Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263

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Materials and Design

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Resistance spot welding joints of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel

sheets: Phase transformations, mechanical properties and
microstructure characterizations
Danial Kianersi a, Amir Mostafaei b,⇑, Ahmad Ali Amadeh c
a
Department of Materials Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
b
Young Researchers and Elites Club, Tehran North Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
c
School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this paper, we aim to optimize welding parameters namely welding current and time in resistance spot
Received 30 January 2014 welding (RSW) of the austenitic stainless steel sheets grade AISI 316L. Afterward, effect of optimum
Accepted 29 April 2014 welding parameters on the resistance spot welding properties and microstructure of AISI 316L austenitic
Available online 9 May 2014
stainless steel sheets has been investigated. Effect of welding current at constant welding time was
considered on the weld properties such as weld nugget size, tensile–shear load bearing capacity of
Keywords: welded materials, failure modes, failure energy, ductility, and microstructure of weld nuggets as well.
Resistance spot welding
Phase transformations that took place during weld thermal cycle were analyzed in more details including
AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel
Welding parameters optimization
metallographic studies of welding of the austenitic stainless steels. Metallographic images, mechanical
Mechanical properties properties, electron microscopy photographs and micro-hardness measurements showed that the region
Microstructure characterization between interfacial to pullout mode transition and expulsion limit is defined as the optimum welding
Phase transformations condition. Backscattered electron scanning microscopic images (BE-SEM) showed various types of delta
ferrite in weld nuggets. Three delta ferrite morphologies consist of skeletal, acicular and lathy delta ferrite
morphologies formed in resistance spot welded regions as a result of non-equilibrium phases which can
be attributed to the fast cooling rate in RSW process and consequently, prediction and explanation of the
obtained morphologies based on Schaeffler, WRC-1992 and Pseudo-binary phase diagrams would be a
difficult task.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction (dissimilar materials) such as iron–aluminum [6] and/or

In recent years, iron and its derivations have been used in wide
range of applications such as vehicles, ships, bridges and buildings
due to their machining abilities, mechanical properties, and low
prices. Different welding methods have been utilized in manufac-
turing industries such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), sub-
merged arc welding (SAW), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW),
flux core arc welding (FCAW), and resistance spot welding
(RSW). Among them, RSW is extensively used in manufacturing
processes due to its repeatability, inexpensive equipment, and
easily controllable process [1] for joining of metal sheets such
as iron and steels [2], aluminum alloys [3], magnesium alloys
[4], titanium alloys [5]. Also RSW has been utilized to investigate
physical and mechanical properties of different joint metals
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 9126216801; fax: +98 2188638514.
E-mail addresses: amir.mostafaei@gmail.com, a_mostafaei@sut.ac.ir
(A. Mostafaei).
steel-galvanized iron [7]. In RSW method, overlapping sheets
are placed between two electrodes and heat is obtained by pass-
ing a large electrical current for a short period of time [8]. After-
ward, electrical resistance at the metals interface causes a
localized heating for joining and finally, the resistance spot
welded region will be produced by the combination of heat, pres-
sure and applied process time [9].
Stainless steels, especially low carbon grades, have been widely
used in various industrial applications such as appliance manufac-
turing due to their corrosion resistance and proper decorative
appearance at ambient atmosphere. Stainless Steel grade 316L is
one of the most important types of austenitic stainless steels which
consists of austenite and ferrite phases in the microstructure. As it
was reported, this grade is widely used in various industrial appli-
cations due to its high corrosion resistance [10], decorative appear-
ance, and excellent weldability [11]. Moreover, low carbon content
declines formation of carbides in the grain boundaries within
welding [12].

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.04.075
0261-3069/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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252 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263

