Welding of Duplex and
Super Duplex Stainless Steels
Fronius Open Day
Wednesday 26th April 2017
voestalpine Böhler Welding
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More than 145 years of know-how
mergers & acquisitions
of best-in-class welding companies:
Thyssen, Böhler, UTP, Avesta Welding,
Soudokay, Fontargen, Fileur, Maruti
in the steel
a voestalpine
industry
company
since 1870
since 2007
in the welding
consumables business
since 1926
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Production sites in Europe
Malmö | Sweden
Hamm | Germany 1,200 tons annual capacity
55,000 tons annual capacity Filler metals and fluxes for
Stick electrodes, solid wire, flux brazing and soldering
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brazing and soldering spraying powders
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Flux cored wire, stick electrodes,
Seneffe | Belgium solid wire
7,500 tons annual capacity
Hardfacing flux cored wire for Cittadella | Italy
maintenance & repair, Welding fluxes 6,000 tons annual capacity
for maintenance & repair, Strips for
strip cladding process Seamless flux cored wire
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Why am I here doing this presentation?
- Austenitic stainless steels are increasingly being replaced by duplex
grades that offer similar corrosion resistance with far higher strength
- Duplex steels require more attention during manufacture and welding
- You cannot take any shortcuts when welding them
- Taking shortcuts will result in a failure
- It costs companies thousands of pounds in retesting and potential lost
business
- Training and reinforcement of basic guidelines will reduce failures
- New products and ideas
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Duplex and Super Duplex Stainless Steels
STEEL: Iron-Carbon alloy with maximum Carbon content of 2% and other elements with
specific effects
STAINLESS: Metallic alloy presenting Chromium content higher that 10/12% which promotes
the formation of a passive film
DUPLEX: Type of stainless steel which has a biphasic microstructure formed by equal
proportions of ferrite and austenite phases (50/50)
SUPERDUPLEX: Duplex stainless steel with improved corrosion resistance
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10
Microstructure of DSS/SDSS
Dark phase: FERRITE
Bright phase: AUSTENITE
The Aim is 50/50
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11
Body Centered Cubic
FERRITE
Ferrite Formers Include
Iron / Chromium
Molybdenum / Silicon
FERRITIC MATRIX
PROVIDES
STRENGTH &
RESISTANCE TO SCC
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AUSTENITE Face Centered Cubic
Austenite Formers Include
Nickel / Nitrogen / Carbon
Manganese / Copper
AUSTENITE ISLANDS
CONTRIBUTE GOOD
DUCTILITY &
RESISTANCE TO
CORROSION
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PREN vs. PREW
PITTING RESISTANCE EQUIVALENT (PRE) is a formula that gives an indication of
the corrosion performance of a material
PRE(N) = %Cr + 3.3 × %Mo + 16 × %N (standard formula used)
PRE(W) = %Cr + 3.3 × %Mo + 0.5 + %W + 16 × %N
They are useful for ranking and comparing the different grades, but cannot be used to
predict whether a particular grade will be suitable for a given application, where
pitting corrosion may be a hazard.
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Typical stainless steel composition, PRE and yield strength
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Phase Formation
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Formation of Secondary Phases
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SIGMA Phase
Sigma is a hard, brittle intermetallic phase which is expected to contain iron,
chromium and molybdenum. In duplex alloys, σ generally can be formed between
about 600 and 950°C, with the most rapid formation occurring between 700 and
900°C.
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This is why you should NEVER
weld duplex and super duplex
without a welding consumable
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Heat Input – a measure of how much energy has been
supplied to the workpiece to form a weld.
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The effect of Heat Input
Due to the risk of these secondary phases forming at high temperature,
maximum service temperature is reduced e.g. 250°C.
