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BY T. A. SIEWERT, C. N. M c C O W A N A N D D. L. O L S O N
ABSTRACT. To improve the accuracy of for controlling the ferrite accurately. today's compositions.
ferrite number (FN) prediction in stainless At cryogenic temperatures, ferrite In the United States, the DeLong (Ref.
steel weld metal, a new diagram has reduces the Charpy V-notch absorbed 8) and Schaeffler (Ref. 9) diagrams are
been developed using a database con- energy and the fracture toughness of the probably the most common methods for
taining more than 950 alloy compositions 300-series stainless steels (Refs. 3-6). The predicting the ferrite content of stainless
from worldwide sources. In accuracy, this response is as dependent on ferrite con- steel weld metal. For both diagrams, a
diagram surpasses the DeLong diagram tent as is fissuring, but it reacts in the position on the diagram is determined
for the low-FN austenitic stainless steel opposite direction. To provide the from the composition and then related to
compositions of the 300 series, and it appropriate balance of cracking resis- a series of iso-ferrite or iso-FN lines. Both
corrects a 2 FN bias detected for Type tance and fracture toughness, the ferrite diagrams list the elements promoting the
309 stainless steel. The diagram is more content must be controlled in a narrow austenite phase along the vertical axis (as
accurate than the Schaeffler diagram for range. Cryogenic applications require the a term called Nieq) and the elements
duplex stainless steel alloys and ferrite most stringent FN controls and justify a promoting the ferrite phase along the
contents to 100 FN. It is most accurate search for more accurate FN prediction. horizontal axis (as a term called Cr eq ). This
when the M n content is restricted to 10 These examples have all been in the 0 nomenclature is based on naming the
wt-%, M o content is restricted to 3 wt-%, to 25 FN range. In the past ten years, w e term after its primary component (Ni or
N content is restricted to 0.2 wt-%, and Si have seen the development of new Cr) and adding the other components,
content is restricted to 1 wt-%. Changes duplex stainless steel compositions for with appropriate coefficients to repre-
in the primary solidification mode are service conditions under which the aus- sent their relative power in promoting
indicated on the diagram, and they tenitic grades are unsuitable. These alloys austenite or ferrite, to form an equivalent
appear to affect the FN response. Transi- contain substantial amounts of both the (Ni eq or Cr eq ). The Schaeffler diagram (Fig.
tions in iso-FN line spacings may be austenite and ferrite phases, with the 1) uses straight lines that pivot around a
caused by these mode changes. ferrite content being as high as 100 FN common focus to represent the amount
(roughly equivalent to 65 vol-% ferrite). of ferrite as vol.-% over the range 0 to
For these alloys, Kotecki has recently 100% (Ref. 9). The most recent version of
Introduction the DeLong diagram (Fig. 2) uses nearly
shown relationships between the ferrite
In many applications, the ability to content and various mechanical proper- parallel lines to represent the amount of
control the delta-ferrite content of stain- ties, such as tensile strength and elonga- ferrite as FN over a narrower range of 0
less steel weld metal is important. For tion (Ref. 7). So, in the high-FN range, it is to 18 FN (Ref. 8).
example, the ferrite number (FN) is often important to control the ferrite content Earlier versions of the DeLong diagram
used as an indicator of the resistance to to achieve optimal weld properties. represented ferrite in units of vol.-% only.
fissuring (hot tearing) that occurs in many Unfortunately, few predictive diagrams The recent version was produced after
of the 300-series stainless steels (Ref. 1). have been developed for these composi- the Welding Research Council (WRC)
Fissuring decreases rapidly over a small tions, and the data with which they were Subcommittee on the Welding of Stain-
range (0-5 FN) of ferrite contents in these developed may not be accurate for less Steels promulgated a standard using
primarily austenitic phase weld composi- the term ferrite number to define the
tions, so an accurate predictor of the FN ferrite content by its magnetic response.
is necessary to ensure the minimum fer- As a result, the DeLong diagram now
rite levels that will prevent cracking. Fis- contains both the FN and vol.-% ferrite
suring should not be avoided by simply KEY W O R D S designations, and it indicates that the t w o
using materials with high FN values, since measurement systems begin to diverge at
higher FN levels contribute to other Ferrite Number (FN)
ferrite contents near 8 FN.
