Weld Defects in Austenitic Stainless Steel
Sheets—Effect of Welding Parameters
Defects grow in number and size as welding current
increases, and the type of defect is determined by welding speed
ABSTRACT. T w o austenitic stainless steel
sheets w e r e w e l d e d b y t h e a u t o g e n o u s
gas tungsten arc process. D e f e c t s of
different kinds w e r e f o u n d t o b e f o r m e d
d e p e n d i n g o n the w e l d i n g parameters,
i. e., cracks, center cavities, c r a c k e d c e n -
ter cavities, ripple cavities, u n d e r c u t s a n d
humps.
T h e cracks a n d cavities increased in
size and n u m b e r w i t h increasing w e l d i n g
current, w h e r e a s the t y p e of d e f e c t w a s
essentially d e p e n d e n t o n the w e l d i n g
s p e e d . C e n t e r cavities a n d their c r a c k e d
versions, as w e l l as u n d e r c u t s and h u m p s ,
c o u l d o c c u r at high speeds, w h e r e a s
cracks and ripple cavities w e r e typical of
l o w speeds. The primary austenitic solidi-
fication m o d e a u g m e n t e d cracks a n d rip-
ple cavities, w h i l e the p r i m a r y ferritic
solidification m o d e increased center cavi-
ty f o r m a t i o n .
Reasons f o r the effects of the w e l d i n g
parameters are e x p l o r e d in this paper,
t o g e t h e r w i t h the o c c u r r e n c e o f t h e dif-
ferent kinds of defects a n d their f o r m a -
t i o n mechanisms. The practical i m p o r -
tance of the results is also discussed.
Introduction
Austenitic stainless steel sheets are
extensively used f o r w e l d e d pipes and
tubes in t h e chemical, p e t r o l e u m a n d
nuclear industries. They are normally
assumed t o h a v e a g o o d weldability,
c o n t r a r y t o steels used f o r massive c o n -
structions that o f t e n present p r o b l e m s of
solidification cracking and microfissures
Paper presented at the 63th AWS Annual
Meeting held in Kansas City, Missouri, during
April 25-30, 1982.
V. P. KUIANPAA is a Research Fellow, Labora-
tory of Physical Metallurgy, University of Oulu,
Oulu, Finland.
BY V. P. KUJANPAA
(Ref. 1-4). T h e assumption of g o o d w e l d - defects in C T A W o n austenitic stainless
ability is basically t r u e , p r o v i d e d that n o steel sheets. The p u r p o s e here is t o
high p r o d u c t i v i t y or quality r e q u i r e m e n t s d e m o n s t r a t e the i m p o r t a n c e of certain
are laid d o w n . H o w e v e r mechanization w e l d i n g parameters. O t h e r parts discus-
and automation together with the sing the effects o f w e l d metal c o m p o s i -
increasing d e m a n d f o r higher w e l d i n g t i o n a n d shielding gases o n the defects
speeds h a v e i n t r o d u c e d a p r o b l e m of are t o be s u b m i t t e d f o r publication at a
d e f e c t f o r m a t i o n in sheet w e l d i n g . later d a t e .
D e f e c t s of different kinds can be cre-
a t e d d u r i n g the w e l d i n g of austenitic Experimental Procedures
stainless steels, e. g., cracks (Ref. 1-4),
p o r e s a n d cavities (Ref. 5, 6, 7), u n d e r c u t s Materials
a n d h u m p s (Ref. 8, 9) d e p e n d i n g o n the
T w o c o m m e r c i a l sheets o f AISI T y p e
w e l d i n g conditions. These h a v e b e e n
316 austenitic stainless steel w e r e used.
e n c o u n t e r e d using either multiple-elec-
These w e r e selected so that o n e (sheet
t r o d e gas tungsten arc w e l d i n g ( C T A W )
A) w o u l d solidify primarily austenitically
m e t h o d s , e. g., in pipe p r o d u c t i o n , or
u p o n w e l d i n g and t h e o t h e r (sheet B)
single e l e c t r o d e C T A W m e t h o d s , e. g., in
primarily terrifically (Ref. 18, 19). The
w e l d i n g p i p e bends, flanges o r branches
difference w a s mainly d u e t o differences
(Ref. 10). M a n y defects m a y be injurious,
in the c h r o m i u m and nickel c o n t e n t , t h e
especially f r o m a mechanical (Ref. 1 1 - 1 4 )
o t h e r elements being at a p p r o x i m a t e l y
or corrosive (Ref. 13) standpoint. Also,
t h e same level. The c o m p o s i t i o n s are
t h e y may r e d u c e fatigue (Ref. 14, 15) or
listed in Table 1.
c r e e p (Ref. 12) properties.
T h e materials w e r e 2 m m (0.08 in.)
This p a p e r f o r m s a part o f a larger thick, a n d the Ferrite N u m b e r s of the
w o r k dealing w i t h the f o r m a t i o n of w e l d w e l d s v a r i e d f r o m 1.3 t o 3.1 a n d f r o m 4.6
t o 7.4 in sheets A a n d B respectively,
d e p e n d i n g o n the w e l d i n g parameters.
T h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g calculated values are
2.5 a n d 4.0, based o n t h e D e L o n g dia-
Table 1—Compositions of the Sheets, wt-%