However, one major drawbacks of the austenitic stainless steel

is the heat affected zone (HAZ) in which intergranular Cr-rich
carbide precipitation forms during welding process and leads to
the reduction of corrosion resistance in welded joint [13]. In order
to solve this issue, two ways were suggested [14,15]: (1) use of
austenitic stainless steel with low carbon content such as AISI
316L and (2) rapid welding process of RSW which can decrease
the formation of these undesired carbides. Based on Fukumoto
et al. report, hot cracking is another issue which occurs in the
welded region [16]. It is reported by Fukumoto et al. that a small
amount of delta ferrite in the microstructure of the weld nugget
can prevent hot cracking problem and may reduce sensitization
in HAZ welded regions [16].
There are some predictive diagrams for evaluation of the micro-
structure of welds such as conventional Schaeffler and WRC-1992.
It has been mentioned that the majority of these diagrams have
been developed based on the chemical composition of the base
metal and solidification rate of the weld metal has not been consid-
ered. Since rapid solidification may change microstructure of the
welded regions [14,15], it would be quite difficult to predict mor-
phology of weld based on these diagrams. Pseudo-binary phase
diagram can predict solidification modes and the microstructure
of welded zones of the austenitic stainless steel versus changes
in the proportion of Creq/Nieq or cooling rate. According to this dia-
gram, the microstructure and solidification modes of welded zones
will change from fully austenite (A) to fully ferrite (F) mode with
variation of Creq/Nieq or cooling rate [14,15].
In this study, for improving multiple welding characteristics
including nominal weld nugget size, smaller HAZ, tensile–shear
load bearing capacity of welded materials, failure modes, and fail-
ure energy, the optimization studies were devised. Obtained opti-
mum condition was chosen for mechanical and microstructure
investigations. The mechanical properties were investigated by
microhardness profile and tensile–shear tests. Additionally, the
microstructure of the welds was studied by metallographic inves-
tigations and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. Chem- Fig. 1. (a) Dimensions of tensile–shear test specimens in mm, (b) geometric
ical composition at different regions of weld nuggets was morphology of the nugget, and (c) resistance spot welded 316L austenitic stainless
evaluated by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The predictive steel sheets.
Schaeffler, WRC-1998 and pseudo-binary phase diagrams have
been also used to investigate the welds microstructure. As it was
expected, rapid welding process led to the formation of complex AWS/SAE/D8.9 standard [17] and were spot welded by using a
microstructures in HAZ and weld regions and consequently, it 150 kVA pedestal-pneumatic RSW machine. The welding proce-
elaborated prediction of the formed phases in welds. dure was carried out by using water cooled conical Cu–Cr elec-
trodes with a constant surface of electrodes (4 mm face
diameter) according to ANSI/AWS/SAE/C1.1-66 standard [18]. Ini-
2. Materials and experimental methods tially, in order to determine optimum manufacturing parameters
on the morphological feature and mechanical properties, changes
2.1. Materials and methodologies in welding current from 4 to 9 kA, and welding time from 4 to 7
cycles, were considered. After determination of optimum welding
Austenitic stainless steel sheet grade 316L (UNS 31603), with a condition, the welding currents were selected between 4 and
thickness of 1 mm and chemical composition given in Table 1 was 9 kA with 1 kA step-rise and other welding parameters such as
used as the base metal. Fig. 1a shows dimension of the specimen squeeze time, welding time, holding time, electrode force were
which was welded by RSW method (linear overlapping of plates). kept constantly which were given in Table 2.
Fig. 1b demonstrates geometric morphology of the nugget and
Fig. 1c depicts selected resistance spot welded 316L austenitic 2.2. Mechanical studies and metallographic evaluations
stainless steel sheets. Austenitic stainless steel sheet was cut into
pieces in dimensions of 105 mm  45 mm according to ANSI/ All specimens were prepared for tensile–shear test according to
ANSI/AWS/SAE/D8.9 standard [17]. The tensile–shear tests were
performed with Santam universal testing machine with 5 tons
capacity at a constant cross head displacement rate of 2 mm min1.
Table 1
Chemical composition of AISI 316L Austenitic stainless steel (wt.%). Failure modes were studied from failed specimens and it was cal-
culated by measuring the area under the load–displacement curve
Fe C Ni Cr Mn Mo Si Co
up to the maximum tensile–shear load [19,20]. Failure energy,
68.490 0.029 10.020 16.670 1.650 2.050 0.370 0.210
which is the area under the stress–strain curve up to the maximum
Cu Nb Ti V W Al P N
load, and peak load, which is measured as the maximum point in
0.280 0.037 0.022 0.048 0.060 0.002 0.034 0.024
the tensile–shear curve, were extracted from the obtained
 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263
Table 2
Welding parameters for resistance spot welding.
Squeeze time (cycle) Welding time (cycle) Holding time (cycle)
20 4–5–6–7 30
load–displacement curves. Additionally, the Vickers microhardness
examinations across the weld nugget, HAZ and base metal were
carried out on the metallographic specimens by Struers (Duramin
model) under indentation load of 50 g for 10 s.
The longitudinal sections through the weld nuggets as well as
the similar sections of the base metals were prepared according
to metallographic procedure in ANSI/AWS/SAE/D8.9 standard
[17]. The solution of 10 mL nitric acid, 15 mL hydrochloric acid,
10 mL acetic acid and two drops of glycerin was used to etch spec-
imens [17]. The optical microscopic studies of the welded samples
were performed by Olympus (model BX60) and scanning electron
micrographs of the samples were analyzed using SEM (Philips
model XL30), equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) to
investigate the microstructure and chemical composition of the
