Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during

resistance spot welding Part I: fusion zone

M. Pouranvari*1, M. Alizadeh-Sh2 and S. P. H. Marashi3
Weldability is one of the key requirements for automotive materials. This two-part paper aims at
understanding the metallurgical phenomena during resistance spot welding of stainless steels, as
interesting candidates for automotive body in white. Part I addresses the phase transformations in
the fusion zone of three types of stainless steels including austenitic, ferritic and duplex types. The
solidification and solid state phenomena including columnar to equiaxed transition, ferrite–
austenite post-solidification transformation, martensitic transformation and carbide precipitation
are discussed. Particular attention is given to the effect of high cooling rate of resistance spot
welding process on the ferrite–austenite transformation. Key factors controlling the hardness of
the fusion zone are highlighted.
Keywords: Resistance spot welding, Welding metallurgy, Stainless steel, Phase transformations, Fusion zone

This paper is part of a special issue on Problems in the Welding of Automotive Alloys

Introduction adequate protection to its passengers against injuries in the

Materials selection is a key stage for the vehicle design.
Increasing global demands for energy conservation,
environmental protection and improved crashworthiness
have prompted automotive manufactures to develop light-
weight automobiles.1,2 Vehicle weight reduction can be
achieved by replacing heavy steel components with materials
such as advanced high strength steel (AHSS), aluminium,
magnesium or glass fibre reinforced polymer composites.3
The possibility of using stainless steels in structural
automotive was studied by a next generation vehicle
(NGV) programme.4,5 Next generation vehicle demon-
strated that using stainless steels reduces weight and, at
the same time, increases safety, sustainability and
environmental resistance of the structural automotive
systems. Stainless steel can be used in door pillars
including A and B pillar reinforcement parts, bumper
beams, rollover bars, crash boxes, suspension/wheel
housings and subframes.4–6 Under impact, high strength
austenitic and duplex stainless steels (DSSs) offer
excellent energy absorption in relation to strain rate.
Therefore, they are ideal for the revolutionary ‘space
frame’ car body structure concept. Moreover, nowa-
days, using austenitic stainless steels (ASSs) and ferritic
stainless steels (FSSs) in structural frameworks and body
panelling of buses and coaches is widely accepted.5
Resistance spot welding (RSW) is a critical joining pro-
cess in vehicle production. Vehicle crashworthiness, which
is defined as the capability of a car structure to provide
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of
Technology, Tehran, Iran
2
Young Researchers and Elite Club, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Tehran, Iran
3
Mining and Metallurgical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University
of Technology, Tehran, Iran
*Corresponding author, email pouranvari@sharif.edu
event of a crash, largely depends on the integrity and the
mechanical performance of the spot welds.7–9 Therefore,
study of welding metallurgy of stainless steel sheets is a
prerequisite for their use in automotive structural parts.
Mechanical performance of resistance spot welds is sig-
nificantly affected by:7,10–15
(i) weld physical attributes, particularly the fusion
zone (FZ) size: the weld nugget size is controlled
by heat generation and heat dissipation, which in
turn are governed by electrical resistivity and
thermal conductivity of the metal sheets being
welded respectively.7 Table 1 16 shows a sum-
mary of physical properties of the ASS, FSS,
martensitic stainless steel (MSS) and DSS com-
pared with low carbon steel. The higher electrical
resistivity and lower thermal conductivity
coupled with the lower melting temperatures of
stainless steels contribute to the lower currents
and shorter welding times, which are necessary
for the development of an acceptable weld
nugget. The high coefficient of thermal expansion
of stainless steels compared to the low carbon
steels make them more susceptible to solidifica-
tion cracking during welding
(ii) metallurgical factors: mechanical properties and
failure behaviour of the spot welds depend on the
weld metallurgical characteristics including micro-
structural and hardness characteristics of the
weldment. It is shown that the hardness charac-
teristic, which in turn is governed by weld phase
transformations, is the key controlling factor in
interfacial to pullout failure mode transition of re-
sistance spot welds.7 Therefore, studying the phase
transformations in FZ and heat affected zone is
critical for understanding the failure mode beha-
viour and mechanical properties of the joints.