g r a m (Ref. 17).
Sheet Sheet
A B Test Procedure
C 0.025 0.031 M e c h a n i z e d single e l e c t r o d e C T A W
Si 0.49 0.47 m e t h o d s w e r e used in all t h e test w e l d s .
Mn 1.54 1.80 T h e welds w e r e p r o d u c e d autogenously
P 0.034 0.033 o n the sheet w i t h o u t a g r o o v e .
S 0.015 0.017 In the main e x p e r i m e n t s , 2 X 50 X 250
Cr 17.2 16.9
m m (0.08 X 2 X 10 in.) test sheet w a s
Ni 12.9 11.2
Mo 2.70 2.66 w e l d e d t o a rigid jig —Fig. 1. T w o w e l d s
Cu 0.17 0.18 (A and B in Fig. 1) w e r e m a d e in the sheet
N 0.030 0.044 using the same parameters (i.e., 9 0 A , 200
Creq/Nie^ 1.49 1.60 m m / m i n or 7.9 i p m , a n d 1 0 - 1 2 V) w i t h
ls
o t h e r conditions as s h o w n in Table 2; this
'Cr, q = '., Cr + .37 • Mo- 1.5 • , Si + 2 • "» Nb +
3 • % Ti. Ni. q = ", Ni H Mn - 22 •"„ C + 14,2 • w a s d o n e in o r d e r t o equalize the
"„ N + % Cu. (Ref. 16.) stresses in the sheet b e f o r e each test.
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 145-s
 The test weld proper was made in the Test weld
Table 2—Welding Conditions
middle of the sheet —Fig. 1. The welding
parameters were selected on the basis of
preliminary experiments in which the test Method Single electrode
sheets were welded at variable welding GTAW
speeds and currents in order to deter- Technique Mechanized stringer
mine reasonable values for the main bead
experiments. The other conditions were Groove None
kept constant and are listed in Table 2. Filler metal None
Welding position Flat
Figure 2 shows that the weld metal
Ar (root shield) \Mild steel Polarity DC, straight
could behave in four different ways, Variable, see Table 3.
Welding current
depending on the welding current and Ar (trailing shield) Pole voltage Variable, see Table 3.
speed. If the welding speed was too low Welding torch Welding speed Variable, see Table 3.
compared with the current, the melting Arc length 2 mm (0.08 in)
was unstable and a hole developed in the Sintered bronze Electrode EWTh-2, diam 2.4 mm
sheet; with lower currents or higher (0.094 in.) and cone
speeds, complete penetration or melt- angle 60 deg
\ Test sheet
thru occurred. In addition, when the Arc shielding gas 99.99 % Ar, flow
200 mm (8in) r a t e - 8 L/min (17
welding speed was too high compared
cfh)
with the current, penetration was incom- Fig. I — The test procedure
Root shielding 99.99 % Ar, flow
plete or no fusion occurred —Fig. 2. gas r a t e - 8 L/min (17
Welding currents and speeds for the cfh)
experiments are depicted in Fig. 2 and in the resolution of the film about ±0.05 Trail shielding gas 99.99 % Ar, flow
Table 3. Other conditions were kept mm ( ± 2 . 0 X 1 0 - 3 in.). The shapes and r a t e - 8 L/min (17
constant and are indicated in Table 2. cfh)
locations of the different kinds of defect
Welding torch Vertical. Orifice
were also examined by scanning electron d i a m - 1 1 mm (0.43
microscope. The microstructure of the in.); distance from
Metallographical Methods welds was also examined by convention- the s h e e t - 10 mm
The test welds were pickled in a solu- al light microscope in the cross section (0.39 in.)
tion of 15% H N 0 3 + 5% HF, and cleaned. and longitudinal section.
They were examined visually, by light Weld Ferrite Numbers were measured
stereo microscope and by x-ray radiogra- using a Magne-Gage calibrated according 4. Ripple cavities.
phy (acceleration voltage 90 kV, current to the procedure AWS A 4.2-74. 5. Undercuts.
5 mA, exposure time 15-21 min). 6. Humps.
The number and length of the defects Results Their macroscopic locations are indi-
were measured by the optical stereo cated in Fig. 3 and their shapes in Fig. 4.
Defect Classification
microscope on the face and root surfaces The occurrence of defects is seen in Figs.
of the welds and in the x-ray film. The Defects of different kinds could be 5-9. The depths of the defects were
depth of the defects was determined by formed depending on the welding used as the criteria for the severity of
the same microscope by focusing sepa- parameters. These defects were classi- defect formation (except for the ripple
rately on the bottom of the defect and fied into six types according to shape and cavities where their number was used).
the weld surface and then measuring the macroscopic location in the weld: Cracks were situated in the middle
level difference with a dial gauge. The 1. Cracks. region of the weld (Fig. 3A). They were
accuracy of the size measurement was 2. Center cavities. generally 0.5-3 mm (0.02-0.1 in.) long,
about ±0.01 mm ( ± 0 . 4 X 10" 3 in.) and 3. Cracked center cavities. and longer than the cavities, but were not

