Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-019-00574-9

TECHNICAL ARTICLE

On the Dissimilar Metal Welding of 1.4742 Ferritic to 310S Austenitic

Stainless Steels Utilizing Different Filler Metals
M. Amra1 · R. Dehmolaei1 · S. R. Alavi Zaree1

Received: 7 April 2019 / Revised: 14 August 2019 / Accepted: 6 September 2019 / Published online: 18 September 2019
© ASM International 2019

Abstract
In this work, the microstructural, mechanical, and physical properties of dissimilar welding between the 1.4742 ferritic and
310S austenitic stainless steels have been investigated. The welding was performed by the manual gas tungsten arc welding
process utilizing ER310, ERNiCr-3, and ER446 filler metals. The weld metal microstructure of the ER310 and ERNiCr-3
filler metals was fully austenitic. The ER446 weld metal exhibited a ferritic-austenitic dual-phase microstructure. Carbide
precipitates enriched with Cr, Fe, and or Nb were detected in all of the three weld metals. The unmixed zone was observed
on both sides of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal, while for the ER310 and ER446 weld metals it was formed solely on one side.
The ER446 weld metal displayed the maximum hardness values, 221.9 ± 5 HV, with relatively large fluctuations. The highest
and lowest impact energy was achieved in the ERNiCr-3 weld metal, 40 ± 3 J, and ER446 weld metal, 25 ± 3 J, respectively.
The ERNiCr-3 weld metal had a linear coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) value about the mean value of the linear CTE
of the two base metals. At last, for the dissimilar welding of these two base metals, it was concluded that the ERNiCr-3 filler
metal is a better selection.

Keywords  Dissimilar welding · Heat-resistant stainless steel · Filler metal · Microstructural evolution · Mechanical/
physical properties

Introduction
When it comes to using high-temperature-exposed materi-
als, such as protection tubes, furnace parts, oil burner parts,
and petroleum refining equipment, high-temperature prop-
erties are considered to be important [1, 2]. Stainless steels
are well known for their corrosion resistance in the aqueous
environments, and they can be found in high-temperature
applications wherein corrosion resistance or strength is
required [3]. The austenitic heat-resistant stainless steels
with higher mechanical properties at elevated temperature
are the most widely used steels in high-temperature appli-
cations. The ferritic heat-resistant stainless steels have a
lower high-temperature mechanical property, as compared
to those of austenitic grades, yet they offer a lower coeffi-
cient of thermal expansion (CTE) and better resistance to the
* R. Dehmolaei
dehmolaei@scu.ac.ir
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty
of Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz,
Ahvaz 61357, Iran
cyclic oxidation and thermal fatigue [3, 4]. Moreover, due to
the more costly nickel content of austenitic stainless steels,
the low-to-medium ferritic grades are more cost-effective
[3]. By taking into account the above distinct engineering
requirements, i.e., the improvement of durability in the long-
term operation or economic considerations by using low-cost
materials, using dissimilar metal joints would be beneficial.
Dissimilar metal welds (DMWs) are the joints that consist
of different materials and have attracted considerable atten-
tion [5–12].
Hsieh et al. [7] evaluated the autogenous dissimilar weld-
ing of the 430 ferritic and 304 austenitic stainless steels
using the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. They
reported that the weld metal reveals higher hardness than the
two base metals due to the precipitation of massive δ-ferrite
in the austenite phase and ferrite-austenite interface bounda-
ries. The dissimilar friction welding of the 430 ferritic and
304 austenitic stainless steels was performed by Satyanaray-
ana et al. [8]. They stated that due to the greater high-tem-
perature hardness and lower thermal conductivity of auste-
nitic stainless steel in comparison with ferritic grades, the
welding process-induced deformation is mostly confined to

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624 Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641

