Welding Technology

TL184730 – 3 Credits

Welding of Metals

Yusuf Pradesar, Ph.D.

Introduction

This chapter can be used as short reference/ best

practice for welding of
 Carbon steel
 Alloy steel
 Stainless steel
 Cast iron

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Welding of Carbon Steel

 Carbon steel is an alloy of Fe and C with a few elemental

added such as: Si, Mn, P, S and Cu.
 Carbon and low-alloy steels represent over 95% of the
construction and fabrication metals used worldwide.
 Good mechanical properties over a wide range of
strength combined with relatively low cost and ease of
fabrication account for the widespread use of steels.
 Excellent choices for use in appliances, vehicles, bridges,
buildings, machinery, pressure vessels, offshore
structures, railroad equipment, ships, and a wide range of
consumer products

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Welding of Carbon Steel

 Microstructure of carbon steel are ferrite and cementite

with configuration according to its carbon content.
 The mechanical properties of carbon steel are strongly
influenced by the amount of carbon content. The higher
the carbon content, the stronger and harder the steel.
However, with an increase of carbon content, the
ductility decreases.
 The mechanical properties of carbon steel also
depends on the microstructure at room temperature.

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Microstructure of Carbon Steel

Equilibrium state
 In form of solid solution (iron dissolves carbon): α-iron
(ferrite), austenite, δ-iron
 In form of compound: cementite (Fe3C)
 In form of mixture: pearlite (α-Fe3C-α-Fe3C- ….) in
lamellar formation
Non equilibrium state
 Bainite
 Martensite/ temper martensite

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Carbon Content

Based on the carbon content, carbon steel is classified

into:
 Low carbon steel (Low carbon)
 Medium carbon steel
 High carbon steel (High carbon)

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Carbon Content

 Steel is the most widely used material, so the welding

of carbon steel and alloy steel is also the most widely
applied compared to other metal
 Commercial carbon steel contain % C < 1%, 1.65% Mn;
0.6% Si and 0.6% Cu

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Welding of Low Carbon Steel (%C < 0,15%)

 Welding properties: Low carbon steel (mild steel) has

good welding properties. Since low carbon steel has
good ductility, which needed to prevent weld crack

 Commonly does not cause problems, as long as the

thickness is less than 1 inch, does not require pre and
post heating and electrode used low carbon.

 Cracks can occur on the welding of thick plates or

when the carbon steel contain high Sulfur element.

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Welding of Mild Steel (0,15% - 0,3%C)

 Mild steel is still easy to weld. The mechanical

properties might slightly increase when high cooling
rate applied (strength and hardness)

 Post heat may be needed to prevent residual stress

and restore its ductility

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Welding of Medium Carbon Steel (0,3% - 0,5%C)

 Can be welded with any type of arc welding.

 Weldability is good when the manganese levels are
high, because manganese slowing cooling rate
 This steel is hardenable, hence a treatment on the
welding process must be considered
 Requires preheat or postheat or both.
 Use low hydrogen electrode with medium carbon
content.

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Welding of High Carbon Steel (%C 0,5% - 1%)

 Welding process is difficult, because even a low cooling

rate still promote the formation of martensite. And it
means that tendency of crack is high
 Requires pre and post heat; Stress relieving and low
hydrogen electrode. Sometimes for very high carbon
content, an extra low carbon electrode is used to
increase the resistance to the weld crack.
 Temperature pre heat, interpass and post heat are
made equal to temperature Ms

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 Medium and high carbon steels contain C and other
elements that can increase hardness. Due to its high
hardness properties, the HAZ easily hardened. The
hardenability properties plus the presence of hydrogen
diffusion make this steel very sensitive to weld cracks.
 Welding crack can be avoided by preheating with carbon-
dependent and carbon-equivalent temperatures (204oC
and above).
 In addition, it must be ensured that the electrodes used
are not humid, hence it will not contribute hydrogen
diffusion and contaminate the process

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 The amount of martensite formed in
the welding of medium and high
carbon steels will affect the
distribution of weld metal hardness

 This example shows the hardness

curve of several types of steel at a
cooling rate of 705oC / sec
 Hardening of HAZ can be minimized
by slow cooling or by reheating at
temperatures between 600 and
650°C.