undesirable behavior, such as an Stainless Steel Weld
Prediction to 100 FN The t w o diagrams differ only slightly in
increased corrosion rate in certain envi-
Duplex Stainless Steel their representation of compositional
ronments (Ref. 2). Thus, there is incentive
DeLong Diagram effects on ferrite content. The Cr eq
for keeping the FN in a limited range and
Schaeffler Diagram expressions are identical in the two dia-
New Ni eq /Cr e q Diagram grams—even the coefficients are the
Solidification Modes same. The DeLong Ni e q expression con-
T. A. SIEWERT and C N. McCOWAN are with
the National Institute of Standards and Tech- Constitution Diagram tains all the elements and coefficients of
nology, Boulder, Colo. D. L. OLSON is with the the Schaeffler diagram but adds a term to
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo. include the effect of nitrogen on FN.
v
' a.
#£ yy A,A,V
with these data, 3) to determine which
/ a
elements were not being fit properly, and
/ / / y .<; V / «1' AL STENITE
PLU S FERRITE
4) to develop an improved predictive
a° /
/ diagram that was continuous over the
/ / / y
y y range 0 to 100 FN (roughly equivalent to
/ / / y<
/ 19 20 21 22 23 24 65 vol.-% ferrite). Ideally, this diagram
CHROMIUM EQUIVALENT : V.Cr + %Mo + 1.5 X %Si + 0.5 X V.Cb would predict the ferrite content of the
Fig. 2-The DeLong constitution diagram, revised lanuary 1973 to convert it to the Welding conventional 300-series stainless steels
Research Council's ferrite number system for weld metals with at least the same accuracy as the
18 20 22
^2% 24
^r
^
26
> ^
28 30
a
UJ
a
u.
For a broader, more comprehensive oped and evaluated on data from a single two diagrams is included in Table 3.
evaluation, all the data that had an FN less laboratory using procedures more strin- Because this study and others (Refs. 12,
than 18 (data Group 4) was evaluated. gent than those in AWS A4.2. This data- 14) have shown the behavior of some
Both the DeLong diagram and the new base contains additional error due to elements to be interactive and, therefore,
diagram were used to compute the FN interlaboratory dissimilarities in welding the cause of some scatter, the diagrams
for these compositions. Again, relative- procedures and specimen preparation were evaluated using data Groups 5-8,
frequency histograms were used to techniques. Another complication in the which had several different combinations
search for bias or a non-Gaussian shape evaluation is that some of the data were of compositional restrictions. Their evalu-
in the error distribution. The histogram outside the Cr eq boundaries of the pub- ation is also summarized in Table 3.
shapes were normal; no bias was found. lished DeLong diagram. Since w e chose The restriction of the M o content to
For all the data with an FN less than 18, to evaluate the DeLong diagram only less than 3 wt-% resulted in a 2%
the DeLong diagram predicted 66% with over its reported range, we excluded improvement in the accuracy of the De-
an error less than 2.5 FN, whereas the these data. Similarly, for the proposed Long diagram, and a 4% improvement in
new diagram predicted 84%. diagram, computer mapping restrictions the accuracy of the proposed diagram.
Although the comparisons made limited the Cr eq range and excluded a This significant improvement in the pro-
between the relative errors found for small portion of the data. Manual evalua- posed diagram may be the result of a
DeLong and the new diagram are useful, tion of these data revealed that they fit Cr-Mo interaction that is excluded when
error magnitudes determined for the the extension of the reported lines, but Mo levels were limited to 3 wt-% during
DeLong diagram here should not be the scarcity of the data and difficulty of the ACr eq analysis or incomplete dissolu-
compared to the accuracy statement manual calculations caused us to limit the tion of the high-melting-point M o con-
(90% of data within ± 3 FN) in that report scope of the diagram to that reported. tained in the electrode coating.