weld. Image analyzer computer program was used to measure
macroscopic diameter of weld nuggets.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Optimization studies on welding current and time
In the first place, the effect of welding current and time on var-
ious parameters including nugget diameter size, welding penetra-
tion, width and thickness of HAZ, peak load, failure energy,
indentation depth, and penetration rate were meticulously consid-
ered and obtained results were presented in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2a showed discrepancies of nugget diameter size versus
welding current and time. As it can be seen, nugget size increased
within increasing of welding current and time. In fact, the main
reason can be attributed to the higher heat input amount which
leads to the formation of nugget with bigger fusion zone. In the
other words, when the welding current and/or time increases,
plates expose to higher amount of head input which may lead to
the formation of width and thick nugget. In addition, welding pen-
etration increased by the growth of fusion zone (Fig. 2b). Width
and thickness of HAZ were measured on the metallographic cross
sections. Obtained results revealed that width of HAZ increased
by increasing welding current and time (Fig. 2c), in contrast, thick-
ness of HAZ decreased by increasing welding current and time
(Fig. 2d). In fact, when fusion zone increases, weld with larger nug-
get size will form and consequently, thickness of HAZ declines.
Variations of two important output results including tensile–shear
load bearing capacity (peak load) and failure energy, which were
obtained from stress–strain diagram, versus welding current and
time were presented in Fig. 2e and f. Since higher failure energy
is desired in RSW manufactured samples, so based on the Fig. 2f,
the best welding condition can be obtained in 8 kA welding current
and 4 cycles welding time. What is more, Fig. 2e revealed that the
higher amount of tensile–shear load bearing capacity or peak load
can be attained when welding current is 8 kA. Another important
manufacturing parameter which affects appearance of the welded
sample is indentation depth (Fig. 2g). In fact, this item is quite
important when decorative issues are one of the most important
factors in the manufacturing process. The amount of indentation
depth may affect nugget size and more importantly mechanical
properties of the final products. Thus, this parameter should be
optimized as well and in this study, range of 0.4–0.5 mm was in
the acceptable amounts. The other important factor governing
the mechanical performance of the manufactured samples with
253
Welding current (kA) Electrode force (N) Welding condition Weld cooling condition
4–5–6–7–8–9 4000 Atmosphere Atmosphere
RSW is penetration rate and it can be calculated based on the
following equation:
Nugget diameter
Penetration rate ¼  100%
ðPlate thickness  indentation depthÞ
Fig. 2h showed variations of penetration rate versus welding
current and time. As it can be seen, welding current has an impor-
tant role in this parameter and obtained results showed that
acceptable condition can be achievable in 8 kA welding current.
At the end, since higher amount of failure energy can be the
other important parameter in RSW process and depicts that
mechanical properties of the manufactured samples are reliable,
thus in this study, 4 cycles welding time and 8 kA welding current
are the optimum manufacturing conditions. In the following, weld-
ing time was kept constant at 4 cycles in order to deeply investi-
gate the influence of welding current on the mechanical and
microstructural properties of weld nuggets.
3.2. Effect of welding currents on weld nuggets diameter size, tensile–shear
load bearing capacity and failure energy of welded materials
There are several factors which influence physical and mechan-
ical properties of welded structure namely weld nugget diameter,
weld penetration, strength and ductility of the welded region, sur-
face appearance and sudden internal discontinuities caused by
presence of pits and cracks [11]. Hasanbasßoğlu et al. reported that
among all these factors, the most important parameter affecting
tensile–shear load bearing capacity is weld nugget diameter size
[21].
Fig. 3 shows the variation of weld nugget diameter versus dif-
ferent welding currents. As can be seen in Fig. 3, weld nuggets
diameter increased when the welding current increased from 4
to 9 kA. What is more, based on the presented results in Fig. 2a,
welding time has the same effect on the nugget size.
Fig. 4a indicates schematic of the load–displacement curve of
the welded samples. Two areas are determined which are peak
load and failure energy. In Fig. 4a, the area under the load–
displacement curve up to the peak load is the amount of failure
energy. Fig. 4b illustrates stress–strain curves of spot welds during
tensile–shear test and Fig. 4c summarized changes in tensile–shear
load bearing capacity of welded materials with different welding
currents. As seen in Fig. 4d, the amount of energy absorption
increases within increasing in welding current up to 8 kA. As it
was reported by Pouranvari et at., when welding current increases,
the amount of failure energy increases as well [22]. Fig. 4d illus-
trates variation of failure energy versus welding current. However,
in the case of 9 kA welding current, energy absorption declines and
it depicted that mechanical property of the sample which was
welded by 9 kA welding current decreased. This reduction in the
amount of energy absorption and tensile shear load can be attrib-
uted to drifting out of the molten materials of the weld nugget due
to generation of high heat input in 9 kA welding current.
According to Figs. 3 and 4, it is obvious that the weld nugget
diameter and tensile–shear load bearing capacity of welded mate-
rials were increased by stepping up a welding current from 4 kA to
8 kA. In the other word, tensile–shear load force of welded
specimens increased by increasing of heat input which was related
to welding currents. It was reported by Pouranvari et al. [8] that
254 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263

