Integrity of high chromium steel dissimilar metal weld - Literature review Example

The austenitic stainless steels are definitely the commonly utilised material of all stainless steel categories. The commonly available austenitic family that is the 300 series comprises of the chrome- iron-nickel system. The austenitic stainless steels are comparably more resistant to corrosions since they have high weight percentage of the nickel and chromium content typically; that is 8-12% and 18-20% respectively. Additionally, they are non-hardenable via heat treatment and non-magnetic processes (Avazkonandeh-Gharavol, Haddad-Sabzevar and Haerian, 2008).

However, the austenitic material can be hardened to some extent via cold working. The austenitic stainless steels are utilised extensively in the petrochemical, nuclear, and in the general corrosive chemical surroundings. The austenitic stainless steels are additionally classified by their carbon content as; the “L” grades or straight grades or the “H” grades. The straight grades consist of 0.03-0.08 % wt. Carbon; the L grades have less than 0.03% of Carbon; while the H grades consist of anywhere from about 0.04-0.10% weight of Carbon.

The increased carbon content evident in the H grades leads to a more wear resistant and harder material. An increased carbon levels also assists the material in holding its strength at an elevated or high temperatures, thus frequently utilised in the high-temperature applications or projects. However, the increased carbon levels lead to problems that are directed to the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) in the welds. The lower or reduced carbon compositions of the “L” grades were specifically meant for the improved weldability the material (Gandy, Shingledecker and Viswanathan, 2011).

The high carbon grades are frequently utilised where wear resistant, harder, or the high-temperature applications are present. The low carbon stainless steels, for example, the 304L and 316L, are regularly utilised in applications that the intergranular