m o o t h dendritic cell boundaries or
s m o o t h grain boundaries s t u d d e d w i t h
r o u g h , island-like residues and precipitates. Examples of this m o r p h o l o g y can
be seen in the w e l d metal crack surface
of Fig. 20F ( s h o w n schematically as point
F in Fig. 23), a n d o n the H A Z crack surface
of Fig. 20E ( s h o w n schematically as point
E in Fig. 23).

yses m a d e o n a s m o o t h dendritic cell w a l l

at the crack surface in t h e 0.75% n i o b i u m
steel s h o w n in Fig. 20F. R e p e a t e d analyses w e r e m a d e by p r o j e c t i n g e l e c t r o n
beams at o n e p o i n t o n crack surfaces.
A r g o n sputtering for 220 s t o r e m o v e
material f r o m t h e surface decreased the
n i o b i u m and n i t r o g e n peaks, indicating
that segregation of
these
elements
existed in the 0.75% N b w e l d metal.
H o w e v e r , the segregation w a s v e r y slight
o n the crack surface of the 0.24% n i o b i u m s p e c i m e n , as s h o w n in Fig. 22, w h i c h
s h o w s the results of AES analysis m a d e o n
a cell in t h e central part of Fig. 20C.
T h e high auger e l e c t r o n intensity f o r

r-

Even w h e n the n i o b i u m at the s m o o t h

cell a n d grain boundaries is n o longer
d e t e c t a b l e (as a result of a m p l e a r g o n

GTAW Shield Gas

O

Ar

(Ar + 5%N)

N
1" <
I

JC

uo
c
5

rf

:S

sr
y

i o as

( A u g . S t r a i n 1.2%
70A-7.5cpm
1 p l a t e t h i c k n e s s 5.0mm

(0

2 E

Heat

Aug. Strain 1.2%

70A-7.5cm min
Thickness. 5.0mm

6
7
(%/sec).

Fig. 8 Effect on N on hot-cracking susceptibility in fully austenitic stainless steel

weld metal without Nb

>

0
o

3
4
5
Augmented Strain Rate

T r e a t nent

CM

tn
9
co

welded

8 6 0 C X l 7 h r W.Q.

"o

i5

&
u

-22Ni-0.25Nb

CN

Commercial 310S
(25Cr-20Ni)

BJ 0)

m
*-

Specimen :0.20Si-t.5Mn-0.005P-0.004S-21Cr

fully

"
*

c(%)

(%)

Like silicon, n i o b i u m increases h o t cracking susceptibility. Fig. 2 0 s h o w s the

fracture surfaces of hot cracks in a V a r e straint test s p e c i m e n of t w o l o w - C , fully
austenitic N b - c o n t a i n i n g stainless steels.
Figure 21 s h o w s the results of AES anal-

o
o

h o t - c r a c k i n g susceptibility.
Figure 19 s h o w s the results of EPMA
analysis o f a crack in t h e fusion z o n e o f
the a b o v e dissimilar w e l d and indicates
extensive segregation of silicon at the
boundaries of the cellular dendrites. T h e
cracks in t h e w e l d b e a d , s h o w n in Fig.
15A, occur at boundaries o f cellular d e n drites, p r e d o m i n a n t l y at austenite grain
boundaries.

\f

[Aug. S t r a i n 1.2%
| Cond. 70A-7.5cpm
| Thickness, 5.0mm

\
\

Fig. 6Effect of Nb on hot-cracking

stainless steel

0.26Nb

CN

Aug. Strain 1.2%

70A-7.5cpm
Thickness 5.0mm

Nb

\
* \
\

CM

o
o

^r
o
o

to
o
o

co
o
o

CN

{%)

Fig. 9 Effect of N on hot cracking susceptibility

austenitic Nb-containing weld metal

in fully

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 187-s

Fig. 10 Influence of 8 ferrite on hot-cracking susceptibility in austenitic stainless steel weld metal

impurities at grain boundaries is reduced

in materials extra-low in both phosphorus
and sulfur, such as those prepared by the
MSR process. Figure 28 shows the hot
cracks in both MSR-treated material and
commercial type 310S produced by the
TIGAMAJIG test. Note that despite its
fully austenitic microstructure, the MSRtreated material shows only small, fine
cracks.

