D.

SELVAKUMARAN
COURSE DIRECTOR/AWTI
 What is stainless steel?
 Why stainless steel for rail coaches?
 Important properties of stainless steel

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 High alloy steel with at least 11% chromium
is known as stainless steel
 Two important features of stainless steel
 Corrosion resistance
 Mechanical properties

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 Corrosion Resistance
 No repairs needed
 No painting
 Easy maintenance
 Smooth clean surface
 Easy to clean
 Mechanical properties
 High yield strength
 High fatigue resistance
 High energy absorption(2.5 times carbon steel)
 High temp properties

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 The chromium combines with oxygen of the
atmosphere to form a stable non-metallic oxide
film on the surface of the steel.
 This film protects the steel by acting as a
protective coating.
 As the chromium content of the steel increases,
the tenacity, impermeability and strength of this
film increases, imparting greater and greater
corrosion resistance.
 film is too thin to be seen.
 What we do see is the shiny, unoxidized steel just
below this film.

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 STAINLESS STEEL
 Steel is stainless when it has under 1,0 % of carbon and
it´s alloyed with chromium (cr)
 Chromium produces transparent oxide layer to the
surface of steel, thickness of this oxide layer is around
0.000001 mm
- When concentration of chromium is 11,0 - 12,0 %
 Stainless steel is passive material
- Corrosion resistant
 Corrosion resistance increases when concentration of
chromium grows to the 16,0 to18,0 %

Base material
Oxide layer

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 STAINLESS STEEL
• Stainless steel is based on Ferrite body and it´s alloying
components
make it stainless  Chromium (Cr)
 Nickel (Ni)
 Molybdenum (Mo)
 Manganese (Mn)
 Silicon (Si)

• When these components are alloyed with certain

amounts together is possible to have different alloys
of Stainless steel
- For instance: acid - resistant Stainless steel alloy
ASTM (AISI) 316
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 Classification

Ferritic Austenitic

Martensitic Duplex
 Austenitic stainless steel
300 series.
Austenitic Stainless steel alloys
(AISI,301,302,304,304L, 308, 309,310,316,
316L, 317, 316Ti, 321, 330,347)
- metal alloy has steel (Fe) and Chromium (Cr 18-
30%) , Nickel (Ni 6-20%),high mangenese (Mn 2%),
carbon (C 0.03-0.25%)
- can’t be hardened
- alloy is consolidating in cold working
( bending, cutting )
- non-magnetic
- higher thermal expansion & higher electrical
resistance. 12
 FERRITIC STAINLESS STEEL
400 series.

 Ferritic Stainless steel alloys (AISI 405, 409,

429, 434, 436, 442, 446,430)
- metal alloy has steel (Fe) and Chromium
(Cr 11-27%), have no nickel , carbon (C 0.08-
0.2%)
- can’t be hardened
- magnetic

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 MARTENSITIC STAINLESS STEEL

 Martensitic Stainless steel alloys (AISI 403,

410,414, 416, 416SE, 420, 431, 440A, 440B,
440C, 501, 502)RDSO spec -CK201
- can be hardened
- magnetic
- difficult to weld

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 DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL

Austenitic-Ferritic Stainless steel alloys

(duplex)
- metal alloy has steel (Fe) and
Chromium (Cr),
Nickel (Ni) and Manganese (Mn)
- can’t be hardened
- magnetic
- excellent corrosion resistance

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 DIFFERENCESIN STAINLESS
AND
CARBON STEELS

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 High electrical resistance – nearly 6 times
that of C steel
 Low thermal conductivity – 0.3 that of C
Steel
 High thermal expansion co-efficient – 1.5
times that of C Steel
 Lower melting point – 0.85 times that of C
Steel

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 This higher resistance creates more
resistance heating in the stainless steel
electrode and in the base plate.
 Lower welding current or amperage is
required to avoid overheating the
electrode.

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 the heat remains in the vicinity of the
arc for a longer period of time instead of
being dispersed throughout the weldment
rapidly, as it does when welding
materials of high thermal
conductivity. This is another reason that
lower amperages are required to weld
these steels.

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 When welding an austenitic stainless steel to
a carbon steel, the different rates of
expansion can cause cracking due to internal
stresses.
 hence proper electrode and welding
procedure is used.
 The expansion of the straight chromium
types is about the same as or slightly less
than that of carbon steels.

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 The behavior of stainless steel in the heat
differs from that of mild steel.
 Rate of expansion of the chromium-nickel
types is about 50% greater than that of
carbon steel.
 This means that distortion from warping must
be compensated for to a greater extent.

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 Current should be 60-65% of corten steel

 Welding speed at least 40-50% higher

 Cleaning of edges before welding.

 Tack welding sequence

 In case of spot welding Squeeze pressure 50%

higher than corten steel

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 Stainless steel should not be cut by Gas cutting

 Use air plasma cutting

 Use proper fixture or clamps to avoid distortion

 After welding pickling and passivation should be

done.