the 430 ferritic stainless steel. Shojaati et al. [9] evaluated
the microstructural and mechanical properties of the 409
ferritic and 304 austenitic stainless steels dissimilar joints
via the GTAW process. The ER310, ER316L, ER2209,
and Nichrome 80/20 were used as filler metals. Eventually,
they concluded that the ER316L weld metal offered the
best mechanical properties from the economical viewpoint.
Shanmugam et al. [10] studied the effect of the filler metals
of ER308L, ER430, and ER2209 on the mechanical prop-
erties of GTAW-welded 409 ferritic stainless steel joints.
From their investigation, it was found that the joint welded
by ER2209 filler metals exhibits the best mechanical prop-
erties at room temperature because of its ferritic-austenitic
dual-phase microstructure. The effect of the SMAW heat
input on the chemical composition and microstructure of
the weld overlay formed by the E309MoL covered electrode
on the 410S ferritic stainless steel was investigated by Silva
et al. [11]. They reported that by increasing the welding heat
input, the amount of δ-ferrite is increased due to the compo-
sitional changes of the weld metals, made by dilution. In the
investigation carried out by Kumar et al. [12], the 430 ferri-
tic and 304 austenitic stainless steels were the dissimilar butt
welded via the plasma arc welding process and the process
parameters were optimized by the regression analysis based
on the mechanical properties and microstructural aspects.
Despite the widespread application of DMWs in a wide
variety of industries, there is a history of precocious fail-
ures associated with these welds [13, 14]. These accelerated
failures can generally be attributed to operating at high-tem-
perature services and thermal cycling conditions in combi-
nation with thermal expansion mismatch, differences in the
chemical composition, hardness, and creep strength [14, 15].
In this regard, one of the main issues of using DMWs and
developing techniques to increase their efficiency is choos-
ing the proper filler metal [16].
Currently, flare combustion systems are made up of aus-
tenitic heat-resistant stainless steels, such as 310, 310S,
347, and 321 which can experience different types of failure
mechanisms such as thermal fatigue, high-temperature cor-
rosion, stress-assisted oxidation, and creep [17, 18]. Hence,
1.4742 ferritic heat-resistant stainless steel with better high-
temperature corrosion, thermal fatigue resistance, and low
costs can be a good candidate for the repairs of flare tips or
new flare combustion systems fabrication [1–4]. Accord-
ing to the above mentioned, although several studies have
attempted to evaluate the dissimilar welding of stainless
steels, there has not been any report on the joint between
the 1.4742 ferritic and 310S austenitic heat-resistant stain-
less steels. The aim of this study is to investigate the micro-
structural evolution, as well as the mechanical and physical
properties of the dissimilar welding between the 1.4742 fer-
ritic and 310S austenitic heat-resistant stainless steels via
the GTAW process. It is worth mentioning that this type of
dissimilar joint is especially applicable in the repair/fabrica-
tion of the flare combustion systems.
Materials and Methods
Materials and Welding
The as-received base metals used in this study were 310S
austenitic (under hot-rolled conditions) and 1.4742 fer-
ritic (under cold rolled conditions) stainless steel plates
with dimensions 300 mm × 50 mm × 6 mm. Three types of
filler metals, ER310 (austenitic stainless steel filler metal),
ERNiCr-3 (Ni-base filler metal), and ER446 (ferritic stain-
less steel filler metal), with 2.4 mm in diameter were uti-
lized. Table 1 shows the chemical compositions of the base
(determined by optical emission spectroscopy) and filler
(according to the manufacturer’s certificates) metals. Also,
the chemical composition of the obtained weld metals cor-
responding to each filler metal (determined by optical emis-
sion spectroscopy) is given in Table 1.
As shown in Fig. 1a and b, a single V butt joint geom-
etry was created on the base metal plates by the machining

Table 1  The chemical Materials Chemical compositions: weight percentage (wt.%)

composition of materials used
and weld metals (wt.%) C Si Mn Cr Ni Fe Mo Al Ti Nb

310S base metal 0.07 0.48 1.6 24.42 21.67 Bal. 0.08 … 0.01 0.02
1.4742 base metal 0.06 0.93 0.33 17.62 0.23 Bal. 0.11 0.91 0.02 0.02
ER310 filler metal 0.1 0.47 1.82 26.5 21.08 Bal. … … … …
ERNiCr-3 filler metal 0.02 0.5 3 20 Bal. 0.8 … … 0.2 2.7
ER446 filler metal 0.1 0.62 1.82 25 0.32 Bal. 0.04 … … …
ER310 weld metal 0.07 0.65 1.3 22.8 16.4 Bal. 0.05 0.22 ~ 0 ~ 0
ERNiCr-3 weld metal 0.04 0.45 2.3 19.1 Bal. 25.1 0.02 0.16 0.15 1.9
ER446 weld metal 0.07 0.72 1.37 21.9 4.7 Bal. 0.04 0.19 ~ 0 ~ 0

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Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 625

process. Then the plates were wire brushed and degreased

using acetone. The welding was performed by the manual
gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process (machine model:
DG-TIG PSQ400 AC/DC, Gaam Electric Co. Iran) in the
flat position using commercially pure argon shielding/back-
ing gas with the straight polarity. For all the weldments, no
preheat and post-weld heat treatment was applied, and inter-
pass temperatures were maintained at about 150 °C during
the welding. The welding parameters and heat input for each
welding pass are described in Table 2.

Microstructural Examination

For the purpose of metallographic examinations, the sections

Fig. 1  Schematic representation of the: (a) position of the extracted
specimens, (b) weld joints geometry, and (c) impact test specimens
(all dimensions in mm)
transverse to the welding direction (Fig. 1a) were ground
and polished according to the standard procedures. Then, to
ensure the proper etching and reveal the microstructures, dif-
ferent solutions were used depending on the material zone:
(1) a solution consisting of 60 ml H ­ NO3 + 40 ml ­H2O was
used for the electro-chemical etching of the weld zones, (2)
a marble solution (10 g ­CuSO4 + 50 ml HCl + 50 ml ­H2O)
was utilized for the chemical etching of the 310S base metal
and its heat-affected zone (HAZ), and (3) 45 g KOH + 60 ml
­H2O solution was used for the electro-chemical etching of
the 1.4742 base metal and its HAZ. The microstructural
examinations were performed by the MEIJI-IM7200 opti-
cal microscope (OM) and TESCAN-VEGA3 scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy-dis-
persive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Additionally,
PHILIPS-PW1730 x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements
using Cu-Kα irradiation and EDS analysis were performed
to identify the different phases in the weldments. The fer-
rite content of the as-received 310S base and ER446 weld