Fig. 2. Effect of welding current and time on (a) weld nugget diameter size, (b) welding penetration, (c) width of HAZ, (d) thickness of HAZ, (e) peak load, (f) failure energy, (g)
indentation depth, and (h) penetration rate.

the enhancement in tensile–shear force of weld with increasing of Additionally, Vural et al. mentioned that the more enlargement
welding current is related to the weld nugget diameter size. of nugget diameter size caused to achieve specimen with the
 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263 255

Fig. 5. Optical image of resistance spot weld region welded at 9 kA welding current.

conception of the event, cross sectional image of the spot weld

nugget joint by high heat input (9 kA welding current) was shown
in Fig. 5. It is clear that nugget was formed within larger diameter
size and narrower thickness. Totally, the minimum and maximum
tensile–shear forces or peak load were 2450 and 8070 N which
belongs to 4 and 8 kA welding currents, respectively.

3.3. Effect of welding current on failure modes

Fig. 3. Variations weld nugget diameter size as a function of different welding
currents.
higher tensile–shear load bearing capacity of welded materials
[23]. Furthermore, by increasing in welding current from 8 kA to
9 kA, the weld nugget diameter increased continuously while the
tensile–shear force decreases (Fig. 4b and c). This phenomenon
may be attributed to the drifting out of the molten materials
followed by thinning the cross section of the weld nugget due to
high heat input of 9 kA welding current. In order to simplify the
Failure mode, fracture characteristics and sheet separation of
the welds are features which influenced quality of the resistance
spot welded specimens. Fig. 6 presents macrographs of six differ-
ent failure modes observed in tensile tests. As it is expected and
seen from Fig. 6, within increasing the welding current, these
modes can be characterized from solely interfacial failure mode
(IF) to completely tearing around weld nugget and HAZ. Fig. 6a
shows the failure mode obtained from sample which was welded
at 4 kA welding current. Due to low heat input, the spot
weld was separated through the weld nugget in the minimum

Fig. 4. (a) Schematic of stress–strain or load–displacement curve (b) stress–strain curves of the samples welded at constant 4 cycles welding time, (c) tensile–shear load
bearing capacity of resistance spot samples welded at constant 4 cycles welding time, and (d) Energy absorption versus welding current and constant 4 cycles welding time.
256 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263
Fig. 6. Various types of failure modes obtained from tensile–shear test samples, (a) 4 kA, (b) 5 kA, (c) 6 kA, (d) 7 kA, (e) 8 kA, and (f) 9 kA welding currents at constant welding
time.
tensile–shear load bearing capacity of the welded materials. The
minimum tensile–shear load bearing capacity of weld represented
the minimum nugget diameter size which was measured and
shown in Fig. 3.
As it can be seen in Fig. 6b, by increasing welding current from
4 kA to 5 kA, although the tensile–shear force increased, the sepa-
ration takes place through weld nugget which can be attributed to
enlargement in weld nugget diameter size. When welding current
increases, enlargement in nugget diameter happens and conse-
quently the specimen will fail in higher tensile–shear force. In
the other words, the higher energy is needed for complete rupture
in welded sheets.
Failure mode will be changed from interfacial failure (IF) to
pullout failure (PF). In the case of third sample welded by using
6 kA welding current (Fig. 6c), the specimen failed in the combina-
tion of separation in weld nugget and HAZ. As it was shown in
Figs. 3 and 4, further increasing in welding current up to 7 kA
and 8 kA resulted in manufacturing of specimens with higher weld
nugget diameter and tensile–shear forces, and consequently, they
tore from HAZ and base metal around the weld nugget with button
pullout failure which is named button pullout with tearing from
base metal (Fig. 6d and e). With the comparison of two latter spec-
imens, it was predicted that the specimen which has been pro-
duced within 8 kA should have higher tensile–shear force.
Finally, by increasing the welding current up to 9 kA, although
the weld nugget size increased, tensile–shear force sharply
decreased. It could be attributed to the generation of high heat
input by using 9 kA welding current which led to molten materials
expulsion during resistance spot welding. Fig. 6f shows that this
specimen completely tore from HAZ around weld nugget due to
the generation of high heat input, excessive grain growth and
weakening in HAZ region [19,24]. Marashi et al. investigations
reveal that there is a relationship between failure mode and energy
absorption and in fact, when failure energy amount is higher, fail-
ure would be pullout failure mode [7].
Specimens which had interfacial fractures during tensile–shear
tests were rejected due to low peak load and separation through
weld nuggets (Fig. 6a–c), in contrast, specimens which torn from
HAZ, base metal or mixed modes were accepted (Fig. 6d–f). The
other way for clarification of failure mode can be considered by
failure energy. As it was shown it Fig. 4c, energy absorption of
failed sample increases when specimen was welded by using
higher welding current. In the other word, it can be seen in
Fig. 4b–d that the average peak load and absorbed energy of those
welds which failed in PF mode are higher than those samples
failed in IF mode. Thus, tensile–shear load of the welds increases
in the order of IF, IF–PF and PF modes [7]. Totally, the best
welded sample was attained at 8 kA welding current which
characterized by button pullout with tearing from the base metal
failure mode.
3.4. Microstructure studies of welds
3.4.1. Metallographic investigations of resistance spot welded region
Cross-section macroscopic images of the welded specimens
joined at various welding current from 4 kA to 9 kA at the constant
welding time (4 cycles) are shown in Fig. 7. It can be easily
observed that weld nugget size increases within increasing weld-
ing current.
Morphology of the welded regions was investigated by optical
microscopic analysis (OM) and scanning electron microscopy
(SEM). The microstructure of the sample welded by 8 kA welding
 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263 257

