Effect of shielding gas on welding performance and properties of duplex and superduplex stainless steel welds

• The influence of shielding gases on welding performanceand on properties of duplex and superduplex stainlesssteel welds was studied. Using argon as the reference gas,helium, nitrogen and carbon dioxide were added and fivemixtures evaluated. Bead-on-plate welds and circumferentialpipe welds were produced using mechanisedGMAwelding inthe downhand position. Welding performance, corrosion resistance,mechanical properties, microstructural features andweld imperfections were assessed and related to the shieldinggas. Shielding gases containing 30 % helium showed excellentresults; whilst pure argon showed unstable arc and poorweld pool fluidity and Ar+2 %CO2 resulted in underfill andporosity. Mixtures containing helium resulted in higher ductilitywelds and higher impact toughness values than weldsproduced with Ar+2 %CO2. Sound and balanced duplexmicrostructures free from intermetallics were found with suitableferrite contents for all the shielding gases studied. All theduplex pipe welds passed the corrosion test regardless of theshielding gas used, and the best results in the corrosion test forsuperduplex pipe welds were found when using Ar+30 %He+0.5 %CO2+1.8 %N2 as shielding gas.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Bearbetnings-, yt- och fogningsteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Manufacturing, Surface and Joining Technology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Duplex stainless steels

welding

GMAW

shielding gases

Manufacturing and materials engineering

Produktions- och materialteknik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)