Once thought of as a major challenge the welding of stainless steels and most other corrosion resistant alloys is more often described as ‘different’ in stead of ‘more difficult’ amongst welders today. The welding of stainless steels and the properties of the welds with regard to corrosion resistance and mechanical properties do involve a mixture of metallurgical, geometrical and surface finishing aspects.
Nickel (plus carbon, manganese and nitrogen) promotes the formation of austenite and chromium (plus silicon, molybdenum and niobium) encourages the formation of ferrite, so the structure of welds in stainless steels can be largely predicted on the basis of their chemical composition. Because of their different microstructures, the alloy groups have both different welding characteristics and susceptibility to defects.
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