(Ref. 8). The DeLong diagram was devel- The number of cases considered for the
Smaller improvements are noted as the
N is restricted to less than 0.1 wt-% in
Fig. 6 —Relative 40 Group 6 or the Mn is restricted to less
frequency histogram than 3 wt-% in Groups 7 and 8. The best
of the error fit for both diagrams occurs for Group 8,
distribution for the when all four restrictions (similar to the
Type-3 76 data as reported range of applicability of the
evaluated by the 30
DeLong diagram) are invoked. However,
DeLong diagram the improvement over Group 5 is so
>•
slight for the proposed diagram that the
o Group 5 restrictions provide the best
20 combination of accuracy and coefficient
O simplicity. Scarcity of data at very high
element concentration levels does sug-
gest some further restrictions; Mn < 10
wt-% and N < 0.2 wt-%. With these
I..
restrictions, the proposed diagram has
better than an 88% chance of predicting
..III
•7-6-5-4-3-2-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
the FN with an accuracy of ± 2 . 5 FN, a
value substantially better than the 68%
chance for the DeLong diagram.
To confirm the validity of these restric-
ERROR INTERVAL tions and to search for nonlinear behav-
26 I I I I I I I I I I 26
r^ - 1
1
i ' i ' 1 l 1 I 1 ' 1 1 1 l 1 l _
MnO Mn«3 • —
24 • A 24 - • A
A AF 3 A AF • y -
-
• FA o - • FA •
22
D F
+ ?? A
zC\J - • F
• AT
O x mixed ^r
20 20 - x mixed A
LO
co +
. ' I"
+ O 1
*»y AF • A
zo C\J
CM
18 6
A ^ - * ^
8
CM +
C _ K
+ ?
1—
CO
16
-
• s ** 6 * .
FA
*-; •
i
_•
-
8 14 o
-1-
z
14
12
-
-
-yy^y* D
• •
F
^*^"^~
II O ~
CT
ta D
Z - ^^-^a
10
I I I I I I ~ i i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 i 1 . 1 1 1 l l l l "
17 19 21 23 25 27 17 19 21 23 25 27
Creq=Cr+Mo4-0.7Nb Creq ^Cr+1.37Mo+1.5si + 2Nb + 3Ti
Fig. 9 — Solidification mode date on the coordinate axes of the new Fig. 10 —Solidification mode data on the coordinate axes of Hammar
diagram and Svenson
Conclusions tion. WD&F 51:88-90. itic weld metal microstructure and properties.
4. Szumachowski, E. R., and Reid, H. F. Welding lournal 64(10):281-s to 295-s.
1) A n e w p r e d i c t i v e diagram f o r ferrite
1978. Cryogenic toughness of SMA austenitic 11. Hull, F. C. 1973. Delta ferrite and mar-
in stainless steels has b e e n d e v e l o p e d f o r stainless steel weld metals: part 1 — role of tensite formation in stainless steels. Welding
the range 0 t o 100 FN. ferrite. Welding Journal 57(M):325-s to 333-s. lournal 52(5): 193-s to 203-s.
2) The diagram is applicable f o r M n 5. Read, D. T., McHenry, H. I., Steinmeyer, 12. Espy, R. H. 1982. Weldability of nitro-
c o n t e n t s t o 10 w t - % , M o c o n t e n t s to 3 P. A., and Thomas, lr., R. D. 1980. Metallurgical gen-strengthened stainless steels. Welding
w t - % , N c o n t e n t s t o 0.2 w t - % and Si factors affecting the toughness of 316L SMA lournal 61(5): 149-s to 156-s.
contents t o 1 wt-%. weldments at cryogenic temperatures. Weld- 13. Szumachowski, E. R., and Kotecki, D. |.
ing Journal 59(4):104-s to 113-s. 1984. Effect of manganese on stainless steel
3. The accuracy of the diagram sur-
6. Siewert, T. A. 1986. Predicting the tough- weld metal ferrite. Welding /ournal63(5):156-s
passes that o f the D e L o n g and Schaeffler
ness of SMA austenitic stainless steel welds at to 161-s.
diagrams in this range f o r a 9 5 0 - p o i n t
77 K. Welding Journal 65(3):23-28. 14. McCowan, C. N., Siewert, T. A., Reed,
database.