Table 2  Welding process Filler metals Pass number Welding parameters Heat ­inputa, Total heat
parameters kJ/mm input, kJ/
Current, A Voltage, V Welding mm
speed, mm/s

ER310 1 110 16 1.67 0.74 3.23

2 130 16 1.4 1.04
3 130 16 1.67 0.87
Back weld 130 16 2.54 0.57
ERNiCr-3 1 110 16 0.96 1.28 4.02
2 130 16 1.55 0.94
3 130 16 1.59 0.91
Back weld 130 16 1.66 0.88
ER446 1 110 16 1.2 1.02 3.45
2 130 16 1.8 0.81
3 130 16 1.55 0.94
Back weld 130 16 2.14 0.68
a
 The heat input was taken as 0.7 EI/V: where 0.7 is heat source efficiency, E is welding voltage, I is current
and V is welding speed

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626 Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641

metals was measured in terms of ferrite number (FN) and
ferrite volume percentage (Fvol.%) by the Fischer-FMP30
Ferritescope.
Mechanical Testing
To determine the micro-hardness distribution throughout
the middle of the weld cross sections (Fig. 1a), Vick-
ers micro-hardness was measured at a load of 100  gf
(machine model: EW-110/D2, Bowers Group Co. Eng-
land). The sub-size transverse-longitudinal (T-L) Charpy
V-notch impact test specimens were prepared according
to the ASTM E23 standard and tested at room tempera-
ture (machine model: SIT-300AC, Santam Co. Iran). Fig-
ure 1a and c shows the position and schematic view of the
impact test specimens, respectively. For the impact tests,
at least the average values of three test specimens have
been reported. The fracture surfaces of the impact test
specimens were observed using SEM.
Physical Testing
In order to compare the linear thermal expansion behav-
ior of the weld joints, longitudinally cylindrical specimens
(Fig. 1a) with 5 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length were
prepared from the center of the weld zones by the elec-
tric discharge machining process. The dilatometer instru-
ment was the LINSEIS-L75H connecting rod dilatometer
type, and the heating rate was 20 °C/min up to 1100 °C in
the air atmosphere.

Fig. 2  The microstructure of the 310S base metal in the as-received conditions: (a) the OM micrograph, (b) the SEM image of the precipitates
(marked by arrows), and (c) the EDS point analysis of the precipitates that marked by arrows in (b)

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Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 627

Fig. 3  The microstructure of the 1.4742 base metal in the as-received point analysis of the: (d) cuboidal and (e) racemose precipitates that
conditions: (a) the OM micrograph, the SEM image of the: (b) marked by arrows in (d) and (c), respectively
cuboidal and (c) racemose precipitates (marked by arrows), the EDS