N added in shield gas A r

D^-

10
(Vol.%)-

-oD STEEL-A
A STEEL-B
O type 3 0 4

GTAW 70A-7.5cm/min, Augmented S t r a i n 1.2%,

thickness 5.0mm
sputtering), the studded residue at point F
of Fig. 23 still exhibits high auger electron
intensities for both niobium and nitrogen.
Therefore, this residue is considered to
be a compound containing considerable
quantities of niobium and niobium carbonitride Nb(CN). On the crack surfaces
of the 0.24% Nb-steel, such residues and
precipitates are not observed. However,
several inclusions of manganese-chromium oxides located at points B and C, and
small pebble-like sulfides including some
niobium compounds at points A and D
(refer to the sketch of Fig. 20B contained
in Fig. 24).
Figure 25 shows the microstructure in
the vicinity of hot-cracks in the 0.75% Nb
Varestraint test specimen. Eutectic structures can be seen both at the tip of the
crack in the weld metal in Fig. 24A and at
the grain boundaries in the HAZ in Fig.
24B. Figure 26 shows an SEM image of
the eutectic constituent, the results of
AES analysis of the eutectic constituent at
point G and an AES scan of the nearby
matrix at H. The eutectic constituent consists mainly of niobium carbonitride

88-s | M A R C H 1982

Nb(CN) as it shows high electron peaks

for niobium, carbon and nitrogen. AES
results on the matrix near the eutectic
constituent indicate no auger electron
peaks for niobium, and only minor ones
of carbon and nitrogen.
Discussion
It is well-known that sulfur and phosphorus combine with iron to form such
low-melting compounds as FeS (1190C
or 2174F) and Fe3P (1166C or 2131F),
which in turn could form such lowmelting eutectics as FeS-Fe (988C or
1810F) and Fe3P-Fe (1050C or 1922F).
There also exist other low-melting eutectics, such as Ni3S2-Ni (637C or 1179F)
and Ni3P-Ni (875C or 1607F). These
constituents, which increase hot-cracking
susceptibility, are considered to form
when sulfur and phosphorus segregate at
the austenitic grain boundaries during
solidification (Ref. 5,6,9,10,11,29).
The results of AES analyses of crack
surfaces, summarized in Fig. 27, have
confirmed that the segregation of such

As can be seen from the above and

Fig. 4, it can be said that hot-cracking
resistance as good as that of Type 304
(Ref. 8) can be obtained in fully-austenitic
steels by decreasing the level of phosphorus and sulfur to very low values.
However, commercial production of
stainless steels that are extra low in both
phosphorus and sulfur is not yet possible
because of a lack of availability of suitable
raw materials, together with the complexity of the refining techniques and the
high production costs. Therefore, the
effect of 5 ferrite in reducing hot-cracking
susceptibility continues to be widely utilized. The discovery of this effect dates
back to early times, and it has been
described in many reports (Ref. 14,15,
24). Because these impurities are more
soluble in 8 ferrite than in austenite, the <5
ferrite is thought to serve as a kind of
impurity absorber.
Silicon was found to impair hot-cracking resistance considerably in fully austenitic weld metal-Figs. 5 and 10 (Ref. 16).
However, when present at levels which
cause some 8 ferrite to form, silicon
improves the hot-cracking resistance
remarkably. Fully austenitic weld metal
always shows silicon enrichment at the
grain boundaries Fig. 19. The binary
Ni-Si phase diagram has several lowmelting intermediate phases, such as
Ni5Si2, Ni2Si, and NiSi. There are also
typical low-melting eutectics, such as NiSiNiSi2 (996C or 1825F), NiSi-Ni3Si2
(964C or 1767F) and Ni-Ni3Si (1152C
or 2106F) (Ref. 6,9).
The segregation of silicon at grain
boundaries appears to cause the formation of such intermediate phases and
eutectics. Therefore, elements or phases
which inhibit the enrichment of silicon at
grain boundaries can decrease hot-cracking susceptibility. If S-ferrite is the primary
phase during solidification, silicon, being a
ferrite former, can be readily absorbed in
the 8 ferrite and the segregation to austenite grain boundaries thus minimized.
The addition of nitrogen lowered the
hot-cracking susceptibility of a fully austenitic weld metal (Commercial Type
310S) as was shown in Fig. 8. Nitrogen is
believed to inhibit the enrichment of
silicon at grain boundaries somewhat.
However, at this point additional studies
of the precipitates at grain boundaries
should be made in order to understand

Specimen :0.005C-0.20Si-1.5Mn-0.004P-0.003P-l8.6Cr-9.7Ni-0.025N

Specimen :0.015C-0.35Si-1.65Mn-17.6Cr-11.3Ni-0.015P-0.30Nb-0.01S

Jr
.

CN

j ^ r

N
a-.