(in/min)
1 10 100
1 10 100
1 1 1 I I I III 1 1 /I 1/ III 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 \\ II 1 1 111
II 1 1

V
SHEET A SHEET B
/
300
HOLE F0 RMATION
,x
1 300
HOLE FO RMATION /
/ /
x

X * /
yAx
200
X
X
XJ 200
7/
X
X .X X ,
/ X a* X /
S X
100
x xy
100
««• X y /
x — *
COMPLETE PENET R A T I O N i - ^
y COMPLETE PENETRATION*
X ^ _ _ _ - - ' n N C OM P L E T E x
_^_ -" INCOMPLETE
PENETRATION ' N O FUSION ' PENETRATION / N O FUSION
1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 11 1/
1 1 1 11 1 1 1 A\ 1 1
100 . 1000 1000
[mm/mm] 100
Welding speed
Welding speed (mm/min)
(in/min)
Fig. 2 —Fields of penetration in the welding current — welding speed diagram for sheets A and B. The parameters used are marked

46-s 1 FEBRUARY 1983

 Table 3—Welding Currents, Pole Voltages and Welding Speeds Used in the Main Experiments

Sheet A Sheet B
Welding speed. Welding Pole Welding Pole
mm/min (ipm) current, A voltage, V current, A voltage, V

25 (1.0) 70 10.5 75 10
50 (2.0) 40 10 50 9
80 11 90 10
100 (3.9) I ll) 12 110 12
40 9.5
200 (7.9) 70 10 70 10
120 11 120 12
160 13 170 13.5
400 (15.7) 110 12 110 11.5
150 13 150 13
190 14 190 14
600 (23.6) 160 13 170 13
210 15 230 15
800(31.5) 180 14
195 14 200 14
220 14.5 230 16
240 16.5
260 16 260 16.5
1 200 (47.2) 300 17 310 18
330 18

i. e., they reached the surface. However,
some internal cavities or pores were also
observed. Center cavities were found
approximately to the same extent on the
face and root surfaces.
Cracked center cavities (Fig. 3B) were
forms comprising a combination of
cracks and center cavities. They con-
sisted of low round-edged cavities with
cracks in the bottom —Fig. 4C.
The change from crack to center cavi-
ty was gradual, and various combinations
could be found. These defects were
similar in number and size to the
uncracked center cavities —Fig. 7.
Ripple cavities were located in rows in
ripple lines —Fig. 3A. These were found,
in the first place, near the weld interface;

Fig. 3 — Macrographs of welds (sheet A) made

using the following parameters: A — 190 A, 14
V, 400 mm/min (16 ipm); B-330 A, 18 V,
1200 mm/min (47 ipm); C'- 180 A, 14 V, 1200
mm/min (47 ipm)

so numerous (0.01-1.7 per millimeter or

0.25-40 per inch). Their edges were
sharp and easily distinguished from the
surrounding matrix —Fig. 4A).
The cracks were typically deep (Fig. 5),
amounting to 10-25% of the thickness of
the weld; they were mostly found in the
face surface of the weld. In the micro-
structure, they were situated in the last
regions to solidify, i. e., along the grain
boundaries. "Healed cracks"* were also
encountered in the microstructure in con-
tact with the cracks proper.
Center cavities were also located in the
middle region of the weld —Fig. 3B. They
were typically short, 0.03-1 mm (0.001-
0.04 in.) in diameter and numerous, 0.4-4
per millimeter (10-100 per inch). They
were not very deep, and typically cov-
ered 5-15% of the thickness of the
weld —Fig. 6. The edges were round-
ish-Fig. 4B.
Most of the center cavities were open,

