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How To Weld Duplex PDF
How To Weld Duplex PDF
* Hot rolled plate, cold rolled plate, bars, pipes, pipe fittings and flanges
** MIG, TIG and SAW wire
Figure 1: Microstructure of a weld in 2205 – transition between plate and weld
Microstructure
The chemical composition of duplex steels is balanced are formed. Intermetallic phases, e.g. sigma phase, are
to ensure that, in their solution-annealed states, they formed in the 600–950°C temperature range. Ferrite
have a structure with approximately equal amounts of is re-formed at 350–525°C (embrittlement at 475°C).
ferrite and austenite. Ferrite re-formation can have an embrittling effect
Duplex steels initially solidify with a completely and a negative impact on corrosion resistance. Hence,
ferritic structure. They then undergo a phase trans- unnecessary exposure to these temperatures must be
formation in which primary and secondary austenite avoided. In normal welding, the hold time at these
grows at the ferrite’s grain boundaries. The amount of temperatures is relatively short. However, there is an
austenite is strongly dependent on composition and evident risk if the metal has to undergo subsequent
cooling rate. In the production of plates, coils, pipes, heat treatment.
etc., controlled heat treatment can be used to give a Table 3 sets out the recommended heat treatments.
50-50 balance of austenite and ferrite. However, cooling At any other temperatures than those given in the table,
conditions when welding are not as good. Cooling is stress-relieving annealing results in lower ductility and
often very rapid here and, consequently, there is little reduced corrosion resistance. Consequently, it is to be
time for austenite to form. Thus, to give a balanced avoided.
structure, filler metals are always over-alloyed with
nickel. This is strongly austenite stabilising. Nitrogen Mechanical properties
is another austenite stabilising element and is of great Duplex steels are characterised by high strength. Table 2
importance in the re-forming of austenite. However, shows typical mechanical properties of parent and weld
variations of between 20 and 70% ferrite are normal. metals (pure weld metal).
Welds with this ferrite content have good corrosion and The high tensile strength also means that the fatigue
mechanical properties. Figure 1 shows the fusion line properties are very good. However, fatigue strength is
in a 2205 joint. highly dependent on the component’s shape. The fatigue
Welding with the “wrong” filler metal (e.g. “plate properties of welded joints are also clearly inferior.
analysis”), or with no or too little filler metal (e.g. Welding method and joint type are of great significance.
narrow groove/no root gap), can give a ferrite content For example, a TIG welded joint has considerably better
of over 70%. This entails a risk of lower ductility and properties than one made with covered electrodes.
reduced corrosion resistance. Because their ductility is lower than that of austenitic
When duplex steels are subjected to temperatures steels, duplex steels are not suitable for use at low
from 350°C up to around 950°C, secondary precipitates temperatures (< –40°C).
Corrosion properties
Duplex steels offer a very wide range of corrosion pro- Detailed information on the corrosion properties of
perties. Thanks to the high chromium content, corrosion duplex steels is given in the corrosion handbook
resistance is generally very good in most environments. published by Outokumpu.
This applies to both pitting and crevice corrosion. The
high strength also means that the resistance to stress cor-
rosion is very good. Because of the low carbon content, CPT (°C)
intergranular corrosion is rarely a problem.
100 100
Generally speaking, corrosion resistance increases with
increased nickel, chromium and nitrogen content. This is 80 80
reflected in the “resistance ranking” of the duplex steels:
LDX 2101; 2304; 2205 ; SAF 2507. The pitting corrosion 60 60
resistance is shown in diagram 1.
For the most part, the corrosion resistance of a welded 40 40
joint is slightly lower than that of the parent metal. This
is primarily due to: the temperature cycle undergone by 20 20
the weld and the heat-affected zone (HAZ); the shape
0 0
of the weld surface; and, the contaminants and defects 4404 LDX 2101 2304 2205 SAF 2507 254 SMO
generated in welding. To achieve the best possible cor-
rosion resistance, the surfaces of the weld and the plate Parent metal Welded joint
must be clean and even. After welding, the weld metal
and HAZ must be pickled. Refer also to the “Pre-weld Diagram 1: Typical critical pitting temperatures (CPT) as per ASTM
cleaning” and “Post-weld cleaning” sections. G48 – parent metal and weld, brushed and pickled TIG joint
Table 3: Recommended heat treatments
LDX 2101® 2304 2205 SAF 2507™
Hot forming (C°) 900–1100 900–1100 950–1150 1025–1200
Solution heat treatment (C°) 1020–1080 950–1050 1020–1100 1040–1120
Stress-relieving annealing (C°) 1020–1100 950–1050 1020–1100 1040–1120
Shaping
Hot forming, if required, must be performed at the With all products, direct current (DC+) gives the best
temperatures given in table 3. Duplex steels are prone welding results. Nonetheless, all rutile-acid electrodes
to precipitation when they are subjected to tempera- can also be used with alternating current. However,
tures under approximately 900°C. Precipitation entails weldability is clearly inferior than it is with direct
a lowering of both ductility and corrosion resistance. current.