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628
Results and Discussion
The Microstructure of the Base Metals
Figure 2a displays the OM microstructure of the 310S base
metal in the as-received conditions. The microstructure
comprised of austenite grains, annealing twins, and δ-ferrite
stringers (3 FN ≡ 3 Fvol.%), elongated parallel to the rolling
direction. This ferrite comes from the segregation of ferrite-
stabilizing elements (mainly Cr) during the hot rolling or
solidification processes [3]. Although the existence of the
approximately 6–12 volume percentage of δ-ferrite in auste-
nitic stainless steels improves the sensitivity to solidification
cracking, it can reduce the toughness and corrosion resist-
ance of austenitic stainless steels [3, 19]. The SEM micro-
graph (Fig. 2b) shows some precipitates which are mainly
pulled out after etching. The EDS point analysis (Fig. 2c)
revealed that these precipitates are Cr- and C-rich and can
be identified as chromium carbide (­ Cr23C6), formed during
solidification from the melt or during the hot rolling process.
The presence of chromium carbide can result in a detrimen-
tal effect on the mechanical and corrosion performance of
the alloy. The base metal of the 1.4742 represents a fully
ferritic microstructure consisting of coarse and elongated
grains (Fig. 3a) in the as-received conditions. These grains
are elongated parallel to the rolling direction. Two types
of intra-granular precipitates (in a low-amount distribution)
were found in the ferritic matrix (Fig. 3b and c). As shown
in Fig. 3b and d, one type is Al- and N-rich precipitates with
cuboidal morphology and can be identified as aluminum
nitride (AlN). Figure 3c and e shows that other types of
Fig. 4  The Schaeffler constitu-
tion diagram for the prediction
of the weld metal microstruc-
tures [3]
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Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641
precipitates with a racemose morphology, rich in C, Cr, and
Fe, can be identified as two different carbides, (Cr,Fe)23C6
and (Cr,Fe)7C3 [3]. These precipitates cause losses in the
ductility and toughness of the alloy and reduce the corrosion
resistance of the alloy by removing Al and Cr elements from
the ferritic matrix.
The Microstructure of the Weld Metals
In order to predict the weld metal microstructures, the
Cr-equivalent ­(Creq) and Ni-equivalent (­ Nieq) values were
determined (using their respective chemical composition in
Table 1) based on the Schaeffler equivalency relationships
[3]. As can be seen in Fig. 4, the Schaeffler constitution dia-
gram predicts a fully austenitic microstructure for the ER310
and ERNiCr-3 weld metals, as well as a ferritic-austenitic
dual-phase microstructure for the ER446 weld metal. The
details about the microstructure of the weld metals can be
explained as follows:
The cross-sectional optical photographs for all of the
three weldments are shown in Fig.  5. The weld metal
microstructure corresponding to the ER310 filler metal
(the A regions in Fig. 5a) is fully austenitic with a cellular
and dendritic morphology represented in Fig. 6a. Taking
into account the chemical composition of the weld metal
(Table 1), Fe, Cr, and Ni are the main alloying elements of
this weld metal, which have a low tendency toward segre-
gation in the inter-dendritic and inter-granular regions [20,
21]. Thus, there is a slight constitutional super-cooling driv-
ing force to transform the solidification morphology from
cellular to dendritic morphology. However, the observation
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 629
Fig. 5  The cross-sectional optical photograph of the weld joint
welded with the: (a) ER310 filler metal, (b) ERNiCr-3 filler metal,
and (c) ER446 filler metal (please note: dotted lines show the weld
passes boundary and letters show different regions that will be
explained further)
of dendritic morphology in the ER310 weld metal may be
related to the use of high heat input during welding (Table 2)
and the increment of constitutional super-cooling [22]. The
solidification grain boundaries (SGBs), solidification sub-
grain boundaries (SSGBs), and migrated grain boundaries
(MGBs) are visible and have been indicated by arrows in
Fig. 6a. The boundary that separates the neighboring sub-
grains (cells or dendrites) is considered as SSGBs, whereas
the SGBs arise from the intersection of sub-grain packets.
The MGBs carry a high angle mis-orientation of the parent
SGBs, and their migration driving force is related to reduc-
ing the energy of the grain boundary [3]. Cr- and C-rich
precipitates were detected in the EDS point analysis of the
microstructure of this weld metal (Fig. 6b and e). The most
prominent active element present in the composition of the
ER310 weld metal is the Cr element. As reported in the
previous studies [23], Cr can be diffused into the SGBs and
SSGBs during solidification and has led to the formation of
chromium carbide precipitates (­ Cr23C6) along these bound-
aries. Figure 6c shows the microstructure of the interface
(its path has been indicated by arrows) between the weld
passes (the B regions in Fig. 6a) in the ER310 weld metal.
As it is observed, each pass exhibits an epitaxial nucleation
on the previous pass. In this type of nucleation/growth, the
nucleation occurs by arranging atoms from the liquid metal
upon the previous pass grains without altering their existing
crystallographic orientations [22]. As shown in Fig. 6d, at
the top and bottom of the weld zone and near the weld cen-
terline (the C regions in Fig. 5a) the equiaxed dendrites are
nucleated and grown. This morphology impedes the growth
of columnar dendrites [22].
As can be seen in Fig.  7a, the microstructure of the
ERNiCr-3 weld metal (the A regions in Fig. 5b) is fully aus-
tenitic and represents dendritic morphology. The presence
of the Nb element in the weld metal chemical composition
(Table 1) stabilizes the austenite phase at high temperature.
Additionally, the solidification morphology is changed from
the cellular state to the dendritic one due to the intense ten-
dency of Nb to increase the degree of constitutional super-
cooling driving force [24, 25]. As can be seen by the arrows
in Fig. 7a, the SGBs, SSGBs, and MGBs are obviously vis-
ible. According to Fig. 7b and EDS point analysis in Fig. 7e,
the ERNiCr-3 weld metal consists of inter-dendritic Nb- and
C-rich precipitates. Based on the previous investigations [26,
27], as ERNiCr-3 filler metal is diluted with two Fe-base
metals, i.e., 310S and 1.4742 base metals, due to an incre-
ment in the Fe content of the weld metal (Table 1), the Nb
solubility in austenite phase decreases. Consequently, the
segregation of Nb in the inter-dendritic region is increased
and therefore the formation of niobium carbide (NbC) and
laves ­(Fe2Nb) phases can take place. These two eutectic-type
constituents significantly extend the solidification tempera-
ture range of the weld metal and can cause the solidification
cracking [22, 26, 27]. Figure 7c and d portrays the epitaxial
nucleation at the interface (its path has been indicated by
arrows) of the weld passes (the B regions in Fig. 5b) and
equiaxed dendrites (the C regions in Fig. 5b), respectively.
The microstructure of the ER446 weld metal exhibited a
dual-phase microstructure, as depicted in Fig. 8a. The XRD
result (Fig. 9) taken from the top surface of this weld metal
revealed that the matrix and second phases are ferrite and
austenite, respectively. Elmer et al. [28] investigated the
influence of the chemical composition and cooling rate on
the microstructure of stainless steels using Fe–Ni–Cr alloys.
They showed that if the primary solidification modes are
ferritic or ferritic-austenitic (with a ferrite volume fraction
which is nearly 100 percent) along with the cooling rate in
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630 Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641