Ñ 2015 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute
Received 15 December 2014; accepted 04 February 2015
DOI 10.1179/1362171815Y.0000000015 Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2015 VOL 20 NO 6 502
 Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I

Table 1 Typical physical attributes of wrought stainless steels16

Property* MSS FSS Austenitic SS DSS Low carbon steel

Tm/8C 1480–1530 1480–1530 1400–1450 1430–1450 1538

r/mV m 550–720 590–670 690–1020 770–1000 120
K/W m21 K21 28.7 24.4–26.3 18.7–22.8 16.2–19.0 60
CTE/mm m21 C21 11.6–12.1 11.2–12.1 11.7–19.2 13.3–13.7 1.17

*Tm melting range, r electrical resistivity, K thermal conductivity at 1008C, CTE mean coefficient of thermal expansion 0–5388C

The phase transformations in FZ of stainless steel
weldments including solidification transformations, fer-
rite–austenite transformation and carbide precipitation
are controlled by the ratio of chromium equivalent to
nickel equivalent (Creq/Nieq) and the cooling rate.17–20
The cooling rate of RSW is significantly higher than that
of the conventional arc welding processes. Gould et al.21
proposed a simple analytical model predicting cooling
rates of resistance spot welds, as follows

2 

LT ap T are ranged between 6000 and 10 0008C s21. These
¼2
Lt 2
2 4tS TP
T
 4T P 2  2  k   t S   5
1þ p
E
kS tE cos p
2tS x esting issue in welding community. Welding metal-
where a is thermal diffusivity of the steel sheets, TP is the
maximum temperature experienced in FZ during weld-
ing process, ts is the sheet thickness, tE is the electrode
face thicknesses (i.e. the distance of water cooled hole to
the electrode surface), kS and kE are thermal conduc-
tivities of steel and electrode respectively and x is the
position through the spot weld in sheet thickness direc-
tion. Figure 1 shows the calculated cooling rates for
RSW of different grades of stainless steels and low
carbon steel with thickness of 1.2 mm for the tempera-
ture range of 400–14008C. The cooling rate during RSW
of low carbon steel sheets in the range of 800–5008C,
which is critical for martensitic transformation, is
roughly ranged between 6000 and 80008C s21. Gener-
ally, the experienced cooling rates during RSW of fer-
ritic, austenitic and DSSs are lower than those
experienced during low carbon steel RSW, mainly due to
their lower thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity.
However, the cooling rates for stainless steels, in the
range of 1200–14008C, which are critical for solidifica-
tion and post-solidification solid state transformations,
3
extremely high cooling rates can affect the phase trans-
formations in the FZ of stainless steel RSW.
ð1Þ Welding and joining of stainless steels is an inter-
lurgy of stainless steels joints during arc welding
processes is well researched.17 Table 2 shows a sum-
mary of typical metallurgical problems during welding
of stainless steels.17,18 However, there are limited
publications on resistance spot weldability of stainless
steels.22–27 The current understanding of the process–
structure–property relationships is limited for RSW of
stainless steels. Therefore, improving the knowledge
regarding the microstructural characteristics and
failure behaviour of stainless steels is a priority for the
successful implementation of new design in vehicle
applications.
This two-part paper investigates the welding metal-
lurgy of three types of stainless steels including asute-
nitic, ferritic and duplex grades during RSW. The aim of
the present part is to investigate and analyse the solidi-
fication and solid state phenomena in FZ of stainless
steel resistance spot welds. In the second paper, the
phase transformations in heat affected zone and mech-
anical performance of the welds are discussed.

