ASM Specialty Handbook: Stainless Steels, 06398G

J.R. Davis, Davis & Associates

ladding and Weld

Stainless Steel
verlays
A STAINLESS-STEEL-CLAD metal or alloy
is a composite product consisting of a thin layer of
stainless steel in the form of a veneer integrally
bonded to one or both surfaces of the substrate.
The principal object of such a product is to combine, at low cost, the desirable properties of the
stainless steel and the backing material for applications where full-gage alloy construction is not
required. While the stainless cladding furnishes
the necessary resistance to corrosion, abrasion, or
oxidation, the backing material contributes structural strength and improves the fabricability and
thermal conductivity of the composite. Stainlesssteel-clad metals can be produced in plate, strip,
tube, rod, and wire form.
The principal cladding techniques include hot
roll bonding, cold roll bonding, explosive bonding, centrifugal casting, brazing, and weld overlaying, although adhesive bonding, extrusion, and
hot isostatic pressing have also been used to produce clad metals. With casting, brazing, and welding, one of the metals to be joined is molten when
a metal-to-metal bond is achieved. With hot/cold
roll bonding and explosive bonding, the bond is
achieved by forcing clean oxide-free metal surfaces into intimate contact, which causes a sharing of electrons between the metals. Gaseous
impurities diffuse into the metals, and nondiffusible impurities consolidate by spheroidization.
These non-melting techniques involve some form
of deformation to break up surface oxides, to create metal-to-metal contact, and to heat in order to

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accelerate diffusion. They differ in the amount of

deformation and heat used to form the bond and in
the method of bringing the metals into intimate
contact.
This article will review each of the processes
commonly associated with stainless-steel-clad
metal systems as well as the stainless steels used.
Design considerations and the welding of stainless-steel-clad carbon and low-alloy steels are
also addressed. Additional information can be
found in Ref 1 to 3.

Hot Roll Bonding (Ref 3)

The hot roll bonding process, which is also
called roll welding, is the most important commercially because it is the major production
method for stainless-clad steel plates. Hot roll
bonding accounts for more than 90% of the clad
plate production worldwide (Ref 1). It is known
also as the heat and pressure process because the
principle involves preparing the carefully cleaned
cladding components in the form of a pack or
sandwich, heating to the plastic range, and bringing the stainless and backing material into intimate contact, either by pressing or by rolling. A
product so formed is integrally bonded at the interface. The clad surface is in all respects (corrosion resistance, physical properties, and
mechanical properties) the equal of the parent
stainless steel. It can be polished and worked in
the same manner as solid stainless steel.

Table 1 lists the clad combinations that have

been commercially produced on a large scale. As
this table indicates, stainless steels can be joined
to a variety of ferrous and nonferrous alloys. On a
tonnage basis, however, the most common clad
systems are carbon or low-alloy steels clad with
300-series austenitic grades. The types of austenitic stainless steel cladding commonly available in
plate forms are:
..

..
..
..
..
..
..

lit
lit

Type 304 (18-8)

Type 304 L (18-8 low carbon)
Type 309 (25-12)
Type 310 (25-20)
Type 316 (17-12Mo)
Type 316 Cb (17-12 Nb stabilized)
Type 316 L (17-12 Mo low carbon)
Type 317 (19-13 Mo)
Type 317 L (19-13 Mo low carbon)
Type 321 (18-lOTi)
Type347(18-11Nb)

The carbon or low-alloy steel/stainless steel

plate rolling sequence is normally followed by
heat treatment, which is usually required to restore the cladding to the solution-annealed condition and to bring the backing material into the
correct heat-treatment condition. Table 2 lists
typical mill heat treatments.
The cladding thickness is normally specified
as a percentage of the total thickness of the composite plate. It varies from 5 to 50%, depending on
the end use. For most commercial applications in-

Table 1 Selected dissimilar metals and alloys that can be roll bonded (hot or cold) into clad-laminate form
Weldabililyraliog(a)
Base metal
No.l/No.2
Ag
Al
Alfesil
Be
Carbon steel
Cn
Mn
Ni
Nb
Stainless
steel
Steel
U

Ag

D
D
A
B

AI

D
D
B
B
B
B

AI
alloys

Au

steel

Co

Cn

Mo

C
D
D

B
D
D

C
D
D

A
B
D
D

A
D
D

Carbon

A
A
B

MoN!

Nb

Ni

B
D
D

PI

Stainless
steel

Steel

So

Ta

Ti

Zr

D
D

D
D

D
D

D
D

C
D
D

D
D
B
B

D
D

D
D

D
D

B
A
B
B
A

(a) A, easy to weld; B, difficult but possible to weld; C. impractical to weld; D, impossible to weld. Source: Ref2

A
A

D
D
B
B
B

B
D
D
B
B

B
B
B

B
B
B

108 / Introduction to Stainless Steels

Table 2 Typical mill heattreatments for stainlessclad carbonand low-alloysteels
Typeof ASTM-grade
backingmaterial

Typeof
claddingmaterial
304, 304L, 309, 310, 316, 316Cb, 316L,
317,321,or347
304L, 316L, 316Cb, 317L, 321, or 347

304, 304L, 309, 310, 316, 316Cb, 316L,

317,321,or347
304L, 316L, 316Cb, 317L, 321, or 347

metallurgical bond that is due to a sharing of atoms between the materials. The resulting bond
can exceed the strength of either of the parent
materials.