Fig. 6  The micrograph of the ER310 weld metal microstructure (the Fig.  5a), (d) the optical micrograph of the equiaxed dendrites at the
A regions in Fig. 5a): (a) OM and (b) SEM (precipitates are marked top and bottom of the weld zone and near the weld centerline (the C
by arrows), (c) the optical micrograph of the interface (its path is regions in Fig. 5a), and (e) the EDS point analysis of the precipitates
indicated by arrows) between the weld passes (the B regions in that marked by arrows in (b)

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Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 631

Fig. 7  The micrograph of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal microstructure in Fig. 5b), (d) the optical micrograph of the equiaxed dendrites at the
(the A regions in Fig.  5b): (a) OM and (b) SEM (precipitates are top and bottom of the weld zone and near the weld centerline (the C
marked by arrows), (c) the optical micrograph of the interface (its regions in Fig. 5b), and (e) the EDS point analysis of the precipitates
path is indicated by arrows) between the weld passes (the B regions that marked by arrows in (b)

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632 Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641

Fig. 8  The optical micrograph of the ER446 weld metal microstructure: (a) the A region in Fig. 5c, (b) the interface (its path is indicated by
arrows) between the weld passes (the B region in Fig. 5c), (c) the C region in Fig. 5c, and (d) the D region in Fig. 5c

Table 3  The EDS point analysis results from the top toward the bot-
tom of the ER446 weld metal cross section
Element Weight percentage, wt.%
Top zone Middle zone Bottom zone

C 4.7 3.5 3.2

Si 0.5 0.6 0.7
Mn 1.4 1.3 1.2
Cr 23.1 23.6 22.3
Ni 0.9 5.1 7.1
Al 0.2 0.3 0.3
Fig. 9  The XRD results taken from the top surface of the ER446
Fe Bal. Bal. Bal.
weld metal

the range of arc welding processes, the austenitic phase can in Fig. 5c), the microstructure consists of large primary
be present in the microstructure via eutectic and solid-state ferrite grains growing approximately parallel to the heat-
transformations with blocky (allotriomorph) and Widman- flow direction accompanied by blocky and Widmanstatten
statten morphologies. As can be seen in Fig. 8a (the A region austenite. Similar observations have been reported by other

