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Abstract
Stainless steel cored wires have existed for almost fifty
years, but have only really taken off in the last twenty.
The present state of evolution of stainless steel cored
wires is highlighted by the appearance of the latest
editions of EN ISO 17633 and AWS A-5.22 standards.
These standards, if not exhaustive, nonetheless include
almost as many filler metal compositions as their
counterparts for coated electrodes or solid wires.
Interesting advances and innovations have been made in
all alloy classes: not only the well-known martensitic,
ferritic, austenitic and austeno-ferritic stainless steels,
but also special types for dissimilar welding as well as
compositions designed for high temperature service.
Stainless steel cored wires are commonly chosen
nowadays for cladding and for joining [1]-[4]. They are
used in applications involving corrosion resistance and
those involving service at elevated or cryogenic
temperatures, applications that are far beyond the scope
of low alloy steels.
Stainless steel cored wires are available with or without
slag, for welding in all positions, with or without
shielding gas. Products designed for submerged arc
welding are also available.
This presentation highlights some recent advances in
slag systems and core ingredients. These innovations
have had a positive impact on the ability to exploit the
productivity of stainless flux cored wires in areas where
these consumables were previously forbidden or simply
unsuitable. Practical applications are also described.
Keywords: FCAW, welding processes, stainless steel,
cladding, corrosion, slag system, heat-resisting
1. Introduction
Austenitic stainless steel flux cored wires have been used
in Europe since the beginning of the eighties. At that
time, products on offer consisted mainly of wires for
welding in the flat and horizontal positions with an
external active shielding gas. Only very common
compositions were available.
Since then, the choice has greatly evolved, not only as
regards the variety of compositions available but also
with the emergence and the optimization of slag systems
allowing improvements in productivity, quality and
welder comfort.
Open arc stainless steel wires are also available for many
austenitic grades. Some of these wires are approved for
assembly work and their mechanical properties give no
cause for complaint compared with gas-shielded wires.
This solution is interesting when the use of an external
gas protection is impractical or uneconomic
Figure 11. PB-2F fillet weld on AISI 310 Typical convex shape of
basic flux cored wire.
Figure 12. Stainless steel pipe welding Root pas without backing
Left: front side Right: reverse side
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
6. Conclusions
Different processes are possible for welding stainless
steel with cored wire. For a comparable slag system, the
quality achieved is generally the same as with SMAW
electrodes. As for productivity, it is at least as good as
with solid wires with additional advantages of versatility,
ease of use, quality and compositional possibilities.
Stainless steel cored wires are often a good choice for
use in combination with other processes or when
problems or performance limitations arise.
References
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
Fils tubulaires pour le soudage daciers inoxydables, JM Bonnel N Vass N.C Pease, Soudage Automatique - Applications
Industrielles du Soudage avec Fil Fourr Institut de Soudure
11/12/2001
Tubular wire welding, D. Widgery, Abington Publishing, ISBN 1
85573 088X
Cored wires for corrosion resistant alloys: status report 2006, JM
Bonnel, N.C. Pease, International Institute of Welding Congress,
8-10/03/2006, Stellenbosch, South Africa
EN ISO 4063 2011: Welding and allied processes Nomenclature of processes
Gevulde draad MIG/MAG en onderpoederdek lassen van
austenitisch en duplex roestvast staal, JM Bonnel, Welding
Alloys - Seminarie Belgisch Instituut voor Lastechniek, Stivak en
De Nayer Instituut, 2001