To reduce the quantity of precipitates, the workpiece A short arc is to be used for welding. This gives the
should undergo solution heat treatment after hot for- best stability and reduces the risk of nitrogen pick-
ming. Duplex steels soften considerably at high tempe- up. The latter can lead to pore formation and increase
ratures. This must be borne in mind during handling surface oxidation.
and when tooling up/positioning prior to heat treat-
ment. MIG welding (really MAG – welding is often carried
out with an active component in the shielding gas) is
Cold forming of duplex steels can be accomplished a particularly good method for welding sheet metal
using conventional methods. However, because of up to around 6 mm thick. Welding is usually from
the high strength, operations such as deep drawing, two sides, but sheet metal (< 4 mm) can be welded
stretch forming and spinning are more difficult than single-sided with a root backing. A spray arc or pulsed
they are with austenitic steels. current is normally used for welding. The advantage
of spray-arc welding is the higher deposition rate.
Machining of duplex steels (LDX 2101 excepted) is, However, because the weld pool is relatively large,
owing to their hardness, slightly more difficult than it position welding possibilities are limited. Drop trans-
is for austenitic steels. Tools made of high-speed steel fer is considerably more sedate and more controlled
are usually more effective than ceramic tools. with a pulsed arc. The opportunity for position weld-
ing, especially vertical-down, is thus very great. As
Welding methods the stability of a spray arc is relatively poor, a pulsed
All conventional welding methods such as MMA
arc is particularly important when welding the super
(covered electrodes), MIG/MAG, TIG, SAW, FCAW,
duplex steel, SAF 2507.
plasma and laser can be used to weld duplex steels.
The MIG method is especially suited to robot or
Welding without filler metals is only permitted where
automatic welding in all positions.
subsequent heat treatment (solution heat treatment) is
possible. If heat treatment is not carried out, there is a TIG welding is normally used for thin (up to around
great risk that the ferrite content in the weld metal will 4 mm) workpieces. It is especially common in the weld-
be too high. As a result, ductility and corrosion resis- ing of pipe joints. The method is also highly suitable
tance will be lower. for welding single-sided root beads (both with and
Property requirements, positional weldability and without root backing). Subsequent beads can then be
productivity usually determine the choice of welding welded using a method with a higher deposition rate.
method.
SAW is widely used with duplex steels. Its high pro-
MMA welding is particularly excellent for position
ductivity and beautiful weld finishes are a big plus.
welding, single-sided welding and where access is limi-
Furthermore, the SAW work environment is consider-
ted. Avesta Welding has a very wide range of covered
ably better than that of other methods. Both fume ge-
electrodes for duplex steels:
neration and radiation are minimal. The disadvantages
LDX 2101 AC/DC all positions of SAW are that it is restricted to the horizontal position
2304 AC/DC all positions and that the heat input is relatively large. Consequently,
2205-3D all positions small objects present problems. A basic agglomerated
2205-4D position welding flux, e.g. Avesta 805, must be used for SAW.
2205-2D high metal recovery
2205 Basic high impact strength requirements
2507/P100 Rutile all positions
2507/P100-4D position welding
Figure 2: Welding with FCW 2205
FCAW is suitable for material thicknesses above ap- Flux cored wire is available as LDX 2101, 2304 and
proximately 2.5 mm. Thanks to the slag that is formed, 2205 in the following variants:
positional weldability is very good. When FCW is
used, the arc and weld pool are protected by both the FCW-2D LDX 2101 welding in the flat and horizontal-
slag and the shielding gas. Drop transfer is even and vertical positions
finishes are extremely smooth and fine. FCW-2D 2304 welding in the flat and horizontal-
FCAW can advantageously be used for single-sided vertical positions
welding against a ceramic backing. This is fast and FCW-2D 2205 welding in the flat and horizontal-
efficient. At the same time, the surface properties vertical positions as well as against
on the root side are very good. For the best results, a ceramic backing in all positions
the root bead should here be welded using a slightly FCW 2205-PW position welding
lower current intensity.
* Single-sided
Shielding gases
Laser, laser hybrid and plasma welding are high MIG welding of duplex steels is possible using the
productivity methods that are very suitable for duplex conventional shielding gases used with stainless steels.
steels. However, as previously stated, if a filler metal Normally, argon is used with an addition of 2% O2 or
is not used, the workpiece should be heat treated after 2–3% CO2. Both of these act as arc stabilisers. An addi-
welding. tion of around 30% helium is advantageous. It increases
Laser hybrid is a particularly interesting method. It arc energy which, in turn, increases weld pool fluidity
combines keyhole welding (laser) with arc welding and enables higher welding speeds.