Table 2 Typical metallurgical problems of stainless steels

during conventional arc welding processes17,18

Stainless steel grade Typical problems

Austenitic N Solidification cracking

N Hot cracking in partially melted
zone
N Weld sensitisation in HAZ
N Knife line attack (in stabilised
grades)
N Possible sigma phase formation
1 Calculated cooling rates during resistance spot welding Ferritic N Significant HAZ grain growth
of stainless steels and low carbon steel at sheet/sheet resulting in low toughness
N Formation of martensite in grain
interface. Sheet thickness is 1.2 mm. Typical values for
boundaries of HAZ
physical properties of steels are used for calculation. Martensitic N Retention of undesirable delta
Peak temperature of weld nugget during welding is ferrite in FZ
assumed to be 2008C higher than melting point. Electrode N Very hard and Brittle martensite
face thickness is 8 mm. Value of 320 W m21 K21 is con- formation in HAZ
sidered for thermal conductivity of class II resistance N Hydrogen induced cracking
Duplex N Unbalanced microstructure
welding manufacturing alliance copper based electrode

Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2015 VOL 20 NO 6 503


Experimental
Three different types of stainless steels were used as the
base metals, including AISI 304L ASS, AISI 430 FSS
and 1Cr21Ni5Ti DSS. The chemical compositions of the
sheets used in this study are given in Table 3. The sheet
thickness for all steels is 1.2 mm.
Resistance spot welding was performed using a
120 kVA ac pedestal type RSW machine operating at
50 Hz controlled by a programmable logic controller.
Welding was conducted using a 45u truncated cone
resistance welding manufacturing alliance class 2 electrode
with 8 mm face diameter. Squeeze time, welding time,
electrode holding time after current off and electrode
pressure were kept constant at 0.8, 0.24, 0.2 s and 4 bar
respectively. Welding current was incrementally increased
from 7.5 to 11 kA with a step size of 0.5 kA.
Samples for metallographic examination were
prepared using standard metallography procedure.
Optical microscopy was used to examine the
microstructures of the joints. Marble etchant
(10 g CuSO4, 50 mL HCl and 50 mL H2O) was used for
macrostructural examination of the joints. Mixed acids
reagent (10 mL HNO3–10 mL C2H4O2–15 mL HCl) was
used for examination of FZ microstructure of ASS weld.
Kalling’s no. 1 reagent (33 mL H2O, 1.5 g CuCl2, 33 mL
HCl and 33 mL C2H5OH) was used for examination of
FZ microstructure of ferritic and DSS welds. Vickers
microhardness test was performed using an indenter
load of 100 g for a period of 20 s.
Results and discussion
Microstructural evolution in FZ of austenitic
stainless steel spot welds
Figure 2a shows a typical macrostructure of ASS spot weld.
In FZ, the full austenitic structure of the base metal
(Fig. 2b) transforms to a dual phase microstructure
consisting of austenite plus lathy delta ferrite (Fig. 2c). The
morphology of ferrite suggests that solidification occurred
at FA mode under rapid cooling condition. According to
Fig. 3a, the solidification and post-solidification
transformation path can be summarised as follows17
I II III
L!L þ F !L þ F þ A!F þ A
Regarding phase transformation in the FZ of AISI 304L
welds, two points should be mentioned:
(i) ferrite content of the weld nugget: it is interesting
to note that AISI 304L welds exhibited two
distinct regions in weld nugget, marked by zone I
at the nugget centre and zone II at the nugget
periphery (Fig. 2a). The dual core characteristic
of the weld nugget is related to the difference in
volume fraction of d-ferrite phase at nugget edge
and nugget centre (Figs. 2c and d). Microstruc-
tural examination showed that the volume frac-
tion of d-ferrite phase at nugget edge (,24%) is
Table 3 Chemical compositions of investigated stainless steels/wt-%
Base metal C Cr Ni Mn
AISI 430 0.05 16.9 0.16 0.48
AISI 304L 0.025 18.5 8.09 1.48
1Cr21Ni5Ti 0.095 21.0 5.5 0.57
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I
higher than that at nugget centre (,14%). The
ferrite content of the FZ is determined during
ferrite–austenite transformation. During this
reaction, austenite consumes the ferrite via a
diffusion controlled reaction. When FZ solidifies
in FA mode, the ferrite content increases with
increasing cooling rate because the diffusion
controlled solid state transformation of ferrite–
austenite (stage III) has less time to occur at high
cooling rates, and therefore, the FZ has higher
amount of residual ferrite. Therefore, the higher
d-ferrite at nugget edge compared to that at
nugget centre can be related to the higher cooling
rate at nugget edge than that of at the weld
nugget edge due to the enhanced quenching
effect of water cooled electrodes
(ii) fusion zone microstructure prediction using con-
ventional constitution diagrams: the solidification
mode and ferrite content of the weld FZ of ASS
can be predicted by the WRC-1992 diagram
developed by Kotecki and Siewert28 and function
fit model proposed by Babu et al.29 WRC-1992
(Fig. 4a) predicts an FN of 8. In function fit
mode, using a thermodynamic approach, the
difference in free energy between ferrite and
austenite was calculated as a function of com-
position, and this was related to the FN. The
function fit model (accessible online at Ref. 30)
predicts an FN of 4 (Fig. 4b). Both model pre-
dictions are well below the measured FN. WRC-
1992 diagram and function fit model were
developed based on arc welding data. The
underestimation of FN using WRC-1992 can be
attributed to the high cooling rate of RSW
compared with those of arc welding processes,
which suppresses solid state austenite–ferrite
transformation resulting in a higher non-equili-
brium residual ferrite content in the FZ. Vitek
et al.31,32 developed a model, called ORFN
(accessible online at Ref. 33), for predicting fer-
rite number in stainless steels welds as a function
of cooling rate and composition. According to
Fig. 1, the cooling rate of austenitic welds in the
range of 1200–14008C, where ferrite–austenite
transformation occurs, is approximately 7800–
8700 K s21. According to the ORFN model
(Fig. 4b), considering the cooling rate effect, the
predicted FN is 18, which is much close to
measured FN.
It is interesting to note that when ferrite is present in the
FZ of ASS welds, sigma phase embitterment may occur
by an exposure to temperatures between 500 and
8008C.18 Owing to high cooling rate of the RSW process,
the formation of sigma phase is not possible. According
to Fig. 1, the cooling time between 800 to 5008C for
AISI 304L RSW is estimated as 0.19 s. However, the
decomposition of delta-ferrite to the sigma and austenite
Mo Si Nb Cu Ti N
0.02 0.28 ... 0.16 ... ...
0.03 0.34 ... 0.22 ... 0.08
0.16 0.62 0.02 0.21 0.58 ...
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 504
 Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I