10
*A healed crack is a solidification crack partially
| °^ ij
or totally backfilled by the melt during solidifi- Fig. 4—Types of defects: A —crack; B — center cavities; C —cracked center cavity; D —ripple
cation (Ref. 21). cavities

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT | 47-s

 Welding speed Welding speed
n/min) (in/min)
100
10 100
400 m—TTT
400

300
300 - HOLE FORMATION

5 200
200

100
100 -
0 0
COMPLETE PENETRATION^
0 0 NCOMPLETE
PENETRATION/NO FUSION
I I I I I I I I I I I l/f I
100 1000
100 1000 ( m m / min)
(mm/min) Welding speed
Welding speed (m/min)
n/min) 10 100
100 400 I I I I III
i—1/1/ I U I I

300
HOLE FORMATION

0.25 0.21V
ts 200 - 0.12

100 -

INCOMPLETE
PENETRATION — *
PENETRATION / N O FUSION
I I I I I I I I /i I L
100 1000
1000 Welding speed
Welding speed (mm/ min)
(mm/min)
Fig. 5-Maximum depth of cracks (mm) in the welding current-welding Fig. 6- Maximum depth of the center cavities (mm) in the welding
speed diagram, mm/25.4 = in. current welding speed diagram, mm/25.4 = in.

in the worst cases, they also occurred in
the center. They were generally narrow,
i. e., 0.02-0.05 mm (0.8-2 X 1 0 - 3 in.) in
diameter and not very deep, typically
5-10% of the thickness of the weld.
The ripple cavities were very numer-
ous, as many as 20-30 per millimeter
(500-750 per inch)-Fig. 8. Their edges
were also roundish - Fig. 4D. The direc-
tion of the cavity was parallel to that of
solidification. In the microstructure they
were found in the last regions to solidify,
i. e., along the grain boundaries. These
defects were encountered on both the
face and the root surfaces of the weld.
Undercuts and humps were large
defects. Undercuts were located near the
weld interface (Fig. 3B), always forming a
continuous groove on both edges of the
face surface of the weld. They were
generally deep, 10-30% of the thickness
of the weld —Fig. 9. The undercuts were
well rounded and were always broader
than they were deep.
The humps seemed to be associated
with a local lack of metal in the middle of
the weld and were always surrounded by
undercuts - Fig. 3C. Other kinds of
defects, such as weld blobs (Ref. 20) or
heat-affected zone or crater cracks were
also observed, but are not considered
here.
Effect of Welding Parameters
The effects of the welding parameters
including current and speed on defect
formation can best be shown on welding
current-welding speed diagrams —Figs.
5-9. The defect fields in Figs. 5-9 are
combined in Fig. 10. It can be seen that
the weld was most susceptible to crack
or cavity formation if the welding param-
eters were chosen near the hole forma-
tion field (Figs. 5-8) when the volume of
the weld was high. The lower values of
the welding current caused the frequen-
cy of defect formation to diminish.
The effect of welding speed was also
considerable. Cracks were typically
found at low speeds —Fig. 5. When the
speed was increased, cracking became
pronounced. At medium welding speeds,
i. e., ~ 4 0 0 mm/min (15 ipm), the cracks
were replaced by center cavities and
their cracked versions —Figs. 6, 7 and 10.
At even higher speeds, the cavities were
further augmented and became mostly
pure center cavities.
The formation of ripple cavities was
also pronounced at high welding cur-
rents—Fig. 8. Unlike the other types of
defects, they were favored by a low
welding speed, in which case they also
existed in the middle region of the
weld.