Fig. 7. Cross-section images of the joint welded by (a) 4 kA, (b) 5 kA, (c) 6 kA, (d) 7 kA, (e) 8 kA, and (f) 9 kA welding currents at constant 4 cycles welding time.

Fig. 8. Cross section micrographs of sample welded by using 8 kA welding current and 4 cycles welding time: (a and b) transition zone between weld nugget, HAZ and base
metal, (c) resistance spot welded region, (d) center of weld nugget, and (e) weld nugget area.

current is shown in Fig. 8. Morphological images taken from HAZ
regions depicts in Fig. 8a and b. As seen, grain size increased in
HAZ in comparison to base metal due to short cycle of RSW
[14,15]. In addition, sensitization problem caused by the formation
of chromium carbides in HAZ area was not observed in this study.
Two main reasons include: (1) use of stainless steel with low
content carbon and (2) RSW process with short cycles [15].
Fig. 8c shows microstructure of the weld nugget with lower mag-
nification. It is obvious that morphology is suitable based on its
appearance. Fig. 8d and e illustrates welded region and it can be
easily seen that grain growth has occurred in weld metal zones.
As seen in Fig. 8a and d, grains are elongated parallel to electrode
258 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263

compression direction in the weld nugget which similar results
was reported by Kocabekir et al. [24]. Also, it can be seen in
Fig. 8e that there are ferritic microstructure with various
morphologies.
In order to consider effect of welding current on the shape and
microstructure of the weld nuggets, specimen which was produced
with lower welding current (4 kA) was chosen and evaluated by
optical microscopy and results were shown in Fig. 9. As it was
expected, an incomplete weld nugget was formed due to lack of
heat input. Fig 9c showed that insufficient heat input led to the for-
mation of weld nugget with shortest diameter. What is more, this
deficiency can be confirmed by the extracted results from tensile–
shear test. Morphological evaluations taken from various regions of
the specimen revealed that the major reason for lower mechanical
properties could be attributed to the small nugget size which influ-
enced the quality of spot welded materials. It was reported by
Fukumoto et al. [16] and Kearns [9] that internal discontinuities
such as large cavities, cracks, and porosity which are common
defects in RSW process and usually caused by low electrode force
or high welding current might lead to weld failure under severe
condition. Fig. 9 depicted that although various regions (base
metal, HAZ, weld nugget and their interfaces) formed without
any defects, the main reason for the weak mechanical properties
of the welds made at 4 kA is its small fusion zone size. In the other
word, inadequate heat input resulted in the formation of small
nugget which cannot provide a weld with proper mechanical
properties.
To investigate the effect of disproportionate use of welding
parameter on the obtained manufactured samples, morphological
studies were carried out on the sample welded by using 9 kA weld-
ing current and 4 cycles welding time and metallographic images
were present in Fig. 10. Typical microstructure image of the
welded sample by applying higher welding current and welding
time is shown in Fig. 10c. As can be seen if Fig. 10c, weld nugget
with large welded area was form and also as the generated heat
input was more than usual, unwanted electrode indentation took
place which might lead to the formation of thin weld nugget. Weld
metal with ferritic microstructure is shown if Fig. 10a and b. Micro-
structure photo of transition zone is illustrated in Fig. 10d and
metallographic image taken from weld metal and HAZ is depicted
in Fig. 10e.
Scanning electron microscopic images (SEM) was used to eval-
uate morphology and chemical composition of the welds. Fig. 11
shows SEM images of specimen welded at 8 kA welding current.
Fig. 11a and b shows SEM micrographs taken from center of the
weld nugget with two distinctive areas including HAZ region and
weld metal. Columnar structure in weld nugget can be easily seen.
Additionally, Fig. 11c shows SEM image with two zones including