2 a typical macrostructure of AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel resistance spot weld, b base metal microstructure, c
microstructure gradient in fusion zone, d microstructure of weld nugget centre (zone I) and e microstructure of weld nugget
edge (zone II); volume fractions of d-ferrite at weld nugget centre (zone I) and weld nugget edge (zone II) are different

phase during ordinary aging process requires at least
0.5 h at 7008C.34
Microstructural evolution in FZ of FSS weld
Figure 5a shows a typical macrostructure of the
AISI 430 FSS spot weld. Large columnar ferrite grains
are evident in the FZ (Figs. 5a and b) compared to the
fine grains of the base metal (Fig. 5c). The microstruc-
ture of the FZ is composed of columnar ferrite grains
featured by extensive fine precipitates plus some mar-
tensite at the grain boundaries (Fig. 5d). According to
Fig. 3b, the solidification and post-solidification trans-
formation path can be summarised as follows
I II III IV V
L!L þ F !F !F þ A!F þ M !F þ M þ C 1
Three interesting phenomena were observed in the FZ:
(i) grain growth of ferrite: large columnar grains are
evident in the FZ (Fig. 5a and b)
(ii) martensite formation: the formed high tempera-
ture austenite transformed to martensite upon
cooling. According to Fig. 5e, the Balmforth35
diagram, which can be used to assess the
microstructure of the FSS welds, predicts a fer-
ritic microstructure with small amount of mar-
tensite for the investigated steel, which is in
accordance with metallographic observations
(Fig. 5d)
(iii) carbide precipitation: the FZ exhibits a fine dis-
persion of precipitates within the ferrite grains
(Fig. 5d). It is shown that in unstabilised alloys
such as type 430, these precipitates are primarily
chromium rich carbides.17 These precipitates
form due to the supersaturation of carbon in
the ferrite phase at elevated temperature. The
solubility of carbon in 17 wt-%Cr alloys drops
dramatically upon cooling, decreasing from
0.15 wt-% at 14008C to ,0.03 wt-% at 10008C.17
The intragranular nature of precipitates suggests
precipitation at high cooling rate, which is a
characteristic of RSW process
(iv) precipitate free zone: according to Fig. 5d, there is
a precipitate free zone in the ferrite beside the
martensite (i.e. the austenite at high temperature)
in the FZ. Owing to high solubility of austenite
for carbon, it can act as a sink for carbon at

Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2015 VOL 20 NO 6 505


(a)
4 Prediction of fusion zone microstructure using WRC-
(b)
3 a schematic showing solidification and post-solidification
transformation path in austenitic stainless steel and
duplex stainless steel welds and b vertical section of
Fe–Cr–C phase diagram at 17%Cr; blue dashed line
shows transformations path in fusion zone of AISI 430
containing 0.05% carbon
elevated temperature. Short range diffusion of
carbon from ferrite into the austenite reduces the
local concentration in the ferrite, and upon
cooling through the precipitation range, there is
little or no driving force for precipitation.17
Microstructural evolution in FZ of DSS spot weld
Figure 6a shows a typical macrostructure of the DSS
weld. During welding, the balanced ferrite–austenite
microstructure of the base metal (Fig. 6b) transforms to
an unbalanced microstructure consisting high volume
fraction of ferrite with small amount of austenite along
the ferrite grain boundaries plus extensive precipitates
(Fig. 6c). According to Fig. 3a, the solidification and
post-solidification transformation path can be summar-
ised as follows
I II III IV
L!L þ F !F !F þ A!F þ A þ C 1
Regarding phase transformation in the FZ of DSS
RSWs, some points should be mentioned:
(i) unbalanced microstructure in FZ: austenite–ferrite
phase balance is key issue in fusion welding of
DSSs.17 However, as can be seen, the FZ exhibited
high volume fraction of ferrite (,90%). Owing to
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I
1992, function fit (FF) model and ORFN model: a WRC-
1992 diagram and b, c predicted versus measured ferrite
number for AISI 304L austenitic and 1Cr21Ni5Ti duplex
stainless steels respectively. Measured volume fraction
of ferrite Vf was related to the ferrite number using
FN 5 ðV f Þ½20:025813 ðFeÞ2 1 5:408679 ðFeÞ 2 102:3902, in
which Fe is iron content of base metal in wt-%.32 Experi-
enced cooling rate by welds are specified
high Cr/Ni ratio of DSSs, they solidified in F
mode (i.e. the FZ is fully ferritic at the end of
solidification). The volume fraction of austenite in
the FZ is determined during post-solidification
solid state transformation of ferrite–austenite
during cooling. Indeed, the rapid cooling rate of
RSW process significantly hinders the nucleation
and growth process of the austenite formation
resulting in improper phase balance (i.e. low
austenite content)
(ii) fusion zone microstructure prediction using
conventional constitution diagrams: WRC-1992
(Fig. 4a) predicted a ferrite number of 25, which
is equivalent to 16 vol.-% of ferrite for investi-
gated DSS. Therefore, the WRC-1992 highly
underestimates the FN. The function fit model
(Fig. 4c) predicts an FN of 72, which is still lower
than the measured value. The inability of WRC-
1992 diagram and function fit model to predict
the FN can be attributed to two factors:
(1) the presence of a significant amount of
titanium in the FZ (i.e. 0.58%), which plays
important role in phase balance. Ti as a
strong carbide former and ferrite promoting
element can remove carbon from the matrix
by the formation of TiC and reduce the
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 506
 Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I