48-s I FEBRUARY 1983

 Undercuts were formed only at high
welding speeds, i. e., >500 mm/min
(>20 ipm) — Fig. 9; also, they were similar-
ly accentuated by high welding currents.
Humps were also found at high welding
speeds, i. e., >900 mm/min (>35 ipm) —
Fig. 9. Characteristically, they were
formed only at low welding currents
when penetration was incomplete. These
results agree well with those for plate
welding (Ref. 22).
Effect of Solidification Mode
According to Suutala, et al. (Ref. 18,
19), the solidification mode of the weld
can be easily determined on the basis of
the microstructure and depends basically
on the weld metal composition, i. e., the
ratio of chromium and nickel equiva-
lents-Table 1. The materials used in this
study - sheets A (Cr e q /Ni e q = 1.49) and B
(Cr e q /Ni e q = 1.60) —solidified in the aus-
tenitic-ferritic or primary austenitic and
ferritic-austenitic or primary ferritic
modes, respectively.
The effect of the solidification mode
was evaluated comparing the defect
fields of sheets A and B on a welding
current-welding speed diagram — Fig. 10.
It can be seen that the susceptibility to
cracking or cavity formation was strongly
influenced by the solidification mode.
The cracking field was much wider and
the cracks much deeper with sheet A,
which solidified as primary austenite (Fig.
5), than with sheet B which solidified as
primary ferrite; the susceptibility to ripple
cavity formation seemed to show the
same tendency, although the correlation
was not as clear — Fig. 8.
In contrast to crack formation, the
center cavities and their cracked versions
formed over a much wider welding cur-
rent-welding speed field in the welds
which solidified as primary ferrite than in
those which gave primary austenite —
Figs. 6, 7 and 10. The depths of these
types of defect seemed to be at the same
level in both sheets. Undercuts and
humps seemed not to be influenced by
the solidification mode; the fields in the
welding current-welding speed diagram
and the depths of the undercuts were
approximately the same with both
modes.
Reproducibility of Results
The method based on the use of a rigid
jig was a suitable and simple test for
studying the formation of weld defects
under severe conditions. This can be
seen from the results of the reproducibil-
ity tests, which were performed in three
cases —Table 4. For sheet A, cracks and
ripple cavities were typically formed
under the conditions 110 A and 100
mm/min (4 ipm). As can be seen in Table
4, the reproducibility is good, the stan-
dard deviation being only 10-15% of the

Welding speed
Welding speed
n/min) ( i n / min)
400 100 100
400

300 - 300 -

200 200 -

100 - 100 -

100 1000
(mm/min)
Welding speed
(in/min)
100
400 400
rn

300 - 300

= 200 - 200 -

100 - 100 -
41 COMPLEJE
0.4 INCOMPLETE
PENETRATION
PENETRATION / N O FUSION
I I I I I I J I I I I I /I I L
1000 100 1000
Welding speed Welding speed
(mm/mm) (mm/mm)
Fig. 7 — Maximum depth of cracked center cavities (mm) in the welding Fig. 8-Number of ripple cavities (per millimeter) in the welding
current-welding speed diagram current-welding speed diagram