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 Simple guidance of welding carbon steel with
variation of carbon content and thickness

Information :
A = does not require pre and post heat
B = sometimes requires pre heat but does not require
post heat
C = requires pre and post heat 16
Empirical equation to determine preheat temperature:
oF = 1000 (C - 0.01) + 18 t

C = carbon content %
t = thickness (inch)

conversion:

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Welding of Alloy Steel

Standards for Alloy Steel

SAE or AISI Steel :
 10 XX ≈ XX /100% plain carbon steel
 2320 = Nickel steel % C = 0,20
 33XX = Ni Cr steel
 40XX = Mo steel
 50XX = Cr steel
 60XX = Cr V steel

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Effect of Alloying Elements

 Al ≈ Si = deoxidator
 Cr = strength, corrosion resistance
 Co = hardness and strength at high temperatures
 Cu = atmospheric corrosion resistance
 Mn = toughness, hot shortness resistance
 Ni = toughness, strength
 N = embrittlement (nitride) shortness
 P = keep low as possible, good machinability
 S = keep low as possible, good machinability, hot crack
 Mo = hardening element

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Carbon Equivalent

 Elements that increase hardenability (Cr, Mo and C) are

elements that make welding difficult to handle. The larger
the C and alloying elements will promote the formation of
martensite, thus making welding difficult.
 To say one of the weldability factors of alloy metal is used:

 Hence using Ceq or CE, we can determine the

characteristics of metal for welding
* IIW = International Institute of Welding
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 Ceq <0.4% does not need preheat
and postheat
 Ceq = 0.4% - 0.6% might need
preheat
 Ceq > 0.6% needs preheat and
postheat
 Those criteria above is one factor
to prevent weld crack, while there
are still other factors affecting as
well

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 CCT diagram for SAE AISI 4340 low alloy steel
 Note that, in order to get satisfying result of welding,
cooling rate must in accordance with CCT diagram 23
 Effect of alloying elements on the possibility of cold
crack on steel welding
High alloy steel with a high Ceq is still has low tendency of
cold crack if% C <0.1% 24
Welding of Stainless Steel

 Stainless Steel is basically an alloy steel containing at

least 10.5% chromium to prevent corrosion processes
(metal corrosion), with or without other alloying
elements
 Carbon content 0.025% to 1.2%
 Cr content min 10% and max 24%

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Welding of Stainless Steel

 The corrosion resistance properties are obtained from a

thin layer of Cr2O3 chromium oxide on steel surface.
 This oxide is spontaneous and self repairing, if surface
damage occurs, this layer will close immediately and
protect the substrate from contact with oxygen
(preventing the formation of Fe oxide)
 When stainless steel is exposed on a conditions which
damage the layer for long period, stainless steel
become susceptible to corrosion.

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Welding of Stainless Steel

 Stainless steel can be welded as well as carbon steel

welding.
 Type of welding: GTAW, FCAW and SAW
 These types of weld commonly used because welding
of SS requires high heat input and high welding speed
 This purpose is to get a fast heat transfer from molten
metal to base metal.

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Welding of Stainless Steel

 If cooling rate is slow, stainless steel will be susceptible

to carbide precipitation
 Before welding, the surface should be kept clean ->
minimize the contaminant
 Contaminants if exposed to heat will burn -> become
carbon
 Carbon into stainless steel -> reacts with Cr -> weld
defect and carbide precipitation

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Welding of Stainless Steel

 The during welding. CaF and NaF are the most

common fluorides used in covered electrode coatings,
fluxes for flux cored electrodes, and SAW fluxes.

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Welding of Cast Iron

 The term cast iron applies to a wide range of iron base

castings with chemical compositions within the
following limits: carbon, 1.7% to 4.5%; silicon, 0.5% to
3.0%; manganese, 0.2% to 1.3%; phosphorus, 0.8%
maximum; and sulfur, 0.2% maximum.
 The large number of carbon and limited solubility of C
in austenite (2% max), yields formation of cementite
(Fe3C) or graphite structure inside cast iron
Welding of Cast Iron
Classification of Cast Iron:
 White cast iron, large S content and fast cooling rate
 Gray cast iron, large Si element (ferro-silicon)
 Malleable cast iron malleable (made from white cast
iron) annealed 950oC
 Nodular cast iron, additional element (inoculation) (Mg,
Co, Se)
 Alloy cast iron (Cr, Ni, Mo)