5 a a typical macrostructure of AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel resistance spot weld, b columnar grains in fusion zone, c base
metal microstructure and d detailed microstructure of fusion zone showing ferrite grains decorated by extensive precipi-
tates (PP) with some martensite (M) at grain boundaries. Precipitation free zone is also evident within ferrite grains adjacent
to martensite layer. e prediction of fusion zone microstructure using Balmforth diagram

tendency to austenite formation.17 The
function fit model, which considers the
interaction of C and carbide forming
elements, provides improved FN prediction
(2) however, the function fit model does not
account for the effect of cooling rate. The
calculated cooling rates for DSS in the
temperature range for solid state ferrite–
austenite transformation, i.e. 1200–14008C,
is about 6000–68008C s21. According to the
ORFN model, which considers both the
cooling arte and Ti effect, the predicted
ferrite number is 104, which is closer to the
measured FN
(3) precipitation: dramatic precipitation reaction
is evident within ferrite grains of the FZ
(Fig. 6d). Since the investigated DSS is
nitrogen free, these precipitates cannot be
chromium nitride, which are commonly
expected in DSSs weldments.17,36,37 The
SEM-EDS of these precipitates (Fig. 7a)
suggests that they are Cr rich precipitates.
Since the solubility of carbon in ferrite is far
less than that of the austenite, the high fer-
rite content of the FZ, after dRc phase
transformation, provides high content of
supersaturated carbon in the ferrite phase.
Therefore, high affinity of chromium for
carbon leads to precipitation of Cr carbide
precipitates
(4) columnar equiaxed transition (CET) grain
structure in the FZ: Fig. 6e indicates two
markedly distinct structural zones in the FZ,
columnar region at nugget edge and
equiaxed zone inside the nugget. The CET is
usually assumed to occur when the advance
of the columnar front is blocked by equiaxed
grains that grow in the constitutionally
undercooled liquid ahead of the columnar
dendrites.38 The grain structure is generally
related to the solidification conditions such
as local thermal gradient G and local

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 Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I

6 a typical macrostructure of 1Cr21Ni5Ti duplex stainless steel resistance spot weld; b base metal microstructure showing
ferrite and austenite phase, dark particles are TiC; c, d detailed microstructure of fusion zone showing ferrite grains with
some austenite grain boundaries along with Cr rich extensive precipitates; and e columnar to equiaxed transition in grain
structure of fusion zone

solidification growth rate R. It is generally
believed that there is a critical G/R ratio for
CET grain structure. A low G/R value
implies a large zone of constitutional
undercooling ahead of columnar grain front,
which is essential for the formation of
equiaxed grain structure.39,40 The following
points should be considered for explaining
the CET in the FZ of the DSS resistance
spot weld:
(A) solidification conditions (G and R): during RSW,
solidification generally initiates at the two oppos-
ing sides of the weld nugget at surfaces closest to the
welding electrodes via epitaxial growth resulting in
a coarse columnar grain structure with a preferred
orientation. However, as the solidification pro-
ceeds, the ratio of G/R changes in a way that may
promote the formation of the equiaxed grain
structure at the weld centre:
(1) as the solidification proceeds, the thermal
gradient G drops due to increasing the dis-
tance of the solid–liquid interface from the
electrodes as well as progressive release of
the heat of fusion from weld pool
(2) as the solidification proceeds, the solidifica-
tion rate R drops. This is again due to the
reduced quenching effect of the water cooled
electrodes resulting in lower heat conduction
through electrodes and, hence, lower solidi-
fication rate
(3) Gould41,42 in his work on the modelling of
primary dendrite arm spacings in resistance
spot welds determined solidification con-
ditions (G and R) using a numerical thermal
modelling. According to the results pre-
sented in Gould’s work, during spot welding
of 1.25 mm thick low carbon steel sheets, the
values of G and R at the beginning of soli-
dification are 21508C mm21 and 16 mm s21
respectively. However, at the end of solidi-
fication, the values of G and R are reduced
to 4008C mm21 and 8 mm s21 respectively.
Therefore, the G/R ratio decreased from
135 to 508C s mm22. The lowering of G/R
ratio with progress of solidification can
encourage CET in the FZ
(B) chemical composition of the weld pool: it is shown
that increasing the alloying element content of the