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 149-s


Table 4—Reproducibility Results
Current, A
Speed, m m / m i n (ipm)
Number of tests
Maximum depth of cracks,
mm (in.)
- Mean value
- S t . dev>)
Maximum depth of center
cavities, mm (in.)
- M e a n value
- S t . dev.<a>
Maximum depth of cracked
center cavities, mm (in.)
- M e a n value
- S t . dev.<a»
Number of ripple cavities,
per millimeter (per inch)
— Mean value
- S t . dev.<a)
Depth of undercut, mm (in.)
— Mean value
- S t . dev.<a>
:a)
Standard deviation using N-1 weighting tor example data.
mean values for these defects.
In the other cases tested, sheet A with
parameters 240 A and 800 mm/min (31
ipm) and sheet B with parameters 260 A
and 800 mm/min, center cavities and
their cracked versions and undercuts typ-
ically formed. The reproducibility of cen-
ter cavities and undercuts was also good,
the standard deviation being 10-15% of
the mean value. However, in the case of
the cracked center cavities it was worse,
with a standard deviation of about 4 0 -
50% of the mean value of the results.
Discussion
Defect Formation Mechanisms
Defect formation mechanisms depend
on many variables, among which only the
welding parameters are studied here.
Thus, it will only be possible to reach
definite conclusions on the mechanisms
in the later parts of this work after the
effects of impurities and shielding gases
have also been considered. Some infer-
ences, however, can be made on the
basis of the present results.
Cracking in austenitic stainless steels
has been widely studied before (Ref.
1-4). It has been found that a weld is
prone to solidification cracking if it solidi-
fies with austenite as primary phase and
has a normal impurity content (Ref. 4).
On the other hand, a weld solidifying as
primary ferrite or having a very low
phosphorus and sulphur content
(P 4- S < 0.01 wt-%) is not susceptible to
solidification cracking (Ref. 4, 21).
The cracks found in the sheet welds in
this study show the same tendency
regarding the solidification mode. In addi-
50-s I FEBRUARY 1983
Sheet Sheet Sheet
A A B
110 240 260
100 (4) 800 (31) 800 (31)
5 5 5 cal cast pipes".
0.24 (0.010) - -
0.030 (0.0012) - -
- 0.18(0.0071) 0.27 (0.011)
- 0.016 (0.00063) 0.037 (0.0015)
- 0.11 (0.0043) 0.10(0.0039)
- 0.048 (0.0019) 0.051 (0.0020)
31 (800)
— —
3.6(91) - -
- 0.13 (0.0051) 0.24 (0.0094)
— 0.017 (0.00067) 0.030 (0.0012)
tion, they very much resemble solidifica-
tion cracks found in thicker plates. Micro-
structurally, they occurred in the last
regions to solidify and were often partial-
ly healed or back-filled, evidence that
they had been in contact with the melt
during solidification. The formation
mechanism is thus probably the same as
in the case of plates (Ref. 21).
In previous studies on solidification
cracking (Ref. 21) the Trans-Varestraint
test was used whereby the plate is
forced to crack by bending. The present
study shows that the cracks caused by
the rigidity of the weld, itself, show the
same tendency in relation to solidification
mode as these forced cracks.
Pores and cavities are traditionally clas-
sified into those formed through gas
evolution and those formed through
shrinkage. Gas pores are usually smooth,
rounded, and quite large compared with
shrinkage pores which are more irregular
in shape.
Center cavities and their cracked ver-
sions found in this study had features of
both shrinkage and gas pores. Generally,
the pure center cavities resembled gas
evolution pores more than did the
cracked center cavities which tended to
have features of shrinkage pores —Figs.
4B and 4C. Matsuda, et al. (Ref. 7)
observed these cavities in welds made
under an argon atmosphere in a chamber
evacuated to 0.13 Pa ( 1 0 - 3 mm Hg)
before the test. This shows that shrinkage
is one reason for the formation of this
kind of defect.
The ripple cavities were distinguished
from the center cavities on the basis of
size, shape and location in the weld. They
occurred in the ripple lines and along the
grain boundaries, and were parallel to the
direction of solidification. Some marks in
the microstructure revealed that the
space between the grains had probably
widened during solidification and had
been partially back-filled by the melt,
causing a ripple cavity. The ripple cavities
were, therefore, in a sense "microscopi-
The fact that shrinkage was the main
reason for the ripple cavities was sup-
ported by the effect of the solidification
mode. Segregation is stronger, and the
mushy zone is wider when a weld solidi-
fies as primary austenite;. this causes the
healing effect to be harder than in prima-
ry ferritic solidification, as discussed in
connection with cracks.
Undercuts are caused by the melt flow
of the weld. The arc pressure forces the
melt to flow backwards over the center
of the solidifying weld. The melt cools
rapidly and its viscosity increases. Thus, it
does not have time to become smooth
before solidification, and an undercut is
formed. The phenomenon may be
assisted by the interfacial forces. Humps
were probably formed for interfacial rea-
sons, the weld pool being so small that
interfacial forces could compel the melt
to form these "weld bead turbulents"
(Ref. 8, 23).
Defects and Welding Parameters
The volume of the weld pool
increased when the welding current was
increased; this could have brought about
more severe shrinkage and, therefore,
larger stresses. In addition, the melt
showed a tendency to sink down at high
currents and low speeds; this also accen-
tuated the shrinkage during solidification.
These were probably the main reasons
for the harmful effect of the welding
current in promoting crack and cavity
formation.
When the welding speed is increased,
the form of the weld puddle changes
from elliptical to drop-shaped (Ref. 24).
With austenitic stainless steel sheets of
2 mm (0.08 in.) thickness, this transition
occurs at a speed of about 200 mm/min
(8 ipm) (Ref. 19). The content of segre-
gated impurities in the last droplets of the
melt was likely greater with drop-formed
puddles and, therefore, cracking was also
increased —Fig. 5.
The effect of the welding parameters
on the undercut can be explained on the
basis of the above formation mechanism.
When the current was increased, the arc
power was greater and forced the melt
to flow backwards more easily. The high-
er welding speed, in turn, made the slope
of the weld pool less steep, and it was
easier for an undercut to form. At high
speeds the melt also had less time to
become smooth.
Practical Importance of the Results
The results of this study show that
pore-like defects can be reduced, if the
 Welding speed Welding speed
(in/min) (in/min)
100 100
400 400

300 300

=> 200 - = 200

100 - 100
COMPLETE
PENETRATION

J I I I M I I
1000 1000
mm/mm) mm/min)
Welding speed Welding speed
(in/min) (in/min)
10 100
100 400
400 II I I 1 1 TITM 1 tJ-VA an"
SHEET B
Centre cavities
and cracked
rW
. \nri u
II
\ j
300 - 300
HOLE FORMATION ^yjp
YH 1'