Heat treatment(a)

A285, A201, A212 (up to 50 mm, or 2 in., Anneal 1065 to 1175 C (1950 to 2150 oF),
gage)
air quench
A201, A212 (over 50mm, or 2 in., gage) Anneal 1065 to 1175 C (1950 to 2150 oF),
air quench, normalize 870 to 900 C
(1600 to 1650 "F) 1 hr per 25 mm (1 in.)
thickness, air quench(b)
A204, A 302 (up to 50mm, or2 in., gage) Anneal 1065 to 1175 C (1950 to 2150 oF),
air quench
A204, A 302 (over 50mm, or2 in., gage). Anneal 1065 to 1175 C (1950 to 2150 OF),
air quench, normalize 870 to 900C
A301 (all gages)
(1600 to 1650 OF)1 hr per 25 mm (1 in.)
thickness, airquench(b)

(a) Heat treatments listedaregenerallycorrect for the material combinations shown. Deviationsmay be madeto meet specific requirements. Procedure
selected will be onefavorable forboth cladding andbacking material. (b)Stabilized orlow-carbon typesof stainless steelshould beusedwhenthisdouble
heattreatment is involved.Source:Ref3

volving carbon or low-alloy steel/stainless steel

combinations, cladding thickness generally falls
in the 10 to 20% range.
Hot roll bonding has also been used to clad
high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel plate with
duplex stainless steels (Ref 4, 5). The microalloyed base metals contain small amounts of copper (0.15% max), niobium (0.03% max), and
nitrogen (0.010% max) and have mechanical
properties comparable to those of duplex stainless
steels. Typically these HSLA base metals have
yield strengths of 500 MPa (72.5 ksi) and impact
values of 60 J (44 ft-lbf) at -60C (-75 OF). The
shear strength of the cladding bond can be as high
as 400 MPa (58 ksi).
Other metals and alloys commonly roll
bonded to stainless steels include aluminum, copper, and nickel. Table 3 lists properties and applications of roll-bonded clad laminates.

Cold Roll Bonding

The cold roll bonding process, which is
shown schematically in Fig. 1, involves three
basic steps:
" The mating surfaces are cleaned by chemical
and/or mechanical means to remove dirt, lubricants, surface oxides, and any other contaminants.
" The materials are joined in a bonding mill by
rolling them together with a thickness reduction that ranges from 50 to 80% in a single pass.
Immediately afterwards, the materials have an
incipient, or green, bond created by the massive
cold reduction.
" The materials then undergo sintering, a heat
treatment during which the bond at the interface is completed. Diffusion occurs at the
atomic level along the interface and results in a

Upon completion of this three-step process, the

resultant clad material can be treated in the same
way as any other conventional monolithic metal.
The clad material can be worked by any of the
traditional processing methods for strip metals.
Rolling, annealing, pickling, and slitting are typically performed to produce the finished strip to
specific customer requirements, so that the material
can be roll formed, stamped, or drawn into the
required part.
Clad steels prepared by this method show substantially the same microstructures as those that
have been bonded by hot roll bonding processes.
Because of the high power requirement in the initial reduction, the cold bonding process is not
practical for producing clad plates of any appreciable size.
The single largest application for cold-rollbonded materials is stainless-steel-clad aluminum for automotive trim (Table 3 and Fig. 2) (Ref
6). The stainless steel exterior surface provides
corrosion resistance, high luster, and abrasion and
dent resistance, and the aluminum on the inside
provides sacrificial protection for the painted auto
body steel and for the stainless steel.

Explosive Bonding (Ref 1)

Explosive bonding uses the very-short-duration, high-energy impulse of an explosion to drive
two surfaces of metal together, simultaneously
cleaning away surface oxide films and creating a
metallic bond. The two surfaces do not collide instantaneously but rather progressively over the in-

Table 3 Typical properties of roll-bonded stainlesssteel

Materialssystem

Composite
ratio, %

Type 434 stainless/5052 40:60

aluminum

Thickness
mm
in.
0.56-0.76 0.022-0.030

0.36

0.014

Width

Yield
strength
MPa
ksi

Elongation,
%

mm

in.

:0;610

:0;24

395

57

360

52

12

305

12

393

57

195

28

35

310

45

40

275

40

20(a)

CI008 steel/type 347

stainless steel/CI008
steel

45:10:45

Nickel201/type 304
stainless steel/nickel
201
Copper 1mOO/type 430
stainless steel/copper
10300

7.5:85:7.5

0.20-2.41 0.008-0.095

25-64

1-2.5

17:66:17,
20:60:20,
33:34:33

0.10-0.15 0.004-0.006

12.7-150

0.5-6

(a)20/60/20three-layerlaminate. Source: Ref2

Tensile
strength
MPa
ksl

415(a)

60(a)

Applications
Widely used for automotive body
moldings, drip rails, rocker panels,
and other trim components, often
replacing solid stainless steel or
aluminum. Stainless steel provides
bright appearance; the hidden
aluminum base provides cathodic
protection, corroding sacrificially to
the body sleel.
Used in hydraulic tubing in vehicles,
replacing teme-coated carbon steel
tubing. The outer layer of carbon steel
cathodically protects the stainless
core of the tube, extending its life
significantly.
Used in formed cans for transistor and
button cell balleries, replacing solid
nickel at a lower cost
Replaces heavier gapes of copper and
bronze in buried communications
cable. The stainless steel provides
resistance to gnawing by rodents,
which is a serious problem in
underground installations.