Fig. 9. Cross section micrographs of sample welded by using 4 kA welding current and 4 cycles welding time: (a) border between base metal and HAZ, (b) border between
weld nugget and HAZ, (c) resistance spot welded region, (d) HAZ area, and (e) center of weld nugget.
 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263
Fig. 10. Cross sectional micrographs of sample welded by using 9 kA welding current and 4 cycles welding time: (a) and (b) weld metal regions, (c) resistance spot welded
region, (d) and (e) weld metal, border between welded nugget, HAZ and base metal.
base metal and HAZ. It can be seen that there are cavities in the
microstructure in the interface of HAZ and base metal. This kind
of defects is generally appeared in welded samples due to high
welding current or low electrode force. As it was reported by Harlin
et al. [25] and Kocabekir et al. [24], high welding shrinkage can be
responsible for this kind of internal defects which may be caused
by high thermal expansion. However, if these defects were pro-
duced in the center of weld nugget, they might not significantly
affect mechanical properties [24]. The tensile shear results proved
this discussion as well (Fig. 4).
3.4.2. Prediction of welds microstructure
Standard austenitic stainless steel weld metal contains two
phases including austenite and ferrite [24]. In this study, the
conventional Schaeffler, WRC-1992 and pseudo-binary phase dia-
grams were used to predict microstructures of weld nugget. Since
cooling rate is not in equilibrium condition in RSW process and
conventional Schaeffler and WRC-1992 phase diagrams do not
work at all cooling rates, it is essential to apply another diagram
which is based on schaeffler and WRC-1992 predictive graphs
which is named pseudo-binary predictive phase diagram.
Fig. 12a–c shows the Schaeffler, WRC-1992 and pseudo-binary pre-
dictive phase diagrams of austenitic stainless steels, respectively.
First of all, equivalent amount of Cr and Ni were calculated
according to Schaeffler predictive phase diagram and attained as
19.293, for Creq and 11.715, for Nieq. It is shown schematically in
Fig. 12a that conventional Schaeffler diagram anticipates that
austenite and ferrite phases will form in weld nugget based on
the base metal chemical composition. In the second step, the
259
equivalent amount of Cr and Ni were calculated based on
WRC-1992 diagram and obtained as 18.745, for Creq and 11.585,
for Nieq. It is schematically demarcated in Fig. 12b that WRC-
1992 solidification mode phase diagram anticipated FA (primary
ferrite + austenite) solidification mode for AISI 316L sample based
on its chemical composition.
Pseudo-binary phase diagram illustrates that during welding
process, morphology and microstructure of austenitic stainless
steel will be changed in weld nugget regions. Thus, different mor-
phologies such as fully austenitic to eutectic delta ferrite, skeletal
delta ferrite, acicular delta ferrite, lathy delta ferrite, Widmanstat-
ten austenite and fully delta ferrite can be observed in welds based
on changes in proportion of Creq/Nieq. According to Fig. 12c, solid-
ification mode may change from austenite (A) to primary austen-
ite + eutectic ferrite (AF), primary ferrite + austenite (FA) and
fully ferrite (F) within increasing the ratio of Creq/Nieq. Based on
this diagram, when cooling rate is moderate and/or the Creq/Nieq
is low, which in this study is approximately 1.618 (based on
WRC-1992 phase diagram’s formulas), skeletal delta ferrite will
be formed in weld nugget. In contrast, when cooling rate and/or
the Creq/Nieq is high, lathy delta ferrite will be dominated phase
in the microstructure of weld nugget [14,15]. So, pseudo-binary
phase diagram predicts skeletal delta ferrite for moderate cooling
rate and lathy delta ferrite for high cooling rate. However, there
were a few contradictions in this study when metallographic
examinations were performed on welded specimens.
Fig. 13 depicts various types of delta ferrite in weld nuggets at
4 kA and 8 kA welding currents. SEM image taken from specimen
welded by using 4 kA welding current is shown in Fig 13a. It can
260 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263
Fig. 11. SEM photographs of resistance spot welded regions manufactured at 8 kA
welding current: (a and b) HAZ and weld nugget, and (c) interface image of base
metal and HAZ.
be seen that skeletal and lathy delta ferrites have formed in weld
nugget region. By increasing welding current from 4 kA to 8 kA,
which leads to the generation of higher heat input, delta ferrite
with morphology of acicular will form as well as skeletal and lathy
delta ferrite in weld nugget areas and consequently results in
slightly coarser microstructure of weld nugget. In the other word,
this coarse structure could be caused by formation of acicular delta
ferrite beside formation of skeletal and lathy delta ferrite in the
microstructure of the weld.
Formation of delta ferrite with various morphologies in differ-
ent regions of weld nugget illustrate different cooling rate caused
by unequal cooling rate of water-cooled copper electrodes. Accord-
ing to the pseudo-binary phase diagram, formation of skeletal delta
ferrite (in some regions of Fig. 13a and b) can be attributed to the
Fig. 12. (a) Schaeffler diagram, (b) WRC-1992 diagram, and (c) Pseudo-binary
phase diagram.
moderate cooling rate. At this cooling rate, austenite consumes
nickel, carbon, and nitrogen which are austenite-promoting ele-
ments and consequently, ferrite is adequately depleted from these
components and enriched in ferrite-promoting elements such as
chromium and molybdenum. Formation of lathy delta ferrite in