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 WELDABILITY
Cast iron is generally hard to be joined using welding
because:
 If the cooling rate is rapid, the carbon-rich phase will form
iron carbide (Fe3C); if the cooling rate is slow enough, the
carbon precipitates as elemental carbon (graphite).
 At very long-time heating, the graphite turns into coarse,
which causes the cast iron to be hard and brittle
 All types of cast iron except white iron can be welded,
although none of them “weldable” as carbon steel. A major
factor contributes the difficulty of welding cast iron is lack of
plastic ductility.
 Cast part/ product contains lots of sand and cavities. This will
yield gas pocket => porosity
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Weld Metal
 Weld metal consists of the base metal that is melted
during welding, which may be mixed with the filler metal.
When the molten cast iron is rapidly cooled, the carbon
easily forms a hard, brittle Fe3C, which susceptible to
cracking.
 To improve this condition, postweld heat treatment
(PWHT) may reduce or eliminate iron carbides found in
the weld metal.
Partially Melted Zone
 The partially melted zone, is an extension of the heat-
affected zone, which occurs when a high peak
temperature has caused partial melting of the base metal
near the weld interface.
 This region has extreme brittleness that affects
mechanical properties
 The liquid in the partially melted region is similar to liquid
eutectic cast iron, which solidifies as white iron because
of the fast cooling rates that take place during cooling
process
Heat-Affected Zone
 The heat-affected zone (HAZ) is the area of the base
metal that reaches a temperature high enough to bring
about metallurgical changes, but not high enough to
cause melting.
 The graphite in this zone is not sufficiently altered to
cause carbide problems. Cooling rate at this zone tends
to slow, hence carbon might form graphite through
precipitation from eutectic structure.
 Brittleness associated with the martensite can be reduced
by slow cooling or a postweld heat treatment.
Welding Procedure for Cast Iron
 Determine the type of iron (e.g., gray iron, ductile iron,
compacted graphite, or other) AWS D11.2- 89
 Giving preheat to the workpiece in order to prevent
thermal shock (=> cause crack)
 Reduce heat input given, hence the heat is only melting
both the filler and the parent metal.
 Can be buried into sand after welding to create slow
cooling process

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Preheat temperature to avoid crack
Repair welding:
 In order to close cracks or porous caused by casting
process, the defect part is chipped and grinded
sufficiently. Welded with SMAW or oxy-acytelene with
steel consumable electrode
 If there is preheat, it should be a local preheat. If the
color factor does not a problem, braze welding is
possible to do if the defect is somewhat deep.
 Make a conical hole and then welded in a circle pattern.
 If a groove needed, its should not tapered to prevent a
notch

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Maitenance welding: generally, for crack and worn
situation
Way to do: Oxy-acytelene- welding with steel filler rod. The
use of filler is to fill the crack or cavity
However, in general, repair welding to close cracks can not
restore / recover mechanical properties, due to the
mechanical properties of the cast iron itself which
complicate the joining process.

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DISSIMILAR METAL WELDING

 Metal welding is not always joining same metal; some

of them, might come from different metals

What is meant by dissimilar?

 the difference in terms of chemical elements (different
material), as well as
 differences in terms of metallurgy (same material but
different chemical composition)

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DISSIMILAR METAL WELDING

 This difference will affect chemical composition on weld

metal, since it might consist of three different material
 Almost all metals can be combined with welding,
soldering and mechanical joining
 Different metal welding requires an appropriate filler for
both metals

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DISSIMILAR METAL WELDING

 The weld metal will have characteristics that are not

exactly similar as both base metals
 Because of the metal differences, the dissimilar metal
welding must use appropriate procedures
 In dissimilar metal welding (DM), the main concern is
the composition and mechanical properties of weld
metal

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DISSIMILAR METAL WELDING

 The chemical composition of weld metal depends on

the dilution of the base metal on each side, and filler
chemical composition
 When welding is performed, two metals (plus filler) will
melt and mixed in the weld pool.
 The formed phase can be a mixture or a compound
between two elements

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DISSIMILAR METAL WELDING

The chemical composition of weld metal can be found in

two ways:
1. volume ratio between melted base metal with weld
metal volume
2. base metal composition compared to weld metal

This theory is called dilution

Dilution: the weight of the melted base metal divided by
the total weight of weld metal

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Dilution percentage

Dilution percentage can be searched by observing the

cross-section area of a weld
Based on the dilution, the average percentage of alloying
elements in weld metal can be calculated by:

𝑋𝑤 = 𝐷𝐴 𝑋𝐴 + 𝐷𝐵 𝑋𝐵 + (1 − 𝐷𝑇 )(𝑋𝐹 )

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 𝑋𝑤 = 𝐷𝐴 𝑋𝐴 + 𝐷𝐵 𝑋𝐵 + (1 − 𝐷𝑇 )(𝑋𝐹 )

Where,
XW = average percentage of X elements in weld metal
XA = percentage of element X in base metal A
XB = percentage of element X in base metal B
XF = average percentage of X elements in filler metal
DA = percent dilution of metal A
DB = percent dilution of metal B
DT = total dilution percentage of metal A + metal B

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Melting Temperature (Tm)

 Joining two different metals with fusion requires melting

of both two metals.
 If the Tm difference of two metals is less than 200oF or
93oC, normal welding procedures may be used
 However, if the Tm difference is more than that, then
other joining methods should be considered (brazing,
solid state welding)