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Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 633
Fig. 10  The SEM image of the ER446 weld metal along with the EDS point analysis of the precipitates (precipitates are marked by arrows)
researchers [29, 30]. It is said that in these solidification
modes, detecting the sub-grains is difficult and a cellular-
dendritic morphology could generally be formed [28]. In this
regard, it must be pointed out that Widmanstatten austenite
is mainly formed on the grain boundary and blocky austen-
ite has been arranged in chain shape inside the grains. This
chain shape may be attributed to the existence of the sub-
grains. As depicted in Fig. 8a–d (regions A-D in Fig. 5c),
there is a gradual increase in the volume fraction of the aus-
tenitic phase moving from the top (the third pass) toward the
bottom (the back weld pass) of the weld metal cross section.
The obtained results from the ferritometry test revealed the
ferrite content of 105 FN ≡ 74 Fvol.%, 95 FN ≡ 66 Fvol.%,
and 89 FN ≡ 63 Fvol.% within the top, middle, and bottom of
the weld metal, respectively. Considering the chemical com-
position of the base metals and ER446 filler metal (Table 1),
within the bottom of the weld metal, a relatively large por-
tion of the base metals, i.e., 310S austenitic with the highest
content of gamma-genic Ni element and 1.4742 ferritic with
the lowest content of alpha-genic Cr element, are melted
and diluted into the weld metal. On the other hand, dilution
is minimum within the third pass [31]. Hence, by moving
from the top to the bottom of the weld metal cross section,
dilution can lead to a gradual decrement in the ­Creq to ­Nieq
ratio and increases the volume fraction of the austenitic
phase [3, 31]. Although the authors acknowledge that EDS
is a semi-quantitative analysis, we conducted the EDS point
analysis on a polished cross section of the weld metal at a
low magnification of 300X from the top, middle, and bottom
of the weld. Table 3 summarizes the EDS point analysis
measurements. It can be seen that the relative content of
Ni (an indicator of 310S dilution) and Al (an indicator of
1.4742 dilution) elements increased the movement from the
top toward the bottom of the weld metal cross section. The
low-amount distribution of precipitates in the ER446 weld
metal was observed using SEM in Fig. 10. The EDS point
analysis (Fig. 10) revealed that these precipitates are Cr- and
C-rich and can be identified as chromium carbide ­(Cr23C6).
The Microstructure of the Interface and HAZ
The interface between the ER310 weld metal and 310S base
metal (the D region in Fig. 5a) is presented in Fig. 11a. The
microstructure reveals an epitaxial growth in the fusion
line formed due to the same crystallographic structure and
chemical composition of the base and weld metal [22]. Addi-
tionally, the columnar growth and therefore Type-I bounda-
ries that are approximately perpendicular to the fusion line
can be seen in the weld metal near the fusion line. No clear
grain growth in the HAZ of the 310S base metal has been
detected (Fig. 11a). In the case of the solution-annealed and
hot-rolled stainless steels, the grain growth in the HAZ tends
to be restricted unless weld heat inputs are extremely high
[3]. The HAZ microstructures of the 310S base metal were
similar to the other two ERNiCr-3 and ER446 weld metals.
As shown in Fig. 11b, the interface of the ER310 weld metal
and 1.4742 base metal (the E region in Fig. 5a) reveals the
presence of an unmixed zone (UZ) in which a part of the
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634
Fig. 11  The OM microstructure of the: (a) interface between the
ER310 weld metal and 310S base metal (the D region in Fig.  5a)
and HAZ of the 310S base metal and (b) interface of the ER310
weld metal and 1.4742 base metal (the E region in Fig. 5a) and high-
base metal has totally been melted and re-solidified without
the proper mixing with the filler metal. The SEM micro-
graph together with an EDS line scan analysis across this
zone is presented in Fig. 11c. The UZ existence is due to the
difference in the chemical compositions and melting ranges
of the filler metals and the base metals. This will be seen in
the morphologies of the peninsula, island, and beach in the
microstructure of the weld metal near the fusion line [32].
Figure 11b and c shows the UZ in the form of the peninsula.
In comparison with austenitic stainless steels, generally,
ferritic stainless steels experience an extreme grain growth
in the HAZ. This behavior is mainly due to the lack of or
negligible solid-state transformation during welding thermal
cycles and higher diffusion rates in the body-centered cubic
(BCC) structure of ferritic stainless steels. Moreover, the
higher thermal conductivity of ferritic stainless steels can
promote the heat flow and extend the width of HAZ [3].
13
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641
temperature HAZ of the 1.4742 base metal, (c) the SEM micrograph
along with the EDS line scan analysis of the interface between the
ER310 weld metal and 1.4742 base metal, and (d) the OM micro-
structure of the low-temperature HAZ of the 1.4742 base metal
As mentioned before, the microstructure of the 1.4742 base
metal consisted of large elongated grains as a result of cold
deformation (Fig. 3a). The HAZ of the 1.4742 base metal
exhibited two distinct regions and could be divided into the
high-temperature HAZ (Fig. 11b) and the low-temperature
HAZ (Fig. 11d). The complete recrystallization and intense
grain coarsening occurred in the high-temperature HAZ.
Also, a great amount of inter- and intra-granular precipitates
with different morphologies was observed by SEM (Fig. 12).
The EDS point analysis (Fig. 12) specified that these pre-
cipitates can be complex carbides, such as (Cr,Fe)23C6 and
(Cr,Fe)7C3, as reported by other researchers [33–35]. Intra-
granular precipitates have linear, fine dispersed, and cuboidal
(surrounded by fine dispersed precipitates) morphologies.
Inter-granular precipitates have linear and cuboidal (sur-
rounded by fine dispersed precipitates) morphologies. Linear
intra-granular precipitates are formed on the sub-grains [34].
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 635
Fig. 12  The SEM image of the high-temperature HAZ of the 1.4742
base metal along with the EDS point analysis of the precipitates
(please note: linear inter- and intra-granular precipitates are shown by
Cuboidal inter- and intra-granular precipitates may originate
from the pre-existed racemose precipitates as depicted in
Fig. 3c. It is only the recrystallization that is noteworthy
next to the high-temperature HAZ and toward the 1.4742
base metal in the low-temperature HAZ. In the case of the
other two ERNiCr-3 and ER446 weld metals, the similar
HAZ microstructures of the 1.4742 base metal with differ-
ent amounts of grain sizes and precipitates were obtained.
The difference is due to the difference in the heat input [34].
As the heat input increases, the cooling rate is reduced and
the duration time for the formation of precipitates and grain
growth becomes longer. In this respect, the maximum and
minimum of the heat input are attributed to the ERNiCr-3
and ER310 weld metals, respectively (Table 2). The UZ can
be seen on both sides of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal (Fig. 13).
The UZ at the interface of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal and
310S base metal (the D region in Fig. 5b) has a beach mor-
phology (Fig. 13a) and its SEM micrograph with the EDS
line scan analysis is demonstrated in Fig. 13c. The similarity
of the crystal structure of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal and the
310S base metal (face-centered cubic-FCC) has led to the
epitaxial growth from the UZ (Fig. 13a). Figure 13b and d
shows the UZ in the form of a peninsula and an island at the
interface of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal and 1.4742 base metal
(the E region in Fig. 5b).
The interfaces of the ER446 weld metal with the 310S
base metal (Fig. 14a and c: the E region in Fig. 5c), as well
as with the 1.4742 base metal (Fig. 14b: the F region in
white and black arrows, respectively. cuboidal inter- and intra-granu-
lar precipitates are shown by dotted white and white circles, respec-
tively)
Fig. 5c), indicate the presence of UZ with beach morphol-
ogy and epitaxial growth, respectively. In the case of the
interface between the ER446 weld metal and 1.4742 base
metal, as mentioned before, the primary solidification mode
of this weld metal was almost fully ferritic. Thus, this weld
metal can nucleate/grow from the 1.4742 base metal side in
epitaxial form.
Hardness
The micro-hardness profile results across the middle of the
weldments are shown in Fig. 15. For the 310S base metal,
the hardness value was 212.8 ± 2.6HV and did not reveal a
meaningful variation in the HAZ near the fusion line. The
hardness value of the 1.4742 base metal was 205.9 ± 1.9 HV,
which is less than the 310S base metal. There is a gradual
decrement corresponding to low-temperature HAZ, and then
there is a considerable increment corresponding to high-
temperature HAZ in hardness values from the 1.4742 base
metal toward the fusion line. These changes within the HAZ
of the 1.4742 base metal are related to the experienced ther-
mal cycles and therefore the microstructural difference. The
formation of precipitates and recrystallization/grain growth
are the two main mechanisms that can explain these phe-
nomena. In the low-temperature HAZ, the recrystallization/
grain growth decreases hardness and the ERNiCr-3 weld
metal with the highest heat input shows the maximum decre-
ment. Yet in the high-temperature HAZ despite serious grain
13