Cracks
/OWS 1
^CX/OrO' *
200 200 \ytf$ " W W /
V V A /
Ripple \vy^ ,
cavities ^ A rl
100
A^— •?' y r
100 - " ^ * y / 1 1_ / X ^5! i i i 1—1- -
-COMPLETE,-^-— ' ^ y dercut!
mp;
Hi
PENETRATION^^- INCOMPLE
TE
___—• PENETRA /^NO F U S I O N
riON .
11 I 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1/
100 1000 100 1000
Welding speed
Welding speed
(mm/min)
(mm/min)
Fig. 9 —Depth of undercuts (mm) in the welding current-welding speed Fig. 10 -Fields of various types of defects combined on one welding
diagram. The field of humps is also shown current •welding speed diagram

w e l d i n g s p e e d is l o w e r e d —Fig. 10. This
agrees w i t h the results of Ekerot a n d
Fredriksson (Ref. 25). T h e present results
s h o w , h o w e v e r , that the w e l d i n g current
also has a m a r k e d influence o n defect
f o r m a t i o n . N o r m a l l y , o n e tries in sheet
w e l d i n g t o achieve a d e f e c t - f r e e w e l d
w i t h single pass a n d c o m p l e t e p e n e t r a -
tion at the m a x i m u m w e l d i n g s p e e d . This
study s h o w s that, in a reasonable w e l d i n g
p a r a m e t e r field (i.e., b e t w e e n h o l e f o r -
m a t i o n and i n c o m p l e t e p e n e t r a t i o n ) , the
w e l d i n g current should b e k e p t as l o w as
possible in o r d e r t o get d e f e c t - f r e e
w e l d s . In practice, because of the aim f o r
m a x i m u m p r o d u c t i v i t y (i.e., high w e l d i n g
speeds), c o n t r o l of the w e l d i n g current
p r o v e s t o b e a v e r y i m p o r t a n t consider-
ation as seen in Fig. 10.
In this study a rigid test w a s used
w h e r e i n t h e stresses f o r m e d were
caused b y the rigidity of t h e jig in w h i c h
the sheet w a s w e l d e d . Thus, it m a y w e l l
serve t o describe the w e l d i n g o f a rigid
c o n s t r u c t i o n . In m a n y cases o f sheet
w e l d i n g , h o w e v e r , the rigidity is l o w e r ;
c o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e restrictions u p o n the
w e l d i n g current a n d s p e e d m a y be less
severe.
T h e results of this study c o n c e r n only
t h e single-electrode G T A W process in
w h i c h the m a x i m u m possible w e l d i n g
speed is limited b y u n d e r c u t f o r m a t i o n . In
multi-electrode G T A W methods, under-
cuts can b e a v o i d e d because l o w e r arc
pressures are f o r m e d o n the melt a n d
higher speeds are used (Ref. 9). T h e
f o r m a t i o n of center cavities, especially o n
t h e r o o t surface, h o w e v e r , m a y be a
p r o b l e m ; it is this that sets o n e limit u p o n
the use o f such m e t h o d s at t h e present
time.
Conclusions
T h e d e f e c t f o r m a t i o n in t w o austenitic
stainless steel sheets w i t h a u t o g e n o u s
G T A W was investigated. Particular re-
gard w a s paid t o the shape, size, n u m b e r
a n d location o f the defects a n d t o the
effect o f the w e l d i n g parameters. T h e
results a l l o w the f o l l o w i n g conclusions t o
be reached:
1. Defects of different kinds can b e
f o r m e d d u r i n g w e l d i n g : cracks, center
cavities, c r a c k e d center cavities, ripple
cavities, u n d e r c u t s a n d h u m p s .
2. W e l d i n g parameters h a v e a m a r k e d
influence o n d e f e c t f o r m a t i o n . The size
a n d n u m b e r of the defects increase
m a r k e d l y w i t h the w e l d i n g current. T h e
w e l d i n g speed affects the character of
the defects. Cracks a n d ripple cavities are
f o r m e d at l o w speeds, w h i l e center cavi-
ties and their c r a c k e d versions and under-
cuts a n d h u m p s are typical of high
speeds.
3. The solidification m o d e also exerts
an effect o n defect f o r m a t i o n . W e l d s

