The references are taken from

NiDI (Nickel Development Institute)

TWI (The Welding Institute)
Lincoln Electric
International Molybdenum Association
Schaeffler Diagram.
DeLong Diagram.
 Austenitic stainless steels typically have a composition within the
range 16-26% chromium (Cr) and 8-22% nickel (Ni). A commonly
used alloy for welded fabrications is Type 304 which contains
approximately 18%Cr and 10%Ni. These alloys can be readily
welded using any of the arc welding processes (TIG, MIG, MMA and
SA). As they are non-hardenable on cooling, they exhibit good
toughness and there is no need for pre- or post-weld heat treatment.

 The 3XX may followed by a letter that gives more information about
the specific alloy as shown in the Table. 'L' is for a low carbon
austenitic stainless steel for use in an aggressive corrosive
environment ; 'H' for a high carbon steel with improved high
temperature strength for use in creep applications; 'N' for a nitrogen
bearing steel where a higher tensile strength than a conventional
steel is required. These suffixes are used with most of the alloy
designations eg type 316L, type 316LN, type 347H, where the
composition has been modified from that of the base alloy.
Intergranular corrosion in HAZ of a 304
stainless steel containing 0.05%.
 Ferritic/Martensitic Stainless Steel
• The ferritic stainless steels contain up to some 27% chromium and are used in
applications where good corrosion/oxidation resistance is required but in service
loads are not excessive, e.g. flue gas ducting, vehicle exhausts, road and rail
vehicles.

• The martensitic grades contain up to 18% chromium and have better weldability
and higher strengths than the ferritic grades. They are often found in creep service
and in the oil and gas industries where they have good erosion and corrosion
resistance.

• The hardness of martensitic stainless steels increases rather significantly with

increasing carbon content. For 12% Cr steel quenched from 1050°C, for instance, the
hardness increases from 364 HV at 0.07% C to 620 HV at 0.60%.

• Martensitic stainless steels with higher carbon contents are rather susceptible to
underbead cracking, especially when hydrogen is present during welding. Because of
the internal stresses induced by the volume increase associated with the austenite-to-
martensite transformation, underbead cracking can still occur even if relatively low
restraint is employed during welding. As a result, martensitic stainless steels with a
carbon content above 0.25–0.30% are not normally welded.
 Ferritic / Martensitic Stainless Steel
 Ferritic stainless steels have a Cr content typically within the range 11-28%. Commonly used
alloys include the 430 grade, having 16-18% Cr and 407 grade having 10-12% Cr. As these
alloys can be considered to be predominantly single phase and non-hardenable, they can be
readily fusion welded. However, a coarse grained HAZ will have poor toughness.

 The most common martensitic alloys e.g. type 410, have a moderate chromium content, 12-18%
Cr, with low Ni but more importantly have a relatively high carbon content. The principal
difference compared with welding the austenitic and ferritic grades of stainless steel is the
potentially hard HAZ martensitic structure and the matching composition weld metal. The material
can be successfully welded providing precautions are taken to avoid cracking in the HAZ,
especially in thick section components and highly restrained joints.

 To avoid underbead cracking in martensitic stainless steels, both preheating and postweld
tempering (between 600 and 850°C) are usually employed. In addition, filler metals of austenitic
stainless steels are often used. This is because the weld metal so produced remains ductile, thus
reducing the chance of underbead cracking. Also, due to the greater solubility of hydrogen in
austenite, hydrogen can dissolve in the weld metal and the possibility of underbead cracking is
thus reduced.

 As in the case of welding heat-treatable alloy steels, martensitic stainless steels are usually not
allowed to cool directly to room temperature upon the completion of welding in order to avoid
underbead cracking.
 Duplex stainless steels have a two phase structure of almost equal proportions of austenite and
ferrite. The composition of the most common duplex steels lies within the range 22-26% Cr, 4-7% Ni
and 0-3% Mo normally with a small amount of nitrogen (0.1-0.3%) to stabilise the austenite. Modern
duplex steels are readily weldable but the procedure, especially maintaining the heat input range,
must be strictly followed to obtain the correct weld microstructure.
 Duplex Stainless Steel

PREN = %Cr + (3.3 × %Mo) + 16 × %N

Pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) is a measuring tool for identifying

pitting corrosion resistance in a chloride environment

Duplex stainless steel can be divided into five groups [9]:

• Lean duplex i.e. UNS 2304, which contain no deliberate molybdenum addition.
• Standard duplex i.e. UNS 2205.
• 25Cr duplex i.e. Alloy 255 with PREN less than 40.
• Super duplex i.e. UNS 2507 with the range of 25 – 26 % chromium and
increased in molybdenum and nitrogen, with the PREN value 40 – 45.
• Hyper duplex defined as high alloyed duplex stainless steel with PREN > 45.
 Chromium (Cr), minimum of 10.5% chromium is required for the formation of a

protective layer of chromium oxide on the steel surface. The strength of this passive

layer increases with increasing chromium content. Chromium is a ferrite stabilizer or

prompts the formation of ferrite

 Nickel (Ni), nickel improves general corrosion resistance and a forms austenite (or

austenite stabilizer). Stainless steel with 8 – 9% of nickel have full austenitic structure

which further improves weld-ability.

 Molybdenum (Mo), molybdenum increases resistance to local and general corrosion

(pitting, crevice corrosion). Molybdenum acts to support chromium as ferrite stabilizer,

but it is usually restricted to less than 4% in duplex stainless steel as it tends to form

detrimental intermetallic phases.

 Nitrogen (N), nitrogen increases the strength and enhances resistance to localized

corrosion. It is austenite former.