ID

CO

J, 1

<
X _

cu o

1-^1

I N
c

IN

(1)

CO

s<.

L_

-(r+a)

E
.c

[Aug. Strain : 1.2%

. thickness : 5.0mm
|70A-7.5cm/min

CO

GTAW cond. 70A-7.5cm/min

thickness 5.0mm

L.
^ ^ ^

*-*

| / \ A u g . Strain 5.0%

111

tn

_l
JC

CO

O
CO

CO
CD

1-

:>
1 3 <"

CD
CO

CM

l/>
ID

CN
O

o
o

CD

CO

<0

>

N {%)
Fig. 11 (Above) Influence of N and 5 ferrite on hot-cracking
bilty in low G, Nb-containing stainless steel welds

*"

Aug. Strain 2.5%

r
IJ

suscepti-

/*

CN

NT

CD

Nb(%)

CO

nO

CN

Fig. 12 (Right) Influence of Nb on hot-cracking susceptibility of low-C,

Nb-containing stainless steel with duplex (y+a) weld metal

the role o f n i t r o g e n m o r e fully.

In d e t e r m i n i n g t h e a p p r o p r i a t e a m o u n t
o f 8 ferrite, b o t h e m b r i t t l e m e n t a n d
d e t e r i o r a t i o n o f c o r r o s i o n resistance in
a n d a r o u n d c5 ferrite as w e l l as o t h e r
p r o b l e m s e n c o u n t e r e d in w e l d i n g actual

structures should b e c o n s i d e r e d (Ref.

17,18).
D u r i n g t h e p e r i o d w h e n T y p e 347 w a s
used w i d e l y in t h e U n i t e d States, N b containing austenitic stainless steels f r e q u e n t l y exhibited w e l d cracks (Ref. 3,4,

Specimen :0.02C-0.20Si-1.5Mn-0.005P-0.003S-18.8Cr-9.3/10Ni-0.25Nb

7,17,23). In general, t h e hot-cracking susceptibility o f w e l d s increases greatly w i t h

increase in n i o b i u m c o n t e n t , in b o t h fully
austenitic (Fig. 6) and duplex w e l d metals
(Fig. 12). T h e hot-cracking susceptibility
increases considerably at a n d a b o v e

Specimen :Q.015C-0.35Si-1.65Mn-17.6Cr-10/9.4Ni-0.3Nb-0.007S
(NI

ru

r'-i
c
CD

Jen5.0mmt
70A-7.5cpm
Aug. S t r a i n 1.2%

_l
O

t7

3 m

o
To
,0

flu

ri

-(r+a)-

GTAW : 70A-7.5cm/min
thickness 5.0mm

Aug. Strain 5.0%

-lil-r4*_ril_ & lil

low P 0.005 H - P 0.025
- N fN added 0.04
0.02
Heats

"IS
Dw
-I f )

C/>; (/)</)
D r~-> D O
C/>
Ifl p,

Commercials

Fig. 13 (Left) Influence of N on hot-cracking susceptibility of low-C,

Nb-containing stainless steel with duplex (y + a) weld metal
Fig. 14 (Above) Influence of P and N on hot-cracking susceptibility in
low-C, Nb-containing stainless steel welds

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT I 89-s

(3.5Si-0.025P-19Cr-13Ni/0.8Si-0.025P-25Cr-20r\li)
Dissimilar Weld Joint by GTAW

Thickness of plate :2.0mm. 110A-l2V-30cpm.

Ar shielded ; 15*/min
Crack Number in B u t t Weld

TIGAMAJIG Crack Test Result

Joint (350mm bead length)

thickness 2.0mm. GTAW :40A-5sec. Aug. S t r a i n : 1.0%

^Ferrite Face bead Root bead

Hot Crack Susceptibility

0

' "*-*V

II

- r*^\\^.
-- / '

^h

with filler*

' :,

.**

Total

/cr.ck
\ /cr,ck
\
Uength mm' Vlength mm/

.
* - >_.