W E L D I N G RESEARCH S U P P L E M E N T I 51-s
solidifying as p r i m a r y austenite are m o r e
susceptible t o crack o r ripple cavity f o r -
m a t i o n , w h i l e center cavities are m o r e
typical o f w e l d s solidifying as p r i m a r y
ferrite.
4. Shrinkage is o n e reason f o r crack
a n d cavity f o r m a t i o n . U n d e r c u t s are
caused b y the effect o f arc pressure o n
the melt f l o w in the w e l d .
A ckno wledgments
S u p p o r t f r o m the F o u n d a t i o n of O u t o -
k u m p u O y a n d the A c a d e m y of Finland is
gratefully a c k n o w l e d g e d . T h e a u t h o r also
thanks M r . M . Hicks, M . A. f o r revising
the English language o f t h e manuscript.
References
1. Lundin, C. D., DeLong, W . 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. Cieslak, M. J., and Savage, W . F. 1980.
Weldability and solidification phenomena of
cast stainless steel. We/ding /ournal 59(5):
136-s to 146-s.
3. Cooch, T. C. 1980. Repair welding with
austenitic stainless steel M M A electrodes. Met-
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4. Kujanpaa, V. P., Suutala, N. J., Takalo, T.
K., and Moisio, T. J. I. 1980. Solidification
cracking —estimation of the susceptibility of
austenitic and austenitic-ferritic stainless steel
welds. Metal Construction 12(6): 282-285.
5. Willgoss, R. A. 1980. Weld pool profile
and porosity in the TIC-welding of BS 1501,
Type 316, stainless steel. Preprints of an inter-
nal, conf.: Weld pool chemistry and metal-
lurgy, ed. N. Bailey: 133-145. Cambridge,
England: The Welding Institute.
6. Koblyanskii, I. F., and Peshekhonov, V. D.
1967. Porosity in argon arc welding of joints in
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7. Matsuda, F., Hashimoto, T., and Senda,
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8. Welleans, J. W7, and Adams, B. 1969.
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255-257.
9. Anderson, J. E., and Yenni, D. M. 1965.
Multi-cathode gas tungsten-arc welding.
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10. Kujanpaa, V. P. 1979. Unpublished
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11. Honeycombe, )., and Gooch, T. G.
1973. Effects of microcracks on mechanical
properties of austentic stainless-steel weld-
metals. Metal Construction and British Welding
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12. Harrison, J. D. 1972. Basis for a pro-
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fects - Part 1. Metal Construction and British
Welding /ournal 4(3): 99-107.
13. Jubb, J. E. M. 1981. Undercut or toe
groove —the Cinderella defect. Metal Con-
struction 13(2): 94-98.
14. Petershagen, H. 1981. The effect of
undercutting on the fatigue strength of
machine-made fillet welds. Schweissen und
Schneiden 33(4): E54-E56, 165-168.
15. Babaev, A. V. 1980. The effects of
pores on the fatique strengths of welded
joints. Automatic We/ding (10): 6-10.
16. Hammar, 6 . , and Svensson, U. 1979.
Influence of steel composition on segregation
and microstructure during solidification of aus-
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London: The Metals Society.
17. DeLong, W . T. 1974. Ferrite in austenitic
stainless steel weld metal. Welding Journal
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18. Suutala, N., Takalo, T., and Moisio, T.
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WRC Bulletin 280

August, 1982
The Varestraint Test
by C. D. Lundin, A. C. Lungenfeltet. G. E. Grotke, G. G. Lessmann, and S. J. Matthews

T h e V a r e s t r a i n t T e s t , o r o n e of i t s v a r i o u s m o d i f i c a t i o n s , is t h e m o s t u t i l i z e d w e l d a b i l i t y t e s t f o r
e v a l u a t i o n o f h o t c r a c k i n g s e n s i t i v i t y . T h i s m o n o g r a p h p r e s e n t s t h e e x p e r i e n c e of s e v e r a l r e s e a r c h e r s in
t h e i r u s e o f t h e V a r e s t r a i n t T e s t . It is n o t i n t e n d e d t o b e a s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n d o c u m e n t , b u t a u t i l i z a t i o n
guide.

P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s r e p o r t w a s s p o n s o r e d b y t h e S u b c o m m i t t e e o n H e a t R e s i s t a n t A l l o y s of t h e H i g h
A l l o y s C o m m i t t e e of t h e W e l d i n g R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l .

T h e p r i c e o f W R C B u l l e t i n 2 8 0 is $ 1 0 . 0 0 p e r c o p y , p l u s $ 3 . 0 0 f o r p o s t a g e a n d h a n d l i n g ( f o r e i g n —
$ 5 . 0 0 ) . O r d e r s s h o u l d b e s e n t w i t h p a y m e n t t o t h e W e l d i n g R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l , 3 4 5 East 4 7 t h S t . , N e w
Y o r k , NY 1 0 0 1 7 .

52-s | FEBRUARY 1983