We must also limit the Heat Input
Too much energy = longer time spent in the sensitive temperature range
Heat input ranges
EN 1.4462 / UNS S31803 = 0.4 – 3.0kJ/mm (typical 0.6-1.5kJ/mm)
EN 1.4410 / UNS S32750 = 0.4 – 1.5kJ/mm (typical 0.6-1.2kJ/mm)
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The Root
The most critical area of the joint weld, especially in pipework where the corrosive media will be in
contact with the root bead
To ensure good corrosion properties on 22%Cr duplex a super duplex filler wire is often used for the root
run. This approach is recommended for G48-A tests at +25°C.
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Root Weld Beads
To avoid sigma phase formation in the root bead, avoid a high heat input for the cold (2nd) pass. As
a rule of thumb, a thick bead should be used for the root pass but the maximum heat input must not
be exceeded. The cold pass should then be welded at 70-80% of the heat input used in the root
run.
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Weld Sequence Effects
Interpass Temperature Control
- Must be measured precisely on the weld metal and parent material
- Operate with controlled interpass to optimise results and achieve
production
Interpass selection based on wall thickness
TEMPERATURE
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Time
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Small Bore, Thin walled Tubes
• When welding thin wall tube it is even more critical to use a carefully controlled weld
procedure
• The tube can easily be overheated
• The maximum interpass temperature could even be reduced to 50°C
• Welds should be split into segments/quarters to prevent excessive heat build-up
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Lets talk about Gas
Torch
- Generally Pure Argon is used for GTAW (10-15lpm). Additions of Nitrogen up to 2% can be beneficial for tough
requirements
- A 3 component gas is preferred for GMAW – Ar + 30% He + 2%CO2
Back-Purge
- A gas purge must be used for root runs deposited using the TIG process and should be maintained for the
first three layers or approximately 10mm of deposit
- An effective purge system must be in place with a calibrated system to monitor oxygen content. Aim for
<25ppm but you must achieve <50ppm in practise
- Purge flow rates are determined by the pipe size but it is important that following the removal of tacks,
grinding etc. that the purge is allowed to stabilise again before welding. Typical value 8-15lpm
Nitrogen is very important for corrosion performance and in particular Austenite transformation
Nitrogen loss from the weld pool can lead to highly ferritic welds. This is particularly important in the case of
single sided root pass welds with pure Argon as a backing gas. This can result in essentially ferritic welds at the
surface of the duplex weld metal
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Backing Gas
Degassing of Nitrogen can be counteracted by the use of a nitrogen-based
backing gas such as 100%N2 or 90%N2 + 10%H2
The effect of backing gas on austenite formation and pitting corrosion resistance was measured using a 1.5 mm
thick lean duplex, EN 1.4162 / UNS S32101, manually welded from one side using Avesta LDX 2101 filler metal.
The austenite content was measured using image analysis and the critical pitting temperature (CPT) of the root-
side determined in 1 M NaCl (as per ASTM G150).
voestalpine Böhler Welding
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The use of Ar + 2%N2 as a backing gas was inferior
Pitting Resistance measured as the CPT (ASTM G150) on the root side of a single sided GTAW sample
(1mm and no root gap) in as welded condition and after pickling.
Nitrogen-based backing
voestalpine Böhler gas (90% N2 + 10% H2) significantly improved the pitting resistance of all grades in both the pickled and as-
Welding
welded condition. When using Pure Argon as the backing gas, only the highest alloyed welds showed a measurable CPT in the as-
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welded condition. For this reason pickling is always recommended when using argon-based backing gas.
Corrosion testing
For qualification / acceptance purposes, ASTM G48 or ASTM A923 can be performed at a single specified
temperature.
The test temperatures given in the ASTM G48 standard are only recommendations, and the required test
temperature will be given in the relevant application code or standard.
The G48 test is designed to assess materials for pitting corrosion resistance in chloride media (stress is not
relevant). The test solution is actually quite aggressive, certainly more so than the materials would be subjected
to in normal service. The ASTM standard states that the solution is designed to provide breakdown of 304 at room
temperature;
22%Cr testing temperature is normally +22°C or +25°C
25%Cr testing temperature is normally +35°C or +40°C.
Unwelded base material (or solution annealed welds) will pass the test at higher temperatures.