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Melting Temperature (Tm)

Lists of metal properties compared to of carbon

steel 54
Melting Temperature (Tm)

 Welding of two metals which high ΔTm, will result in the

damage of metal with low Tm
 This is because the metal with high Tm will induce heat,
causing stresses in other metal
 This problem can be overcome by "buttering"

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Melting Temperature (Tm)

 Buttering is performed by applying a filler with Tm

between two base metals (TmA <TmF <TmB), one or more
layers on a metal with a higher melting point
 Next, the welding process is performed between the
metal with low Tm and the buttered surface

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Thermal Conductivity

 Most metals and alloys are good heat conductors

 Conversely, a very high heat conductivity will affect
number of heat input to melt the metal locally (might not
concentrate heat at the correct spot)
 Welding of two different metals should also consider
the conductivity of each metal.

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Method

 The heat source (electrode) shall be directed to a metal

having higher thermal conductivity in order to obtain a
balanced dilution with a metal having lower thermal
conductivity
 Another method is to provide sufficient preheat to
metals with higher thermal conductivity

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Thermal Expansion

 Thermal expansion is the most important factor in

dissimilar metal welding.
 Large differences in the coefficients of thermal
expansion of two metals will result in tensile stress on
one metal and the compressive stress on the other
metal
 As a result, crack will occur on the weld metal when
cooling occurs

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Thermal Expansion

 The coefficient of thermal expansion is calculated by

 That is the change in strain due to temperature

changes
 Or change length due to temperature change

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Thermal Expansion
 Stress that occurs in HAZ can be calculated with

 Where E is the elastic modulus

 Δα is the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion
between two metals
 Therefore, to prevent the occurrence of crack, it should
be avoided welding of two metals that have large Δα

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Preheat and Postheat Treatment

 Preheat and / or post heat are important considerations

for different metal welding, especially for stainless steel
welding (sensitization vulnerability)
 Therefore, the consideration include:
 Whether pre / postheat is necessary (depends on
thickness, material type)
 Pre / postheat temperature
 Sides or parts that need to be pre / postheated

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Service Consideration

 Different metal welding has consequences on different

mechanical properties of welded joints.
 Weld metal will also have different properties,
depending on which side of the parent metal is diluted
more
 In the case of design, two metals should be selected
with similar conductivity and heat expansion

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Service Consideration

 If factor the above can not be fulfilled, an intermediate

filler shall be used, which has an expansion coefficient
between the two parent metals.
 This will lower the degree of cooling of the weld joint

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Corrosion Consideration

 Weld corrosion can be found, for example, in stainless

steel, where slow cooling leads to precipitation of
carbides and reduces resistance to corrosion
 Galvanic corrosion may also occur between two
different metals. The low-potential metal will corrode
 To overcome the galvanic problem, a cathodic
protection is required in order to protect metal with low
potential (EMF) and switch the flow of electrons to the
sacrificial anode.

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Filler Metal Selection Criteria
 Soundness (ability to fill gap welds), does not cause
crack and compatible for both metals
 Stable microstructures on weld metal (not diffuse into
base metal)
 Physical properties, between two parent metals,
especially thermal conductivity and expansion
 Mechanical properties, at least equal to or higher than
weakest base metal in usage conditions
 Corrosion resistance, must be higher or equal to the
corrosion resistance of both metals to avoid corrosion of
the weld metal

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Some Problems raised on different
Metal Welding
Stainless Steel and Carbon Steel
 Austenitic, ferritic and martensitic SS can be welded
with CS by conventional procedures
 Filler used is SS based with Ni-Fe or Ni-Cr-Fe based
filler
 The risk of welding, the occurrence of migration of C
from base metal to weld metal to react with Cr at 800oC

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Some Problems raised on different Metal
Welding
 In low carbon steel this is not a problem
 In medium carbon steels, this will lead to depletion of
carbon and weaken the mechanical properties of carbon
steel HAZ
 As a result, there will be failure on carbon steel
 One solution is to use an intermediate filler that has
carbon content between CS and SS
 This filler is connected first to CS (buttering) and then SS
can be connected with buttering surface

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Chromium Steel with Carbon Steel

 For Cr-Steel welding (SAE AISI 41xx, 43xx, 50xx and

51xx) with Carbon steel requires filler with Cr content
equal to Cr in Cr-Steel but less hardenable
 For Cr-Steel with low alloy steel, used filler with the
same chemical composition as low alloy steel
 Welding of Cr-Steel, chose filler with Cr content equal
to the highest Cr content of the parent metal

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