636
Fig. 13  The OM microstructure of the interface of the ERNiCr-3
weld metal and: (a) 310S base metal (the D region in Fig.  5b) and
(b) 1.4742 base metal (the E region in Fig. 5b), the SEM micrograph
growth, the hardness increases and the maximum hardness
increment belongs to the ERNiCr-3 weld metal. This hard-
ness increment is attributed to the precipitation of complex
carbides. Therefore, it seems that in the high-temperature
HAZ, the effect of precipitation (a hardening factor) is a
more dominant mechanism than the recrystallization/grain
growth (a softening factor). For the ER310, ERNiCr-3, and
ER446 weld metals, the hardness values were obtained as
207.7 ± 2.2 HV, 211.4 ± 3.2 HV, and 221.9 ± 5 HV, respec-
tively. All the weld metals exhibited higher hardness than
the 1.4742 base metal. Among the weld metals, the ER310
and ER446 weld metals showed the minimum and maximum
hardness values, respectively. The higher hardness accom-
panied with large fluctuations (the high-standard deviation)
of the ER446 weld metal could be attributed to the presence
of the ferrite and different morphologies of the austenite.
13
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641
along with the EDS line scan analysis of the interface between the
ERNiCr-3 weld metal and: (c) 310S base metal, and (d) 1.4742 base
metal
Impact Toughness
The average impact energy for all of the three welds and base
metals is listed in Fig. 16. Moreover, the SEM images of
the fracture surfaces are depicted in Fig. 17. The 310S base
metal with the FCC crystal structure and Ni content enjoys
higher impact energy than the 1.4742 base metal. The impact
energy for all the three weld metals is higher than the value
relating to the 1.4742 base metal and indicates that all the
three filler metals can provide the required toughness for this
DMW. The impact energy of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal is the
highest, even as compared to the 310S base metal. This can
be due to the FCC crystal structure of the ERNiCr-3 weld
metal coupled with the highest Ni content [23]. In contrast,
the ER446 weld metal results in the minimum impact energy
among the weld metals. This can be attributed to the pres-
ence of large and directional ferrite grains (Fig. 8). Large
and directional ferrite grains signify a smaller number of
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 637

Fig. 14  The optical microstructure of the interfaces of the ER446 along with the EDS line scan analysis of the interface between the
weld metal and: (a) 310S base metal (the E region in Fig. 5c) and (b) ER446 weld metal and 310S base metal
1.4742 base metal (the F region in Fig. 5c), (c) the SEM micrograph