10

19

(1.0/1.5) (1.0/l.5mm)

1.1

(1.5mm)

* :0.05C-3.7Si-1.9Mn-0.008P-0.005S-19Cr-10Ni

30//,

Fig. 16 Hot cracking susceptibility on TIGAMAIIG crack test and butt joint weld
metal

F/g. 15 Hot crack in high-Si fully austenitic

weld metal: A macrostructure; B-microstructure

/rov
S i oxide

0.30% Nb in fully austenitic and above

0.40% Nb in duplex weld metals. Niobium
thus is more detrimental in fully austenitic
welds. Note that in the Varestraint test,
the influence of niobium on the total
crack length in fully austenitic steels at
only 1.2% strain (Fig. 6) is roughly comparable to that produced with 5% strain
in duplex weld metal (Fig. 12). Note also
that at 2.5% strain only slight cracking was
evident even at the 1.2% Nb level.
In weld metal deposited by SMAW,
carbon improves the hot-cracking resistance of Nb-containing steels even with
niobium contents as high as 0.78% (Ref.
3). The Varestraint test results shown in
Fig. 7 indicate a considerable improvement in hot-cracking resistance with a
carbon content of 0.10% in a 0.78% Nb
steel. However, in low-Nb steels, this
tendency is less pronounced.
Nitrogen improves the hot-cracking
resistance moderately for Nb-free fully
austenitic steels Fig. 8. However, the
nitrogen causes a moderate decrease in
hot-cracking resistance when niobium is
present in duplex weld metal Fig. 13
(Ref. 25). The AES analyses of crack
surfaces in both the weld metal and the
heat-affected zone in high Nb steels at
locations where there were no precipitates indicated that grain boundary segregation of not only niobium but also
nitrogen and carbon were present.
The morphology of the crack surfaces
in the heat-affected zone of Nb-containing steels exhibits a predominantly
smooth appearance with some step-and
wave-like features Figs. 20A, B, D and E.
This morphology suggests that a liquid
film plays a role in the cracking mechanism, as pointed out by Honeycombe,
Gooch, and Lundin (Ref. 19,26). The stepand wave-like features are thought to be
thermal faceting (Ref. 6) which results
from the exposure of free surfaces to
high temperature during solidification as
Hemsworth, Boniszewski, et al. have

90-s I M A R C H 1982

Uft
Fig. 17 Fracture surface of hot cracking in
high-Si fully austenitic weld metal AES analysis
was made on a cell in the central part

50

100

500

1000

Ar s p u t t e r i n g time (sec)
13 5Si-19Crl3Ni-0 025P)steel

(0 8Si-25Cr-20Ni-0 025PI Steel

reported. Such thermal faceting is

observed not only on crack surfaces at
grain boundaries in the heat-affected
zone, but also on the cellular dendrites at
crack surfaces in weld metal when
viewed at higher magnification Fig.
20F.
Liquid films at grain boundaries are
considered to be formed by liquification

Fig. 18 Segregation of Si on dendritic cell

fracture surfaces of hot-crack lr. high-Si fully
austenitic weld metals as revealed by AFS

of eutectics which result from the reaction between the constituents which
form the isolated, rough features seen in
Figs. 20E and F, and the matrix in the

Specimen Current

..

^location of crack

te

a^jfeftiy^-y-

O.lOPAc
(3.5Si-19Cr-13Ni) '
/'(20O-30N,)
2.0mm thick plate
bun joint melt run by GTAW
110A-30cm

min

^0050p
-FeB G*T

Specimen Current

\d^l7

\^%^AJFig. 19 Segregation of Si and P on grain boundaries in dissimilar high-Si weld metal by

EPMA

Fig. 20 Fracture surface of hot-cracking produced in a Varestraint test specimen oi a fully

austenitic low-C, Nb-containing stainless steel
by Varestraint Test

higher Nb steels. Similar reactions probably occur between the small pebble-like
sulfides shown in Fig. 20B and matrix in
lower Nb-containing steels.
The eutectic reaction (~1315C or
2399F) between niobium carbonitride
and 7 iron has been thought to be partly
responsible for high hot-cracking susceptibility of high-Nb austenitic stainless
steels (Ref. 6,20). However, in the case of
the low-Nb (0.25%) steel, little change
was observed in the hot-cracking susceptibility of specimens even when subjected to a precipitation heat treatment at
860C (1580F) for 17 h Fig. 9.
Conclusions
1. Fully austenitic stainless steels can
attain a highly improved hot-cracking
resistance, comparable to that of Type
304, if the segregation of phosphorus
and sulfur at grain boundaries is reFig. 21 (Below left) Segregation of Nb as
revealed by AES on a solidification crack surface in high-Nb stainless steel weld metal
center part of Fig. 20F
0 021C-0 1 9Si-1 58Mn-0 004P-0 004S
)
22.37Cr-21.06Ni 0.73Nb 0.095N
high Nb

0.01 BC-0.1 9Si-1 .46Mn-0.003P-0.01 3S\

/
low Nb

( 24 34Cr-22.89Ni-0.24Nb-0.03N

Specimen

Fig. 22 (Below right) Slight segregation of Nb

as revealed by AES on a solidification crack
surface in low-Nb stainless steel weld metal
Center part of Fig. 20C

