INCONEL 625

Corrosion Resistant Overlay Study

Submerged Arc Welding (SAW)
Project 50107-I

Final Report

A Technical Bulletin from

ARC Specialties Engineering &

Consulting Services
December, 2012
50107 SAW 625 CRO - 1

Houston, TX

Objectives
Compare performance of five (5) SAW fluxes for INCONEL
625 in terms of
Bead shape and edge wetting
Slag release

Determine effects of welding parameters on resulting iron

content (Percent Fe)
Amperage
Travel speed
Step-over (bead overlap) distance

Compare DCEP vs. DCEN for performance and bead

appearance

50107 SAW 625 CRO - 2

Study conditions - welding

Welds were made on 1 in [25mm] carbon
steel test coupons
Minimum preheat & interpass 500 F
Maximum interpass 650 F
Electrodes: 0.094 in [2.5mm] ERNiCrMo-3
Contact tip-to-work (CTTW) distance = in
[19mm]

50107 SAW 625 CRO - 3

Study conditions - fluxes

Welds were made with five (5) different fluxes
Special Metals - INCOFLUX NT100
Soudokay - RECORD NiCrW
Soudakay - RECORD NiCrW-412
ESAB OK 10.90
Sandvik 50SW

Fluxes were heated overnight at 300 F

50107 SAW 625 CRO - 4

Study conditions
welding parameter selection
Initial welding parameters selected based on
Minimizing dilution in first layer to
Meet iron content in 1st layer of 10% maximum
Meet iron content in 2nd layer of 5% maximum

First layer thickness about 1/8 in [3mm]

Chemistry for WPS measured on a surface 0.125in
[3mm] above original base metal surface so greater
assurance that the chemistry will be taken in the
second layer

50107 SAW 625 CRO - 5

Effect of first layer thickness on

chemistry
0.125
0.125 chemistry is in first layer

0.125
0.125 chemistry is in second layer
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Weld series #3 07-S3

Two layers
Welds were 6 in [150mm] long for both layers on
1 in [25mm] thick carbon steel

Five fluxes:
RECORD NiCrW
RECORD NiCrW-412
INCOFLUX NT100
ESAB OK 10.90
Sandvik 50SW
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07-S3 Weld appearance

RECORD NiCrW

RECORD NiCrW-412
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07-S3 Flux performance

RECORD NiCrW
Poor slag peeling
Slag sticks to surface of weld bead
Unacceptable performance

RECORD NiCrW-412
Slag was self peeling
Edge wetting was acceptable
Has small slivers of fused slag sticking to surface

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07-S3 Weld appearance

ESAB OK 10.90

INCOFLUX NT100

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07-S3 Flux performance

ESAB OK 10.90
Excellent slag peeling
Would be a first choice, but no longer stocked in US

INCOFLUX NT100
Good slag peeling
Very fine flux with some dust and it tends to pock
on surface of weld bead
Some minor undercutting

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07-S3 Weld appearance

Sandvik 50SW

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07-S3 Flux performance

Sandvk 50SW
Good slag peeling
Some stripes on weld surface
Edge wetting at 200 amps was not good but
acceptable at 260 amps.
Excellent wetting and bead shape at 300 amps

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07-S3 - Testing
Weld chemistry was taken in two locations:
Surface of second layer
0.125 in [3mm] above original surface
Transverse side bends were used to verify fusion and
detect presence of micro fissuring
All side bends were bent around 1 in [38mm] diameter to
subject them to ~20% elongation
All were acceptable

50107 SAW 625 CRO - 14

Test Procedures
Weld metal chemistry:
Chemistry was checked with the Thermo PMI
(Positive Material Identification) gun.
Prior to testing, test surface prepared with sanding
disk (used only on INCONEL) to produce a clean, flat
test surface
For the 0.125 in [3mm] test surface, the specimen was first
milled to thickness and then sanded

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S3 test coupon & side bend

Side bend
Chemistry:
Surface of
Second Layer
0.125

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07-S3-E Additional test coupon

Special Metals NT100
First layer 200 amps, 32 volts, 16 ipm
Second layer 300 amps, 30 volts, 16 ipm

First Layer
Second Layer at 2X step-over

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07-S3 Chemistry test results

Chemistry with 1.5X Step-over
Flux
Sample ID

0.125" above BM
Manufacturer

Designation

Type

Ni/Cr/Mo

% Fe

07-S3-A

Soudokay

NiCrW

Neutral

59.6 / 20.7 / 8.2

7.4

07-S3-B

ESAB

10.90

Neutral

59.9 / 20.0 / 7.7

7.3

07-S3-D

Special Metals

NT100

Neutral

59.2 / 20.0 / 8.0

7.2

Chemistry with 2X Step-over

07-S3-E

Special Metals

NT100

Neutral

62.2 / 20.8 / 8.2

4.5

07-S3-F

Soudokay

NiCrW-412

Neutral

59.2 / 20.6 / 8.2

5.9

07-S3-H

Sandvik

50SW

Neutral

60.6 / 20.2 / 8.5

6.6

Welds 07-S3-E F & H with greater step over were getting more
penetration into the first pass so our iron is lower at 0.125 above
original surface.
50107 SAW 625 CRO - 18

Straight vs. reverse polarity

DCEP vs. DCEN
The INCONEL 625 weld metal does not wet and
flow as easily as stainless steel
When using DCEN, this is even more pronounced,
with resulting toe reentrant angles nearly 90
With weld bead overlap, arc attracted to previous
weld bead, causing subsequent weld beads to pile
up
Using sufficient current and step-over to achieve bead
control, there is potential for loss of chemistry control
50107 SAW 625 CRO - 19

Conclusions
Special Metals INCOFLUX NT100 was the flux
of choice
Excellent slag release and weld appearance
Excellent properties

Welding parameters like travel speed and stepover are key to minimizing dilution.
Dilution controls chemistry and ability to obtain
Fe-5 at 0.125 in [3mm] above base metal.
50107 SAW 625 CRO - 20

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