Stainless Steel Cladding and Weld Overlays / 109

Chemical Cleaning
CLAPDING METAL

(a)

Mechanical Cleaning

Fig. 1

Roll Bonding

.~

Sintering

Process steps in cold roll bonding

Steel body panel

(b)

Fig. 3

Bond zone pattern typical of explosion-clad

metals. Materials are type 304L stainless steel
and medium-carbon steel. 20x
Stainless-steel-c1ad aluminum automotive
trim provides sacrificial corrosion protection
to the auto body while maintaining a bright corrosion-resistant exterior surface.

Fig. 2

terface area. The pressure generated at the resulting collision front is extreme and causes plastic
deformation of the surface layers. In this way, the
surface layers and any contaminating oxides present are removed in the form of a jet projected
ahead of the collision front. This leaves perfectly
clean surfaces under pressure to form the bond.
Figure 3 illustrates the wavy interface that characterizes most explosive bonds.
Two basic geometric configurations of the explosive bonding process are commonly used: angle bonding and parallel-plate bonding. Angle
bonding is normally used for bonding sheet components and tubes, where the required bond width
does not exceed 20 times the flyer plate thickness.
The more commonly used parallel-plate geometry (Fig. 4) is applicable for welding larger flat areas, plate, and concentric cylinders.
The energy of bonding typically creates sufficient deformation that flattening or straightening
is required prior to further processing. Flattening
is performed with equipment of the same design
used in plate and sheet manufacture.
Explosive bonding is an effective joining
method for virtually any combination of metals.

The only metallurgical limitation is sufficient

ductility and fracture toughness to undergo the
rapid deformation of the process without fracture.
Generally accepted limits are 10% and 30 J (22
ft-lbf) minimum, respectively. Figure 5 lists the
combinations that are useful in industry. More detailed information on explosive bonding is available in Ref? to 9.

Centrifugal Casting (Ref 1)

An entirely different approach to clad seamless pipe production uses horizontal centrifugal
casting technology. First, well-refined molten
steel is poured into a rotating metal mold with
flux. After casting, the temperature of the outer
shell is monitored. At a suitable temperature after
solidification the molten stainless steel is introduced. The selection of the flux, the temperature
of the outer shell when the molten stainless steel is
introduced, and the pouring temperature of the
stainless steel are the most important factors in
achieving a sound metallurgical bond. By controlling these various parameters it is possible to
achieve minimum mixing at the interface and
maintain homogenous cladding thickness and
wall thickness.
Centrifugal casting is followed by heat treatment
to solution anneal the cladding and quench and tem-

(e)

Fig. 4

Parallel-plate explosion welding process. (a)

Explosion-cladding assembly before detonation. (b) Explosion-cladding assembly during detonation. (c)
Closeup of (b) showing mechanism for jetting away the surface layer from the parent layer

per the outer pipe to achieve the required mechanical properties. Finally, the pipe is machined
externally and internally to remove the shallow
interdendritic porosity in the bore and achieve the
required dimensions and surface finish.
Centrifugal cast pipe is available with the
outer steel made of API 5L X52, X60, or X65
grades and internal cladding made of type 316L
stainless steel. Sizes range from 100 to 400 mm (4
to 16 in.) in diameter, wall thickness from 10 to 90
mm (004 to 3.5 in.) (minimum 3 mm, or 0.12 in.
cladding), and lengths typically from 4 to 5 m (13
to 16 ft), withlongerlengths above 200mm (8 in.)
in diameter.

Brazing
In furnace brazing, the stainless steel cladding
and the backing material, in their respective final
gages, are assembled as a multilayer sandwich,
with a brazing alloy placed between each pair of
surfaces to be bonded. The sandwich is heated under continuous vacuum to a temperature at which

110 / Introduction to Stainless Steels

'c
0

'in

::J

Carbon steels
Alloy steels

Q)

01

'"

:2:

Q)

(f)

'"
'"
Qi
Qi
'" ....
co
'"
E >- E
::J
....
'"
::J
'"
.2
::J
'"
'" ....c. 'fc .9!
'" 0c
co.... Qi
>].
c
.... 'c
C.
-E
'(ij
.2
c
::J
....'" .s 0
.... ~ o
z o ~
l'"
'" I'"eo i=
~

.2

::J
C

....