0 01 5C-0 19S.-1 46Mn-0.003P-0 01 3S-24 3Cr-22 9N|- 0.24Nb-0.03N

Specimen:0.021 C-0.1 9Si- 158Mn-0 004P -0.004S-22.4Cr -21.1 Ni-0.73Nb-0.095N

Ar bomb.: 220sec

Ar bomb.: 220sec

Ar bomb.: 60sec
Ar bomb.: 40sec

Ar bomb: 40sec

Ar bomb.: 10sec

Ar bomb.: 1 Osec

Ar bomb.: no
Ar bomb : non
Electron Volt(eV)

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 191-s

Precipitates or eutectics on liquation

crack surface in heat affected zone
Sketch of Fig.20(e)

A "

Compounds on solidification crack

surface in weld metal
Sketch of Fig. 20(f)

100

200

300

400

'00

800

' J

6^J

Fig. 23 AES analysis on hot-crack surface of high-Nb stainless steel

IM

200

300

Fig. 24-AES analysis on crack surface of low-Nb stainless steel

Kin

ZOv

J.-V"'

fe 4&X

observed in weld metal and HAZ of fully austenitic high-Nb stainless

Fig. 25 Eutecticonstituent
c
steel: Aat tip of crack in weld metal; B at the grain boundaries and matrix of HAZ

SpecimenO.023C-OI9Si-l.53Mn-0.005P-0.004S-22.3Cr-2t.2Ni-0.73Nb-0.072N
After 360sec. c l e a n i n g t h r o u g h Ar bomb.

92-s | M A R C H 1982

stricted. This can be achieved by reducing both phosphorus and sulfur content
to less than 0.002%.
2. Increasing silicon increases hotcracking susceptibility of the fully austenitic weld metal in an almost linear
fashion.
3. Niobium increases hot-cracking susceptibility by segregating at grain boundaries during welding. This segregation
was confirmed by AES analysis of the
surfaces of both weld metal and heataffected zone cracks. The grain boundaries of Nb-containing steels are studded
with island-like reaction products that
contain considerable quantities of nio-

Ar sputtering (sec)

Fig. 27 Segregation of S and P on the fracture

surface of a solidification crack as revealed by
AES

b i u m carbo-nitride.
4. Increasing
the
carbon
content
i m p r o v e s the hot-cracking resistance
considerably in steels w i t h a high n i o b i u m
c o n t e n t (0.78%), b u t this effect is less
p r o n o u n c e d w h e n n i o b i u m c o n t e n t is
l o w (0.26%).

.. s {-

5. Increasing t h e n i t r o g e n
content
i m p r o v e d the hot-cracking resistance of a
fully austenitic stainless steel (25%Cr-20%
Ni) w h i c h c o n t a i n e d n o n i o b i u m .
6. N i t r o g e n c o n t e n t s a b o v e 0.02% in
n i o b i u m - c o n t a i n i n g steels d e c r e a s e d the
hot-cracking resistance significantly, and
seems t o increase h o t - c r a c k i n g susceptibility slightly in d u p l e x w e l d s containing
niobium.
7. T h e 8 ferrite has a r e m a r k a b l e effect
in decreasing the hot-cracking susceptibility of austenitic stainless steel welds.
H o w e v e r , t h e e x t e n t of t h e e f f e c t varies
considerably w i t h chemical c o m p o s i t i o n .
Even w i t h 8 ferrite present, the w e l d
metal is not f r e e f r o m the effect of silicon,
niobium, phosphorus, nitrogen and other
elements, w h i c h t e n d t o increase h o t cracking susceptibility.
8. A f t e r e x p o s u r e t o a p r e c i p i t a t i o n
heat t r e a t m e n t at 8 6 0 C (1580F) for 17
h, l o w - N b (0.25%) fully austenitic stainless
steel s h o w e d n o significant change in its
hot-cracking susceptibility.
Acknowledgments
T h e authors express their g r a t i t u d e f o r
the helpful suggestions a n d discussions
f r o m Drs. Scoichi Nakanishi (Director) and
Harumasa Kakamura of t h e W e l d i n g
Research C e n t e r , Products R & D Laboratories, N i p p o n Steel C o r p o r a t i o n .
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Fig. 28 Macro- and microstructure of TIGAMAJIG solidification crack: A - B-Q position;

B - MSR melt B; C - commercial 310S

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WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 193-s