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a Cr rich carbide in fusion zone; b Ti rich carbide in duplex
stainless steel base metal
7 Analysis by (SEM-EDS)
weld pool decreases the constitutional under-
cooling which in turn enhances the CET.43 The
carbon concentration in the steel may also be
important in the CET. Carbon segregates strongly
during solidification, which could increase the
constitutional supercooling at the solid/liquid
interface. In addition, high carbon levels can result
in a higher density of carbides in the melt, which
may act as nuclei for the equiaxed grains, as will
be discussed later. Poole and Weinberg,44 in their
study on the CET in grain structure of cast
stainless steels, found that when the carbon level is
low (i.e. near 0.02 wt-%), there is no CET and the
cast structure is entirely columnar. However, when
the carbon content is more than 0.08 wt-%, a large
portion of the casting exhibits equiaxed grain
structure. In the present study, it is believed that
the high carbon content of the investigated DSS
(i.e. 0.095 wt-%) plays a major role in observation
of CET in the weld nugget
(C) heterogeneous nucleation: the heterogeneous
nucleation aided by constitutional supercooling
promotes the formation of equiaxed grains in the
weld metal. It is shown that nitrides, carbides,
oxides and other materials which form particles in
the melt, before solidification, could act as nuclei
for heterogeneous nucleation. Bramfitt45 demon-
strated that titanium carbide is very effective in
promoting heterogeneous nucleation for liquid
iron. In the present work, the high carbon content
coupled with high titanium content leads to for-
mation of TiC particles in the base metal. The
SEM-EDS (Fig. 7b) confirmed that the dark
particles in the BM microstructure (Fig. 6b) are Ti
rich carbides. The melting temperature of TiC was
reported to be 31608C, which is well above the
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Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I
maximum temperature of weld nugget during
welding. Therefore, it can be concluded that TiC
particles does not experience spontaneous melting
but remain solid. Therefore, the pre-existing TiC
particles in DSS sheets will act as inoculants to
promote the nucleation of equiaxed grains in the FZ.
The change in the ratio of G/R during FZ solidification
does not depend on the BM type. As it was seen above, the
grain structure of austenitic and ferritic FZ are entirely
columnar, while the DSS nugget exhibited a CET. There-
fore, it can be concluded that the occurrence of CET cannot
be entirely explained by the change in the solidification
conditions (i.e. lowering of G/R ratio from weld nugget
edge to weld nugget centre). Therefore, the main factor
governing the CET in DSS is the pre-existing TiC particles
in duplex steel base metal. The absence of pre-existing
inoculant in ASS and FSS base metals explains why CET
was not observed in their solidification structure.
Finally, it should be noted that the presence of equiaxed
grain structure can improve the fracture toughness of the
weld metal; however, high ferrite content of the FZ coupled
with the presence of extensive Cr rich precipitates increases
the brittleness of the weld and can be detrimental to
corrosion resistance. Applying a proper solid state
post-weld heat treatment can improve the ferrite/austenite
balance and dissolve the carbide precipitates.
Fusion zone hardness
Hardness of the FZ is a key metallurgical factor in
determining weld ductility and failure mode transition.7
Figure 8a and b shows the hardness values of the FZ and
the hardness ratio of FZ to BM for various types of
stainless steels compared with low carbon steel23 and
AHSSs including dual phases,46 transformation induced
plasticity (TRIP),47 twinning-induced plasticity14 and
d-TRIP48 steels. It is reported that high hardness of the
FZ provides low fracture toughness path during coach
peel and cross-tension loading conditions leading to
interfacial failure mode. A critical FZ hardness of 400–
450 HV has been defined by some researchers, which
beyond that the interfacial failure is promoted.49,50 As
can be seen in Fig. 8a, the FZ hardness of the dual phase
steels and TRIP steel exceeds 450 HV. However, the
hardness of the austenitic, ferritic and duplex welds
ranged between 215 and 285 HV, which is well below the
detrimental hardness value:
(i) the FZ hardness of ASS weld is determined by its
ferrite content and grain size. While the base
metal is full austenitic, the two-phase structure of
the FZ can strengthen it. However, cast structure
of the BM with large grain size leave undermines
the effect of dual phase structure and leaves a
slightly undermatch FZ compared to the BM
hardness (Fig. 8b)
(ii) the FZ hardness of the FSS weld is influenced by
the ferrite gain size, volume fractions of grain
boundaries martensite and carbide precipitation
hardening. Despite, the large ferrite grains of FZ,
the presence of martensite and extensive very fine
precipitates produces high FZ to BM hardness
ratio (Fig. 8b)
(iii) the FZ hardness of DSS weld is dictated by the
relative amount of c/d and their individual
hardness as well as hardening via carbide
precipitation. On the one hand, the unbalanced
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 509