::J

:.0

';:;

1J

a::

o 'w Z

eo

'0

Q)

2:

Qi

....
Q)

Q)

Q)

(f)

"
"

"
"

ED

CD

CD

III

III

4&

It

Aluminum

>'"
.2
Q)

Stainless steels

ED

III

ED

It

III

Copper aIIoys

III

Nickel alloys
Titanium

::J

a:l
CD

ED

It

CD

ED

III

Hastelloy

It

CD

It

4&

Tantalum

ED

III

Niobium

Silver
Gold

Platinum
Stellite 68
Magnesium
Zirconium

Fig. 5

CD

Commercially availableexplosion-cladmetal combinations

the brazing alloy liquefies and forms an intennetallic alloying zone at the interface of the stainless
and backing material (normally carbon steels), A
wide range of brazing filler metals can be used to
join stainless steels to carbon or low-alloy steels.
The most commonly used are silver-base alloys.
More detailed information on brazing of stainless
steels can be found in the article" Brazing, Soldering, and Adhesive Bonding" in this Volume.

Weld Overlays
Weld overlaying refers to the deposition of a
filler metal on a base metal (substrate) to impart
some desired property to the surface thatis not intrinsic to the underlying base metal. There are several types of weld overlays: weld claddings,

hardfacing materials, buildup alloys, and buttering alloys.

A weld clad is a relatively thick layer of filler
metal applied to a carbon or low-alloy steel base
metal for the purpose of providing a corrosion-resistant surface. Hardfacing is a form of weld surfacing
that is applied for the purpose of reducing wear,
abrasion, impact, erosion, galling, or cavitation. The
term buildup refers to the addition of weld metal to a
base metal surface for the restoration of the component to the required dimensions. Buildup alloys are
generally not designed to resist wear, but to return
the worn part back to, or near, its original dimensions, or to provide adequate support for subsequent
layers of truehardfacing materials.Buttering also involves the addition of one or more layers of weld
metal to the face of the joint or surface to be welded.
It differsfrom buildup in that the primary purpose of

buttering is to satisfy some metallurgical consideration. It is used primarily for the joining of dissimilar metal base metals, as described in the
section
"Welding
Austenitic-Stainless-Clad
Carbon or Low-Alloy Steels" in this article. An
extensive review of the weld processes and materials associated with weld overlays can be found
in the article "Hardfacing, Weld Cladding, and
Dissimilar Metal Joining," in Volume 6 of the
ASM Handbook (Ref 10),

WeldCladding
The term weld cladding usually denotes the
application of a relatively thick layer (;::3 mm, or
Ys in.) of weld metal for the purpose of providing
a corrosion-resistant surface. Hardfacing produces a thinner surface coating than a weld cladding and is normally applied for dimensional
restoration or wear resistance. Typical base metal
components that are weld-cladded include the internal surfaces of carbon and low-alloy steel pressure vessels, paper digesters, urea reactors,
tubesheets, nuclear reactor containment vessels,
and hydrocrackers. The cladding material is usually an austenitic stainless steel or a nickel-base
alloy. Weld cladding is usually performed using
submerged arc welding. However, flux-cored arc
welding (either self-shielded or gas-shielded),
plasma arc welding, and electroslag welding can
also produce weld claddings. Figure 6 compares'
deposition rates obtainable with different welding
processes. Filler metals are available as covered
electrodes, coiled electrode wire, and strip electrodes. For very large areas, strip welding with
either submerged arc or electro slag techniques is
the most economical. Table 4 lists some of the
filler metals for stainless steel weld claddings.
Application Considerations. Weld cladding
is an excellent way to impart properties to the surface of a substrate that are not available from that
of a base metal, or to conserve expensive or difficult-to-obtain materials by using only a relatively
thin surface layer on a less expensive or abundant
base material. Several inherent limitations or possible problems must be considered when planning
for weld cladding. The thickness of the required
surface must be less than the maximum thickness
of the overlay that can be obtained with the particular'process and filler metal selected.
Welding position also must be considered when
selecting an overlay material and process. Certain
processes are limited in their availablewelding positions (e.g., submerged arc welding can be used only
in the flat position). In addition, when using a highdeposition-rate process that exhibits a large liquid
pool, welding vertically or overhead may be difficult
or impossible. Some alloys exhibit eutectic solidification, which leads to large molten pools that solidify instantly, with no "mushy" (liquid plus solid)
transition. Such materials are also difficult to weld
except in the flat position.
DilutionControl.The economics of stainless
steel weld cladding are dependent on achieving
the specific chemistry at the highest practical
deposition rate in a minimum number of layers.
The fabricator selects the filler wire and welding
process, whereas the purchaser specifies the sur-

Stainless Steel Cladding and Weld Overlays /111

mum. Less than 10% raises the question of bond
integrity, and greater than 15% increases the cost
of the filler metal. Unfortunately, most welding
processes have considerably greater dilution.
Because of the importance of dilution in weld
cladding as well as hardfacing applications, each
welding parameter must be carefuIly evaluated
and recorded. Many of the parameters that affect
dilution in weld cladding applications are not so
closely controlled when arc welding is performed:

Hot wire GTAW

Submerged arc - double wire

;~;~;~;~;~;~ Pulsed GMAW

~;~;~;~;~;~ Spray transfer GMAW

"""