some regions (Fig. 13a and b) can be explained by the fact that
cooling rate is high (based on the pseudo-binary phase diagram).
Lathy delta ferrite was replaced by skeletal delta ferrite due to
restriction in diffusion phenomenon during ferrite–austenite
transformation. Additionally, when cooling rate was dramatically
increased, a few regions in weld nugget were quickly solidified
 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263
Fig. 13. Scanning electron photographs taken from samples (a) welded at 4 kA welding current, (b and c) welded at 8 kA welding current.
and then led to the formation of acicular delta ferrite in these areas
(Fig. 13b or Fig. 13c). Thus, this morphology was formed due to fast
cooling rate in welding process and as a result, solidification mode
and proportion of Creq/Nieq in some regions of weld nugget were
changed [21]. Also, another reason for formation of the acicular
delta ferrite can be attributed to the restriction of long-range diffu-
sion at lower transformation temperature and consequently trans-
formation occurs over shorter distances in fast cooling rates [15]. It
can be concluded that major microstructure formed in resistance
spot weld regions are non-equilibrium phases due to fast cooling
rate in RSW process.
Energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis was performed to inves-
tigate if there were changes in the chemical composition of the
welded samples. Fig. 14 shows SEM micrographs taken from spec-
imens which were welded by using 4 kA and 8 kA welding currents
and Table 3 summarizes EDS elemental analysis results. As seen,
chemical composition in different regions of weld nugget is
approximately as similar as the base metal and no remarkable vari-
ations were detected. However, weight percent of molybdenum
increased in weld regions in case of the manufactured samples
within higher welding current. As it is given in Table 3, the amount
of ferrite-promoting elements such as molybdenum (Mo) and sili-
con (Si) are higher in the case of point numbers 5–8 which is
related to the sample welded by using 8 kA welding current. While,
in the case of sample welded by applying lower welding current
(4 kA), weight percent of the ferrite-promoting elements, specifi-
cally Mo and Si, is lower and it confirms that there is lower amount
of ferrite in the microstructure of the welds. EDS results proved
that higher heat input which is caused by higher welding current
led to the formation of ferritic microstructure in the welded sam-
ples. Also, image analysis for quantitative microscopy with clemex
software showed that the ferrite volume fraction in the Fusion
zone in higher that HAZ and base-metal.
3.5. Effect of welding current on microhardness
For further investigation, Vickers microhardness measurements
were performed on the weld nugget, HAZ and base metal on spec-
imens which were welded by applying low (4 kA) and high (8 kA
and 9 kA) welding current and/or heat input. Fig. 15 shows direc-
tion of the microhardness profile applied on specimens. Initial
261
microhardness of the AISI 316L sample was around 275 HV. Effects
of various welding currents on welds hardness were determined.
Hardness profile of the resistance spot welded areas is shown in
Fig. 16. According to the obtained results, microhardness of the
weld nugget is lower in comparison to HAZ and base metal at both
low and high welding currents. This behavior arises from the fact
that when welding process is performed in atmosphere and the
specimens are cooled in air, heat dissipation rate is high [11];
grains growth might occur in weld nugget and result in lower
microhardness in weld nugget area [24]. In addition, results show
that microhardness in weld nugget region of specimen which is
welded under low heat input (4 kA welding current) is slightly
higher than the ones which were welded under high heat input
(8 kA and 9 kA welding current). It can be attributed to grain
growth with increasing in generated heat input during RSW pro-
cess. By the comparison of three specimens welded at low and high
welding current, it revealed that microhardness in HAZ area was
not significantly affected by increasing in welding current up to
8 kA, while in the case of 9 kA welding current, microhardness
value declined to the lower amount which could be attributed to
the grain growth due to high heat input. In the other word,
as can be seen in Fig. 16, hardness values for HAZ region
obtained around 250 HV and negligible variation can be detected
for the samples welded by 4 kA and 8 kA, however, in the case of
9 kA it reduced to 240 HV. At the end, hardness value of the weld
metal attained 197 to 218 HV depending on the applied welding
current.
According to metallographic evaluations, grains growth took
place in HAZ and weld metal and consequently, it might lead to
reduction in microhardness values in comparison to base metal.
In the other word, the reduction of the microhardness can be asso-
ciated to the formation of delta ferrite morphology in weld nugget
and somehow HAZ regions. What is more, hardness value gradu-
ally increased in the HAZ from near the fusion zone to near the
base metal which can be attributed to the fact that cooling rate
near the fusion zone is low which leads to grain growth and in con-
trast, the area near the base metal experiences higher cooling rate
and showed fine grained microstructure and higher hardness
value. In this study, reduction in microhardness value of weld
metal can be justified by formation of delta ferrite morphology.
As ferrite structure provides lower microhardness in comparison
262 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263