Fig. 15  Vickers micro-hardness
profiles across the weldments

13

638
Fig. 16  Charpy V-notch impact energy of the base and weld metals
at room temperature (please note: DF ductile fracture, BF brittle frac-
ture)
grain boundaries and planar crack-growth paths, respec-
tively. Hence, both of them promote the crack propagation
and hence the lower impact energy [16].
The 310S base metal, ER310, and ERNiCr-3 weld metals
did not undergo a complete rupture, and the notch defor-
mation was occurred, whereas the 1.4742 base metal and
ER446 weld metal experienced a complete rupture in all
the trials. As depicted in Fig. 17a, c, and d, the fracture
surfaces of the 310S base metal, as well as ER310, and
ERNiCr-3 weld metals are ductile, including the morphol-
ogy with fibrous patterns and dimples. For the ERNiCr-3
weld metal (Fig. 17d), some cracks, which are known as
fish-mouth opening, can be observed [36]. Although we did
not detect any solidification crack, these fish-mouth opening
cracks may be propagated from the pre-existing solidifica-
tion micro-cracks, facilitating the easy crack propagation
and decrement in impact energy. As can be seen in Fig. 17b,
a brittle fracture took place in the 1.4742 base metal, includ-
ing the river patterns. The images of the fracture surface
of the ER446 weld metal display the characteristics of a
granular (brittle-cleavage) fracture along with some plasti-
cally deformed zones (as shown in Fig. 17e and f). These
plastically deformed zones pertain to the austenite phase
undergoing plastic deformation. The same fracture surface
feature was reported by Kawaguchi et al. [37].
Dilatometry
As mentioned in the introduction, one of the main reasons
for the precocious failure of dissimilar joints at high tem-
perature, especially in thermal cycling conditions, is the
induced thermal stresses resulting from the difference in
13
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641
the CTE. The induced thermal stresses due to the CTE mis-
match in one of the metals associated with DMWs, close to
the interface, can be estimated using the following equation
[38]:
𝜎 = E × Δ𝛼 × ΔT (1)
where σ is the induced thermal stresses (MPa), E is the
elastic modulus of that metal (MPa), Δα is the linear CTE
mismatch between the two metals (°C−1), and ΔT is the tem-
perature changes (°C). According to Eq 1, the higher linear
CTE mismatch produces higher induced thermal stresses.
Therefore, the linear CTE for the base and weld metals as a
function of temperature was measured and has been meas-
ured and is shown in Fig. 18. At temperatures above 600 °C,
the maximum and minimum linear CTEs are related to the
310S and 1.4742 base metal, respectively. This large linear
CTE mismatch, i.e., ~ 4 × 10−6/°C, at temperatures above
600  °C can cause a stress concentration along the joint
interface, especially in thermal cycling conditions. Thus, a
desirable candidate to be selected as a filler metal should
have a linear CTE between the two base metals, leading to
creating a weld joint with a graded and smooth transition
in the interfacial properties [39, 40]. In order to meet CTE
between the CTE of the 310S and 1.4742 base metals, the
ERNiCr-3 and ER446 filler metals must be used. Addition-
ally, the weld metal corresponding to the ERNiCr-3 filler
metal with a linear CTE approximately equal to the mean
value of the two base metals is more effective in reducing
the induced thermal stresses resulting from the difference
in the CTE.
Conclusions
Three types of filler metal, ER310, ERNiCr-3, and ER446,
were used to obtain the dissimilar welding between the
1.4742 ferritic and 310S austenitic heat-resistant stainless
steels using the GTAW process. The mechanical and physi-
cal properties of the weld joints, as well as the microstruc-
tural evolution, were investigated and the main outcomes
are as follows:
(1) The microstructure of the ER310 and ERNiCr-3 weld
metals was fully austenitic. A cellular and dendritic
morphology was seen for the ER310 weld metal,
while a dendritic solidification structure occurred for
the ERNiCr-3 weld metal. The microstructure of the
ER446 weld metal exhibited a ferritic-austenitic dual-
phase microstructure.
(2) An unmixed zone with different morphologies was
observed on both sides of the ERNiCr-3 weld metal,
while for the ER310 and ER446 weld metals it was
formed merely on one side.
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis (2019) 8:623–641 639

Fig. 17  The SEM image taken from the fracture surface of the: (a) 310S base metal, (b) 1.4742 base metal, (c) ER310 weld metal, (d) ERNiCr-3
weld metal, and (e) ER446 weld metal, (f) higher magnification of (e) marked by a white rectangle

(3) The HAZ of the 1.4742 base metal side showed two
distinct regions, including the high-temperature HAZ
and low-temperature HAZ. The complete recrystalliza-
tion and intense grain coarsening occurred in the high-
temperature HAZ and in the low-temperature HAZ
only recrystallization was noteworthy.
(4) The presence of the ferrite and different morphologies
of the austenite resulted in the highest hardness in the
weld metal made by using the ER446 filler metal.
(5) The ERNiCr-3 weld metal had the highest impact
energy, due to the FCC crystal structure coupled with
the highest Ni content. In contrast, the ER446 weld
metal displayed the lowest value, as a result of the pres-
ence of large and directional ferrite grains.
(6) The weld metal made by using the ERNiCr-3 filler
metal with a linear CTE approximately equal to the
mean value of the linear CTE of the two base metals is
a better choice to reduce the induced thermal stresses
across the joint interface.

13

640
Fig. 18  The linear CTE for the base and weld metals as a function of
temperature
(7) Based on the mechanical and physical properties, as
well as the microstructural evolution in this work, the
ERNiCr-3 filler metal was proposed as a better filler
metal for the dissimilar welding between the 1.4742
ferritic and 310S austenitic heat-resistant stainless
steels.
Acknowledgements  Authors acknowledge the National Iranian South
Oil Company (NIOC), Iran (Project No. 1397-DC-1271) and Shahid
Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran (Grant Nos. 97/3/02/26247 and
97/7/02/26247) for financial support.
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