III

~SUbmergedarc - 60 mm strip
Submerged arc - 90 mm strip
<>"'>';,"*m~""",

Submerged arc - 120 mm strip

Electroslag - 60 mm strip
Electroslag - 90 mm strip

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

Deposition rate, kg/h

Fig. 6

Comparison of deposition rates for various weld cladding processes. To obtain equivalent deposition rates in
pounds per hour, multiply the metric value by 2.2. Source: Ref 1

face chemistry and thickness, along with the base

metal. The most outstanding difference between
welding a joint and depositing an overlay is the
percentage of dilution:
% dilution =.... x 100

x+y

where x is the amount of base metal melted and y is

the amount of filler metal added.
For stainless steel cladding, a fabricator must
understand how the dilution of the filler metal
with the base metal affects the composition and
metallurgical balance, such as the proper ferrite
level to minimize hot cracking, absence of
martensite at the interface for bond integrity, and

carbon at a low level to ensure corrosion resistance. The prediction of the microstructures and
properties (such as hot cracking and corrosion resistance) for the austenitic stainless steels has
been the topic of many studies. During the last
two decades, four microstructure prediction diagrams have found the widest application. These
include the Schaeffler diagram, the DeLong diagram, and the Welding Research Council (WRC)
diagrams (WRC-1988 and WRC-1992). Each of
these is described in Ref 10 and the article" Welding" in this Volume.
Although each weld cladding process has an expected dilutionfactor,experimenting with the welding parameters can minimize dilution. A value
between 10 and 15% is generally considered opti-

Amperage: Increased amperage (current den-

sity) increases dilution. The arc becomes hotter, it penetrates more deeply, and more base
metal melting occurs.
III Polarity: Direct current electrode negative
(DCEN) gives less penetration and resulting
lower dilution than direct current electrode
positive (DCEP). Alternating CUITent results in
a dilution that lies between that provided by
DCEN and DCEP.
III Electrode size: The smaller the electrode, the
lower the amperage, which results in less dilution.
III Electrode extension: A long electrode extension for consumable electrode processes decreases dilution. A short electrode extension increases dilution.
Travel speed: A decrease in travel speed decreases the amount of base metal melted and increases proportionally the amount of filler metal melted, thus decreasing dilution.
III Oscillation: Greater width of electrode oscillation reduces dilution. The frequency of oscillation also affects dilution: The higher the frequency of oscillation, the lower the dilution.
III Welding position: Depending on the welding
position or work inclination, gravity causes the
weld pool to run ahead of, remain under, or run
behind the arc. If the weld pool stays ahead of
or under the arc, less base metal penetration
and resulting dilution will occur. If the pool is
too far ahead of the arc, there will be insuffi-

Table 4 Stainless steel fillermetalsfor weld cladding applications

First laxer

Weld

overlay

Subsequentlayers
Bare rod or
electrodetb)

Covered

Bare rodor

Covered

type

electrode(a)

eleclrode(b)

eleelrode(a)

304
304L

E309
E309L
E309Cb
E309Cb
E309Cb
E309
E310
E309Mo
E309MoL
E317L
E309Mo
E317
E309MoL
E317L
E320

ER309
ER309L

E308
E308L

ER308
ER308L

ER309Cb
ER309Cb
ER309
ER310
ER309Mo
E309MoL
ER317L
ER309Mo
ER317
ER309MoL
ER317L
ER320

E347
E347
E309
E310
E316
E316L

ER347
ER347
ER309
ER310
ER316
ER316L

E317

ER317

E317L

ER317L

E320

ER320

321
347
309
310
316
316L
317
317L
20Cb

Note: Colombium (Cb) is also referred to as niobium (Nb). (a) Refer tn AWS specification A5.4. (b) Referto AWS specification A5.9.

Fig. 7

Weld cladding of a 1.8 m (6 ft) inner diameter

pressurevesselshell with SO mm (2 in.) wide,
0.64 mm (0.025 in.) thick stainlesssteel strip. Courtesy of l.],
Barger, ABB Combustion Engineering

112/ Introduction to Stainless Steels

Hardfacing Alloys

Fig. 8

Hardfacing materials include a wide variety of

alloys, carbides, and combinations of these alloys. Conventional hardfacing alloys are normally
classified as carbides (We-Co), nickel-base alloys, cobalt-base alloys, and ferrous alloys
(high-chromium white irons, low-alloy steels,
austenitic manganese steels, and stainless
steels). Stainless steel hardfacing alloys include martensitic and austenitic grades, the latter having high manganese (5 to 10%) and/or
silicon (3 to 5%) contents. As will be described
below, both cobalt-containing and cobalt-free
austenitic stainless steel hardfacing alloys have
been developed.
Hardfacing alloy selection is guided primarily
by wear and cost considerations. However, other
manufacturing and environmental factors must
also be considered, such as base metal; deposition
process; and impact, corrosion, oxidation, and
thermal requirements. Usually, the hardfacing
process dictates the hardfacing or filler metal
product form.
Hardfacing alloys usually are available as bare
rod, flux-coated rod, long-length solid wires,
long-length tube wires (with and without flux), or
powders. The most popular processes, and the
forms most commonly associated with each process, are:

Closeup view of the 25 mm (1 in.) wide by 0.64 mm (0.025 in.) thick stainless steel strip used to clad a 300 mm
(12 in.) inner diameter pressure vessel nozzle. Courtesy of ).). Barger, ABB Combustion Engineering

dent melting of the surface of the base metal,

and coalescence will not occur.

