Weldability of Type 444 Ferritic Stainless Steel GTA Welds

The ferritic stainless steels are generally considered to have poor weldability compared with that of the austenitic stainless steels. However the primary advantages of ferritic stainless steels include lower material cost than the more commonly used austenitic stainless steels and a greater resistance to stress corrosion cracking. Thus, the weldability of ferritic stainless steels was investigated in this study. In concerning the weldability, Grain size measurement test, Erichsen test and Varestraint test were involved. full penetration welds were produced by autogeneous direct current straight polarity (DCSP) and pulsed currents gas tungsten arc welding (GIAW) and the effect of pulsed currents welding on the welds was compared to that of DCSP welding. The results showed that pulsed current was effective to refine grain size in the weld metal and the finest grain size was obtained at the frequency of 150Hz. In addition, the ductility of welds was lower than that of base metal. Finally, autogeneous type 444 welds were less susceptible to macro solidification cracks, but more sensitive to micro cracks; SEM/EDS analysis indicated that all the inclusions in the crack showed enrichment of Mn, Si, O and S.