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 General Corrosion Issues
 sensitisation
 Discoloration
 Distortion
 cracks
 Rusting of stainless steels can occur if the
metal is not clean and free from
contamination with iron
 caused from contact with carbon steel,
where some of the steel has become
embedded into the surface of the stainless
steel
 welds or HAZs on stainless steels exhibit rust
or other contaminants caused by welding or
improper preparation (use SS wire brushes,
grinding wheels, chipping hammer etc)
 Impropershielding on top and root of the
weld – oxygen contamination in the gas
 Purging gas at backside
 Sensitisation occurs when stainless
steel is exposed to temperatures 427°
to 816°C. chromium carbides (or
nitrides) precipitate at grain
boundaries.
 Results in loss of corrosion resistance
 Also called as inter-granular corrosion
 occurs mainly in austenitic and ferritic
stainless steels
 occurs mainly at HAZ
Prevention
 Use of stabilised steel (Titanium, Niobium,
tantalum and cobalt
 More carbon affinity
 Titanium should be 5 times more than the
carbon content
 Use of Low carbon Stainless steel (AISI 308L,
309L etc)
 High alloy electrode/filler
Remedy
Solution Anneal and Water Quench.
If austenitic stainless steels have already
been sensitized,
 annealing at 1038°–1121°C causes the
chromium carbides to dissolve and allows the
chromium to diffuse back to the depleted
regions.
 Water quenching.
 Oxygen
levels from
0.001 – 0.1
% oxygen

 Due to oxidation
 Improper shielding gas/contamination in gas
 Discoloration causes less corrosion resistant
 Gas purging
 Flux paste
Pickling
 pickling is the process used to remove weld
heat tinted layers from the surface of
stainless steel.
 removal of a oxide film by chemical means.
 onsite
 smaller areas
 pickling solution - 10% Nitric acid (HNO3), 2 %
Fluric acid (HF) as per ASTM A380
 corrosion can occur to the areas treated if
acid contact time and final rinsing
procedures are not properly controlled.
 During Passivation, oxidation takes place
and the chromium oxide film is restored.
 Dilute nitric acid (about 15% by volume)
applied with brush.
 after about 15 mins wash the applied areas
thoroughly with water.
Causes
Thermal Conductivity.
 Austenitic stainless steels have a thermal conductivity only
approximately 33% of the value of low-carbon steels
 The martensitic and ferritic stainless steels have
approximately 50%

Thermal Expansion
 During welding, thermal expansion produces distortion
 The higher the coefficient, the more expansion and
contraction, and the greater the amount of distortion
 austenitic stainless steels have a coefficient of thermal
expansion approximately 150% that of carbon steels
 martensitic and ferritic stainless steels are similar to the
carbon steels
Solutions
Tack Weld sequencing
Pulse spray mode in GMAW
Staggered welding
 Hot cracks
 Cold cracks
 Hot cracks occur while the weld is still hot,
before it has cooled to room temperature.
 weld metal or in the HAZ.
 Also known as
 Microfissures
 HAZ cracks
 Reheat cracks (cracks in previous weld
 beads caused by subsequent weld
 passes)
 Solidification cracks
 Use stringer beads
 Reduce travel speed
 Use high-ferrite base metal and / or filler metal
 Use materials with low levels of contaminants
 Fill all craters
 Reduce tensile stress (e.g., stress relieve,
change joint design)
 Avoid long arc lengths (which can introduce more
nitrogen from the atmosphere into the arc.
Nitrogen increases the austenite content.)
 Use of stainless steel has been introduced in the
coach body construction for various components.
These are:
Trough floor-1.7mm thick to Specn. AISI 301 with 2B
finish
 Body side Pillar -
2mm thick to Specn. AISI 301
 Stainless steel Lavatory Inlay -
2mm thick to Specn. AISI 304 with 2D finish
 Pantry Car Side wall, roof and partition in the kitchen area to
Specn. AISI 304
 AC Duct of Jan Shatabdi coaches
1mm thick Hammer Tone finish to Specn. AISI 304
 Side wall partition - stripe finish
 Roof - Hammer Tone finish
 Floor - Moon Rock finish
 ICF manufactured 3 Pantry Cars during 1996 with composite steel
shell using stainless steel of different grades.

The stainless steel used in various parts of composite coaches are –

Sole Bar 5mm thick SS.409M

Body Pillar 2mm thick SS.409M

Turn under and lower side wall 2mm thick SS.409M

sheet upto 450mm
Trough floor 1.7mm thick SS.301

Toilet Inlay 1.6mm SS.304

 Approximately 3.8 metric tones of stainless steel used for each

shell
 Two Proto Type shells made of all stainless steel
are manufactured during 1999-2000
 Approximately 11 metric tones of stainless steel
used in the coach body construction.
 Stainless steel was used for –
 Underframe
 Trough floor
 Side Wall
 End wall
 Roof
 SIDEWALL ASSEMBLY

COMPLETE SIDEWALL
 interlockingbetween the
horizontal and vertical
stiffening members of sub-
assemblies like sidewall,
endwall, underframe, etc.
 reduction of side wall width from
90 mm to 60mm results in
increased compartment area
 better geometrical integrity
 reduction in weight
•carline (cant rail in conv. coaches) is part of the side wall, unlike
conv. coaches where it is a part of roof
•better rigidity of side wall
•positive location of roof
 SIDEWALL

•sidewall sheets laser welded

•low heat input
•less distortion
•negligible shrinkage
• good finish
 END WALL
holes provided in all
stiffeners of end wall
to reduce weight
 ROOF
•corrugated roof sheet spot
welded to z-section roof arches
•uniform height of arches along
it’s length
•roof weighs only about 1000kg
 ROOF
•spot welded to z-section roof
arches
•uniform height of arches along
it’s length
•roof weighs only about 1000kg
 ROOF
•No U - stiffeners, L – stiffeners
•No brackets for lamp, fan,
berth on roof
 Current should be 60-65% of corten steel

 Welding speed at least 40-50% higher

 Cleaning of edges before welding.

 Tack welding sequence

 In case of spot welding Squeeze pressure 50% higher than

corten steel

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TERMINOLOGIES