Arc shielding: The shielding medium, gas or

flux, also affects dilution. The following list
ranks various shielding mediums in order of
decreasing dilution: granular flux without alloy
addition (highest), helium, carbon dioxide, argon, self-shielded flux-cored arc welding, and
granular flux with alloy addition (lowest).
Additionalfillermetal: Extra metal (notincluding
the electrode), added to the weld pool as powder,

wire, strip, or with flux, reduces dilution by increasing the total amount of filler metal and reducing the amount of base metal that is melted.
For weld cladding the inside surfaces oflarge
pressure vessels, as shown in Fig. 7 and 8, wide
beads produced by oscillated multiple-wire systems or strip electrodes have become the means to
improve productivity and minimize dilution
while offering a uniformly smooth surface. Welding parameters for stainless steel strip weld overlays are described in Ref 10.

Hardfacingprocess

Consumable form

Oxyfuel/oxyacetylene
(OFW/OAW)
Shielded metal arc (SMAW)

Bare cast or tubular rod

Coated solid or tubular rod
(stick electrode)
Bare cast or tubular rod
Tubular or solid wire
Tubular wire (flux cored)
Tubular or solid wire
Powder
Powder

Gas-tungsten arc (GTAW)

Gas-metal arc (GMAW)
Flux -cored open arc
Submerged arc (SAW)
Plasma transferred arc (PTA)
Laser beam

Table 5 Characteristics of welding processes used in hardfacing

Welding
process
OAW

SMAW
Open arc
GTAW
SAW

Modeof
application
Manual
Manual
Automatic
Manual
Semiautomatic
Automatic
Manual
Automatic
Automatic, single

Minimum
thickness(a)

Weld-metal
dilution,%

kg/h

Ib/h

mm

in.

Bare cast rod, tubular rod

Powder
Extra-long bare cast rod, tubular wire
Flux-covered cast rod, flux-covered tubular rod
Alloy-cored tubular wire
Alloy-cored tubular wire
Bare cast rod, tubular rod
Various forrns(b)
Bare tubular wire

1-10
1-10
1-10
10-20
15-40
15-40
10-20
10-20
30-60

0.5-2
0.5-2
0.5-7
0.5-5
2-11
2-11
0.5-3
0.5-5
5-11

1-4
1-4
1-15
1-12
5-25
5-25
1-6
1-10
10-25

0.8
0.8
0.8
3.2
3.2
3.2
2.4
2.4
3.2

Y32

Bare tubular wire

Bare tubular wire
Powder(c)
Bare cast rod, tubular rod
Various forrns(b)
Alloy-cored tubular wire
Alloy-cored tubular wire
Powder

15-25
10-25
5-15
5-15
5-15
10-40
10-40
1-10

11-27
11-16
0.5-7
0.5-4
0.5-4
0.9-5
0.9-5
(d)

25-60
25-35
1-15
1-8
1-8
2-12
2-12
(d)

4.8
4.8
0.8
2.4
2.4
1.6
1.6
0.13

Form of hardfacingalloy

Deposition

\-32

Y32
Y.
Y.
lis

%2
3!:l2

Ys

Deposit
efficiency, %
100
85-95
100
65
80-85
80-85
98-100
98-100
95

wire
Automatic, multi wire

Automatic, seriesarc
PAW

GMAW
Laser

Automatic
Manual
Automatic
Semiautomatic
Automatic
Automatic

3/16
3/16

Y32
%2

3.32

I6
1/16

0.005

95
95
85-95
98-100
98-100
90-95
90-95
85-95

(a)Recommended minimum thickness of deposit. (b)Baretubular wire; extra-long (2.4 m,or8 ft) barecastrod;tungsten carbide powder withcastrodorbaretubular wire. (c) Withor without tungsten carbide granules. (d)Varies widely
depending on powderfeedrateandlaserinput power

Stainless Steel Cladding and Weld Overlays /113

Typical dilution percentages, deposition rates,
and minimum deposit thicknesses for different
welding processes, along with various forms,
compositions, and modes of application of hardfacing alloys, are given in Table 5. More detailed
information on the selection of hardfacing alloys
and processes can be found in Ref 10.
The buildup alloys include low-alloy pearlitic steels, austenitic manganese (Hadfield) steels,
and high-manganese austenitic stainless steels.
For the most part, these alloys are not designed to
resist wear but to return a worn part back to, or
near, its original dimensions and to provide adequate support for subsequent layers of true hardfacing materials. However, austenitic manganese
steels are used as wear-resistant materials under
mild wear conditions. Typical examples of applications where buildup alloys are used for wearing
surfaces include tractor rails, railroad rail ends,
steel mill table rolls, and large slow-speed gear
teeth. The stainless steel included in this category is AWS EFeMn-Cr, which has a hardness
value of 24 HRC and the following chemical
composition:
Element

Carbon
Chromium
Manganese
Silicon
Nickel
Molybdenum
Iron

Composition, wt%

0.5
15.0
15.0
1.3
1.0
2.0
bal

Martensitic air-hardening steels (including

stainless steels) are metal-to-metalwear alloys that,
with care,can be applied(withoutcracking)to wearing areas of machinery parts. Hence, thesematerials
are commonly referred to as machinery hard/acing
alloys. Typical applications of this alloy family include undercarriage components of tractors and
power shovels, steel mill work rolls, and crane
wheels. The stainless steel in this category is AWS
ER420, which has a hardness value of 45 HRC and
the following chemicalcomposition:
Element