(MIG/MAG, TIG or plasma). The method ensures a Using a pulsed arc, a four-component gas (Ar +30%
high productivity process that, thanks to the filler metal He + 2.5% CO2 + 0.03% NO) has given very good
and the low heat input, preserves metallurgical proper- results.
ties. Arc stability varies greatly between different arc
Nowadays, laser hybrid welding is most often per- types, different steel grades and even between different
formed using a CO2 laser or a Nd:YAG laser. With the welding machines. Table 5 sets out general recommen-
exception of the considerably better penetration, laser dations for the MIG welding of various duplex grades.
hybrid welding of thin sheets has much in common
with ordinary MIG/MAG welding. Penetration depth TIG welding is usually performed with pure argon as
is primarily determined by the laser beam’s ability to the shielding gas. Resistance to, in particular, pitting
create a keyhole. The width is dependent on the heat corrosion can be considerably raised by the addition of
transferred by the arc. up to 2% nitrogen. However, because the risk of pores
There are two variants of laser hybrid welding, name- increases with increased nitrogen content, the latter
ly, “leading” and “trailing” laser. Whichever is chosen, should not exceed 2%.
it is important that the arc and the beam are sufficiently The addition of around 30% helium markedly
close to each other for them to work in the same weld increases arc energy and thus enables a considerable
pool. For better process stability in “leading” laser increase (20–30%) in welding speed. In the welding
hybrid welding, the angle of the MIG/MAG nozzle of duplex steels, the addition of hydrogen is not to be
should be as slight as possible (i.e. nozzle in the upright recommended. In combination with the high ferrite
position). Having the arc in the leading position allows content (over 70%), this can lead to hydrogen embritt-
material from the filler wire to fill any gaps. This means lement.
that the laser beam creates a keyhole in a stable weld Single-sided root beads must be welded with a
pool. The result is an even weld with good penetration. backing gas. This is normally the same as the shiel-
In the laser-MIG/MAG process, the following ding gas. However, Formier gas (90% N2 + 10% H2)
parameters have proved to be important: torch angle, is a good alternative that also provides first-class root
“offset”, stick-out, working distance and focal length. protection while also being cheaper than pure argon.
The effect of torch angle is much the same as in con- Because only a negligible quantity of the hydrogen
ventional MIG/MAG welding. penetrates the weld metal, no negative effect has been
Spray and pulsed arcs can advantageously be used. demonstrated. A backing gas should also be used for
However, because there is no stabilising of the arc, a tack welding all the way up until weld thickness is at
short arc must not be used in laser-MIG/MAG welding. least 8 mm.
TIG LDX 2101, 2304, 2205, 1. Ar+2%N2 +10–30%He Plasma welding normally uses pure argon, or argon
2507/P100 2. Ar with an addition of 20–30% helium, as both the plasma
FCAW LDX 2101, 2304, 2205 1. Ar+16–25%CO2 and the shielding gas. As with TIG welding, the addition
2. 100% CO2 of 2–3% nitrogen has a positive effect on corrosion resis-
Plasma LDX 2101, 2304, 2205, 1. Ar* tance. The addition of hydrogen should be avoided.
2507/P100 2. Ar+20–30%He+1–2%N2*
Nd:YAG-laser, a shielding gas is required. Because particularly to duplex steels.
interaction between the beam and the shielding gas Because of the weld pool’s slightly poorer penetra-
affects heat transfer to the workpiece, the choice of tion and fluidity (compared with standard austenites),
shielding gas in CO2 laser welding is critical. The the joint must be correctly designed to give full pene-
normal shielding gases are pure argon or, where high tration without the risk of burn-through. The groove
laser powers (1.5–2.0 kW) are used, helium. As there angle must be sufficiently wide to allow the welder
is little or no interaction between shielding gases and full control of the arc, weld pool and slag. A groove
the wavelength of the Nd:YAG laser, argon, which is angle of around 35° (i.e. somewhat larger than for
relatively cheap, is normally used. austenitic steels) is to be recommended for manual
welding.
Laser hybrid welding with a CO2 laser has demon-
General recommendations:
strated that the shielding gas need not be pure helium.
• An X-joint can advantageously be used for plate
It is sufficient that a minimum of 30% helium is added
thicknesses above approximately 15 mm.
via the MIG/MAG nozzle. For Nd:YAG laser hybrid
welding, a mixture of Ar + 30–35% He + 2–5% CO2 can • For plate thicknesses above approximately 30 mm,
advantageously be used. The mixture is added via the a double U-joint is advantageous.
MIG/MAG nozzle. The addition of helium improves • In single-sided welding, a root gap of 2–3 mm and
process stability and gives even welds. a straight edge of about 0–1 mm are recommended.
For double-sided welding, the straight edge can be
Edge preparation
increased to 1.5–2 mm.
When welding stainless steels, meticulous edge
preparation and the correct choice of joint type are • A wider root gap, 4–6 mm, should be used when
important for good results. This applies even more welding against a ceramic backing.
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