(a)
(b)
8 a fusion zone hardness and b FZ/BM hardness ratio for
various type of stainless steels including ASS, FSS and
DSS (present work) and MSS27 compared with low carbon
steel23 and advanced high strength steels (AHSSs)
including dual phases46, TRIP78047, TWIP98014 and
d-TRIP48 steels; sheet thickness of all kind of steel sheets
except TWIP steel is ,1.2 mm
c/d microstructure and larger grains reduce the
contribution of phase/grain boundary strength-
ening. On the other hand, extensive carbide
precipitates and high ferrite content add contri-
butions to the FZ hardness. Therefore, the FZ
hardness is comparable to that of the base metal
(Fig. 8b).
Finally, it is interesting to note that for all type of
stainless steel welds, the welding current does not sig-
nificantly affect the FZ hardness. This can be related to
the fact that the small variation of cooling rate, caused
by changing the welding current, cannot affect the phase
transformations in the FZ and hence leaves a relatively
constant hardness values in the FZ.
Conclusions
Understanding phase transformations during RSW of
stainless steels is a key in understanding of mechanical
and corrosion behaviour of the weldment. In this paper,
the solidification and post-solidification solid state
phenomena of austenitic, ferritic and DSSs during RSW
are examined and analysed. The following conclusions
can be drawn from this work.
1. The phase transformations of the FZ of austenitic
and DSSs were significantly influenced by high
cooling rate of RSW. The measured d-ferrite con-
tent of the FZ of austenitic and DSS was higher
than those predicted by the WRC-1992
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Pouranvari et al. Welding metallurgy of stainless steels during RSW: Part I
constitutional diagram. The rapid cooling rate of
RSW process suppresses the completion of post-
solidification transformation of ferrite–austenite.
2. The presence of Ti and high amount of carbon
in the DSS plays key roles in microstructure
development in the FZ of DSSs:
(i) as a strong carbide former and ferrite
promoting element, Ti can remove carbon
from the matrix by formation of TiC
reducing the tendency for austenite
formation
(ii) pre-existing TiC particles in duplex steel
base metal act as inoculants in the FZ pro-
moting the CET.
3. Fusion zone of austenitic, ferritic and duplex
stainless welds exhibited significantly lower hard-
ness values compared to ferritic–martensitic dual
phase and TRIP AHSSs. Despite the FZ of ASS
exhibited a duplex structure of austenite and ferrite,
its cast structure with large grain size leaves a
slightly soft FZ compared to the base metal.
Despite the unbalanced FZ microstructure of
DSSs, its hardness is comparable to that of the BM
due to the presence of extensive carbide precipi-
tates. The high FZ/base metal hardness ratio of
the FSS is due to martensite formation and
extensive carbide precipitation within the ferrite
grains.
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