Carbon
Chromium
Manganese
Silicon
Iron

Composition, wt%

0.3
12.0
2.0
1.0
bal

produced. The activated particles are incorporated into the oxide layers of primary system components and contribute considerably to the
occupational radiation exposure of maintenance
personnel during the inspection, repair, or replacement of components. Additionally, material
loss has been found for cobalt-base hardfacings
used for control or throttle valves that are exposed
to high flow velocities, indicating that this type of
alloy has a limited resistance to erosion-corrosion
and cavitation attack.
Detailed investigations of candidate replacement cobalt-free, iron-base alloys have been performed since the late 1960s. In the U.S., the
Electric Power Research Institute has developed
cobalt-free NOREM alloys (U.S. Patent
4,803,045, Feb. 7, 1989). These alloys can be deposited successfully on stainless and carbon steel
substrates with gas-tungsten arc welding, in any
position and with no preheat, using controlled
heat input techniques. Nominal compositions of
the NOREM alloys are as follows:
Element

Composition, wt%

0.7-1.0
24-26
4.0-5.2
2.5-3.2
5.0-9.0
1.7-2.3
0.05-0.15
bal

Carbon
Chromium
Manganese
Silicon
Nickel
Molybdenum
Nitrogen
Iron

NOREM alloys are characterized by high

wear resistance and antigalling properties, and
they have a microstructure consisting of an
austenitic matrix containing eutectic alloy carbides. The NOREM alloys meet or surpass the
performance of cobalt alloys with respect to corrosion, material loss due to wear, and maintenance of the valve's sealing function. Galling
wear data for various NOREM and cobalt-base alloys are given in Table 6. Chemical compositions
of the alloys tested are provided in Table 7. Additional information on these alloys can be found in
Refll to 14.
Considerable work has also been carried out in
Europe on cobalt-free, iron-base hardfacing alloys. Everit 50 (47 to 53 HRC) , Fox Antinit DUR
300 (28 to 32 HRC), and Cenium Z 20 (42 to 48
HRC) are tradenames used by Thyssen Edelstahlwerke Bochum (Germany), Vereinigte Edelstahlwerke
Kapfenberg
(Austria),
and
L.A.M.E.E Rueil-Malmaison (France), respectively. Compositions of these alloys are given in
Table 8. Studies have demonstrated that these alloys have tribological, corrosion, and mechanical
properties comparable to those of cobalt-base
Stellite 6 (Ref 15).
Cobalt-containing austenitic stainless
steels have been developed by Hydro-Quebec for
the repair of the cavitation erosion damage of its
hydraulic turbines. Cavitationrefers to the formation of vapor bubbles, or cavities, in a fluid that is
moving across the surface of a solid component.

Table 6 Galling wear of gas-tungsten arc weld overlays made from cobalt-free NOREM alloys

Alloy/form
NOREM Ol/solid
NOREM Ol/solid
NOREM OI/metalcore
NOREM Ol/metalcore
NOREM OI/metalcore
NOREM 04/metalcore
Stellite 21/solid
Stellite 6/solid

Stress,MPa (ksi)
tests in water

140 (20)

Surface damage, um, at

indicatedtestsin air
275 (40)

415 (60)

140(20)

275(40)

415 (60)

0.4
0.7
0.7

0.9
1.6
0.4

1.1
2.8
0.6

0.3
nt
0.7

0.4
1.1

0.4
nt
1.3

1.9

2.3

4.7

1.2

1.3

1.5

0.3

0.5

1.4

0.3

0.5

0.7

0.6

0.7

1.0

nt

nt

nt

1.3
2.2

1.9
2.6

2.4
2.8

0.5
1.1

1.0

1.7

1.5
1.6

nt

Source: H. Ocken, Electric PowerResearch Institute

Table 7 Chemical compositions of the NOREM hardfacing alloys listed in Table 6

Cobalt-free austenitic stainless steels have
been developed to replace cobalt-base hardfacing
alloys (Stellite grades) in nuclear power plant applications. Cobalt-base alloys have been traditionally used for hardfacing nuclear plant valves
(check valves, seat valves, and control valves),
because they generally show high corrosion resistance and superior tribological behavior under
sliding conditions. However, even the (usually
low) corrosion and sliding-wear rates of these
hardfacings lead to a release of particles with a
high cobalt content. The particles are entrained in
the coolant flow through the core, and Co60 ,
which is a strong emitter of gamma radiation, is

AlIoylVendor

Nominal composition,\,,(%(a)
Cr
Ni
Mo

Other

0.02
0.006

0.01
0.009

1.81

0.029

0.01

2.21

0.018

0.Dl5

O.IN
0.12N,
0.02Cu,
O.OICo
0.22N,
0.05Cu,
0.068Co
0.236N,
0.03Nb,
0.007Ti,
0.07Co