Table 3
EDS elemental analysis of the welded samples with 4 and 8 kA welding current which
are shown in Fig. 13 (wt.%).

Point number Fe Cr Ni Mo Mn Si Ti
1 67.07 15.27 9.87 4.37 1.27 1.14 0.55
2 66.45 15.96 9.99 4.93 1.10 1.07 0.50
3 66.60 16.13 9.34 4.78 1.87 0.86 0.41
4 65.68 15.33 10.56 5.85 0.90 1.13 0.55
5 62.66 14.77 10.38 8.47 2.02 1.43 0.27
6 63.05 14.92 9.51 8.39 1.92 1.89 0.32
7 62.51 15.19 9.67 8.24 1.97 2.23 0.19
8 63.17 15.42 10.20 7.93 1.82 1.33 0.12

Fig. 15. Schematic of the microhardness measurements taken from cross section of
the samples.

Fig. 16. Microhardness profiles of welds manufacture by using various welding

current.

to austenite morphology, observed variations in welds microhard-

ness seems to be rational.

4. Conclusions

Since the main objective of manufacturing process is always to

improve overall quality of a product, it is necessary to optimize
multiple quality characteristics simultaneously. In this research,
microstructural and mechanical properties of resistance spot weld-
ing joint of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel were investigated.
The results have been enumerated in the following:

1. Tensile–shear load bearing capacity of welded materials

Fig. 14. SEM images taken from weld nugget area (a and b) welded by using 4 kA
welding current and (c and d) welded by using 8 kA welding current. EDS elemental
analysis were carried out at the determined points.
increased within increasing the welding current up to 8 kA
due to the enlargement of weld nugget size whereas further
increase in weld current up to 9 kA had an adverse effect. The
minimum and maximum tensile–shear forces or peak load
obtained 2450 N and 8070 N for 4 kA and 8 kA welding cur-
rents, respectively.
 D. Kianersi et al. / Materials and Design 61 (2014) 251–263
2. By increasing welding current at constant welding time, various
failure modes occurred from solely interfacial failure mode to
completely tearing around weld nugget from HAZ. Specimens
that have interfacial fractures were rejected and ones which
tore from HAZ, base metal or compound modes were accepted.
The best weld had button pullout with tearing from the base
metal failure mode. Also, calculated failure energy from load–
displacement curves showed that welded specimen with 8 kA
welding current has the highest plastic deformation with pull-
out failure mode.
3. In weld nugget region, grains were found to be elongated with
columnar structure, parallel to the electrode compression direc-
tion. The size of grains increased in HAZ region in comparison to
the base metal.
4. SEM-BE micrographs and optical microscopy analyses revealed
that skeletal and lathy delta ferrite morphology are the main
microstructures in the weld nugget area of specimen which
was welded under low heat input (4 kA welding current). More-
over, acicular delta ferrite as well as skeletal and lathy delta fer-
rite morphology was found in weld nugget of the sample which
was welded under high heat input (8 kA welding current). In
fact, increasing in generated heat input may lead to slightly
coarsening of weld nugget microstructure by forming acicular
delta ferrite morphology in this region. EDS results confirmed
formation of ferrite in the welded sample made by 8 kA welding
current due to presence higher weight percent of ferrite-
promoting elements such as molybdenum (Mo) and silicon
(Si) in chemical composition of weld metal.
5. Microhardness studies showed that hardness of weld nugget
was lower in comparison to HAZ and base metal. Also, hardness
of weld nugget and HAZ areas was slightly higher in the speci-
men welded under low heat input (4 kA welding current) in
comparison to the specimen welded under high heat input
(8 kA welding current). It can be related to the grain growth
phenomenon which may occur during RSW process of AISI
316L stainless steel.
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