NORSOK M-601 and M-630 (oil and gas industry standards) incorporate a maximum weight loss requirement of
4g/m2. The acceptance temperatures are 50°C for 25Cr super duplex base material (M-630) and 40°C for welds
(M-601).
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Corrosion testing (Continued)
All ferric chloride immersion tests include any saw-cut faces. Weld cross-sections will be exposed to the test
solution and thus are also evaluated
Sub-surface regions seldom exposed to the corrosive medium in an actual application can influence the test
outcome if weight loss criteria are used
All saw-cut surfaces should be polished. The “grit” will normally be specified in the appropriate specification/code
Pickling of welds prior to testing is also recommended
NORSOK M-601 states that the whole specimen shall be pickled before being weighed and tested. Pickling may
be performed for 5 min at 60°C in a solution of 20 % HNO3 (Nitric Acid) + 5% HF (Hydrofluoric acid)
Ferric chloride immersion methods are very aggressive. Consequently, the most common standard austenitic
grades cannot be tested
Ensure you use a competent test house
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Which Welding Process?
Process Advantages Disadvantages
GTAW Gives the cleanest weld metal, offering a superior weld bead finish providing the highest The least productive
corrosion resistance, fatigue performance and impact toughness. Requires high skill level
Can be automated
GMAW Semi-Automated - Higher productivity compared to GTAW More prone to spatter than standard austenitic
Clean weld metal offering high impact toughness grades
Lower arc stability and weld pool fluidity compared to standard austenitic grades Best results obtained with synergic pulsed equipment
(hence He containing gases) Prone to Porosity especially with higher Nitrogen
contents (25%Cr). Avoid Narrow gaps, small joint
angles and large land (reduce dilution)
SMAW The most flexible process Low productivity
Mid-range impact toughness Automation not possible
Does not offer optimum corrosion properties
SAW Highest productivity Restricted to PA welding position
Mid-range impact toughness (subject to careful selection of wire and a basic flux) HI restrictions e.g. <1.5Kj/mm for optimum impact
Welding of thicker materials (10mm+) toughness restricts the productivity
Penetration is lower than with other standard
austenitic grades making joint preparation critical
Be careful with harsh corrosion requirements
(22%Cr ok but 25%Cr difficult)
FCAW High productivity Impact toughness from a Rutile slag system
All positional
voestalpine Böhler Welding Reduced risk of lack of fusion compared to GMAW
32 | | Less risk of spatter and Porosity
Uses a standard Ar+20%CO2 shielding gas
Please take a flyer
Thermanit 2509CuT
Super duplex welds with PREN>42
Thermanit 25/09 CuT super duplex MIG and TIG welding wires by voestalpine Böhler welding are designed to
achieve the highest corrosion resistance in demanding welding operations.
Product manufactured 100% in house from billet to final product. Controlled chemical composition resulting in
excellent corrosion resistance with increased G48 success rate with many references @ +40C
Excellent cleanliness resulting in less “scum” on weld pool – Ask welders who have tested this product!!
This new HRW allows welding by GMAW process with lowest levels of porosity
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New Super Duplex FCW’s
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Tensile and impact toughness test results for a V-joint (free shrinkage)
welded in 15 mm UNS S32750 using Avesta FCW 2507/P100-PW NOR
against a ceramic backing in the PF position
Superduplex Seawater Pump
Oil treater and degasser
subject to NORSOK
requirements – all fillet
welds were made using
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Avesta FCW
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2507/ P100-PW NOR
Conclusion
• Suitable Preheat & Interpass temperatures must be selected for your base
material
• Control the Heat Input according to the base material
• Filler material must be added at all times (Nickel addition)
• Over alloying of filler material is required (Nickel addition)
• Correct procedure for Root run and subsequent passes)
• Minimise weld oxide by adequate gas protection (shield & backing)
• Positive effect of Nitrogen in gases
• Remove weld oxides by post weld cleaning (acid pickling most efficient)
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Questions?
Thank You For Your Attention
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