7. Kotecki, D. ). 1987. Ferrite control in R. P., and Lake, F. B. 1987. Manganese and
4) Diagram includes solidification b o u n - duplex stainless steel weld metal. Welding nitrogen in stainless steel SMA welds for cryo-
daries that c o r r e s p o n d t o changes in FN Journal 65(10):273-s to 278-s. genic service. Welding Journal 66(3):84-s to
response. AF t o FA b o u n d a r y seems t o be a 8. DeLong, W. T. 1974. Ferrite in austenitic 92-s.
g o o d p r e d i c t o r of cracking sensitivity. stainless steel weld metal. Welding Journal 15. Hammar, O., and Svenson, U. 1979.
53(7):273-s to 286-s. Solidification and Casting of Metals. The Metals
Acknowledgments 9. Schaeffler, A. 1949. Constitution diagram Society. London, England, pp. 401-410.
for stainless steel weld metal. Metal Progress 16. Mel 'Kumor, N., and Topilin, V. V. 1969.
T h e authors a c k n o w l e d g e financial 56:680-680B. Alloying austenitic stainless steel with nitrogen.
s u p p o r t f r o m the D e p a r t m e n t o f Energy 10. Olson, D. L. 1985. Prediction of austen- Obrabotka Metallor (8):47-51.
a n d the W e l d i n g Research C o u n c i l . The
authors are also i n d e b t e d t o Alloy Rods
C o . ; T e l e d y n e M c K a y ; Sandvik Steel C o . ,
W e l d i n g a n d W i r e Division; S m i t w e l d ;
S o u d o m e t a l a n d t h e W e l d i n g Institute,
w h o supplied data. T h e authors also
a c k n o w l e d g e helpful c o m m e n t s and
r e v i e w s b y W . T. D e L o n g , D. J. K o t e c k i ,
F. B. Lake, R. D. T h o m a s , Jr., a n d D. F.
Vecchia, as w e l l as guidance p r o v i d e d b y
). E. K o o n t z a n d J. R. D o n a l d s o n o n t h e
use o f statistical a n d graphics p r o g r a m s
used in this study.
References
1. Lundin, C. D „ DeLong, VV. T., and
Spond, D. F. 1975. Ferrite-fissuring relationship
in austenitic stainless steel weld metals. Weld-
ing lournal 54(8):241-s to 246-s.
2. Baeslack, III. W.A., Duquette, D.|„ and
Savage, W.F. 1978. Technical note: stress cor-
rosion cracking in duplex stainless steel weld- C r e q = Cr + 1 . 3 7 M o + 1 . 5 S i + 2 N b + 3 T i
ments Welding lournal 57(6): 175-s to 177-s.
3. Siewert,' T. A. 1978. H o w to predict Fig. 12-Schematic representation of iso-FN line shape near solidification mode boundaries,
impact energy from stainless steel composi- indicating a coupling between the two
An experimental study was conducted on ASTM A588 Grade A and ASTM A572 Grade 50 microalloyed
steels submerged arc welded with Linde 40B weld metal to determine the fracture properties of base
plates, weld metal and heat-affected zones. The effects of plate orientation, heat t r e a t m e n t , heat input,
and postweld heat t r e a t m e n t s on heat-affected zone toughness were included in the investigation.
To aid steel users in the selection of steel grades and fabrication procedures for structures subject to
PWHT, seven representative carbon and high-strength low-alloy plate steels were welded by shielded
metal arc welding and by submerged arc welding. The weldments were PWHT for various times up to 100
h at 1 1 0 0 ° F ( 5 9 3 ° C ) and 1 2 0 0 ° F ( 6 4 9 ° C ) . The mechanical properties of the weldments were
determined by means of base-metal tension tests, transverse-weld tension tests, HAZ hardness tests,
and Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact tests of the base metal. HAZ and weld metal.
Publication of these reports was sponsored by the S u b c o m m i t t e e on Thermal and Mechanical Effects
on Materials of the Welding Research Council. The price of WRC Bulletin 330 is $20.00 per copy, plus
$5.00 for postage and handling. Orders should be sent with payment to the Welding Research Council,
345 E. 4 7 t h St., Suite 1 3 0 1 , New York. NY 10017.