Mn

Si

NOREM Ol/Stoody
NOREM Ol/Cartech

1.3
1.27

9.7
6.15

3.3
3.17

25
25.5

4.2
4.47

2
2.03

NOREM 04/Anval

1.17

12.2

5.13

25.3

8.19

NOREMA/Anval

1.22

7.5

4.7

26.5

4.9

(a) Single values are maximum values.Source:H. Ocken,ElectricPower Research Institute

114 / Introduction to Stainless Steels

Table 8 European-developed cobalt-free hardfacing alloys
Alloy

Everit50
Fox Antinit Dur 300
CeniumZ20

Mn

Si

2.5
0.12
0.3

,,1.0
6.5
NR(b)

,,0.5
5.0
NR(b)

Chemicalcomposition,wt%(a)
Cr
Ni

25.0
21.0
27

Mo

Olher

3.2

0.5V

8.0
18

2.0 W, unspecified
other elements ,,5

(a) Singlevaluesaremaximum values.(b) NR, notreported. Source:Ref 15

These vapor bubbles are caused by localized reductions in the dynamic pressures of the fluid.
The collapse of these vapor cavities produces extremely high compressive shocks, which leads to
local elastic and/or plastic deformation of the metallic surfaces. These repeated collapses (compressive shocks) in a localized area cause surface
tearing or fatigue cracking, which leads to the re-

3
<D

00

2.6
~ 2.2

~_

1.8

c
o

00
010

.~

w 1.4

00

Ctp 0

Cb

goo

--;:..::.--"----:-0;---1
~
o
0 0

d90a
0

moval of small metallic particles from the exposed surface. This eventually results in serious
erosion damage to the metallic surfaces and is a
major problem in the efficient operation of hydraulic equipment, such as hydroturbines, runners, valves, pumps, ship propellers, and so on.
The damage caused by cavitation erosion frequently contributes to higher maintenance and repair costs, excessive downtime and lost revenue,
use of replacement power (which is very expensive), reduced operating efficiencies, and shortened equipment service life.
The outstanding cavitation erosion resistance
of cobalt-containing austenitic stainless steels
comes from a patented chemistry formulated to
yield the highest work-hardening rate, with a high
interstitial carbon and nitrogen content. For the
same reason, and in order to stabilize a fully
austenitic structure, nickel has been replaced by
manganese and cobalt, which are balanced with
silicon and chromium to give good corrosion resistance. The nominal composition for these alloys is:
Element

Composition,wt %

0.6L...-_---'-_ _-'-_ _.L-_--I_ _- '

0.1

0.3

0.5

0.7

0.9

1.1

C + N concentration, %

Fig. 9

Effect of carbon plus nitrogen additions on cavitation erosion of cobalt-containing alloys.

Source: Ref 17

Carbon
Chromium
Manganese
Silicon
Cobalt
Nitrogen
Iron

0.2
17
9.5
2.5

9
0.2
bal

2000

1600

ro
a.
~

1200

~c
o

'ii)

e
w
o

0.6'-----'-_-'-_.L---'_---'-_-'-_L---l
6
4
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
CDbait concentration, %

Fig. 10

Effectof cobalt additions on cavitation erosion

of austenitic stainless steels. Source: Ref 17

301
304
Fe-18Cr-l0CD

O"--_.L-_-'-_---'-_---'-_--IL...-----I
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
o
0.6
True strain

Fig. 11

Tensile stress-straincurves of 308,301, and cobalt-containing stainless steels. Source: Ref 18

Studies by Simoneau (Ref 16 and 17) at the Institut de Recherche d'Hydro-Quebec have determined that the elements most favorable to
cavitation resistance, in decreasing order, are
carbon, nitrogen, cobalt, and silicon. The combination of carbon and nitrogen has an equivalent
effect, whereas chromium and manganese show a
neutral effect within the 8 to 12% Co range.
Nickel is detrimental. Figure 9 presents the effect
of carbon plus nitrogen, and Fig. 10 presents the
effect of cobalt concentration, on the steady-state
rate of cavitation erosion. These results allow the
formulation of alloys with the appropriate amount
of austenitizer (carbon, nitrogen, cobalt, manganese) and ferritizer elements (chromium, silicon,
molybdenum) to stabilize the austenite phase at
room temperature. Cobalt alone is not sufficient
as an austenitizer, because it only very slightly
lowers the martensitic transformation temperature. Thus, it must be supplemented with manganese, carbon, or nitrogen. In order to increase the
ductility and the corrosion resistance, carbon can
be replaced by nitrogen.
The composition of cobalt-containing austenitic stainless steels provides a balance of elements
in such a way that an essentially austenitic yphase
with a low stacking fault energy is obtained in an
as-welded and solidified weld overlay. This metastable face-centered cubic (fcc) y-phase transforms under stress to a body-centered cubic (bee)
rx-martensitic phase exhibiting fine deformation
twins. The phase transformation and twinning absorb the energy of the shock waves generated by
the collapsing of the vapor bubbles. Such behavior is similar to that of cavitation-resistant highcobalt alloys, which exhibit a transformation
from a fcc y-phase to a hexagonal close-packed
(hcp) s-phase in addition to twinning.
In the" incubation" period of the alloy surface
under a cavitation condition, the hardness increases as deformation twins form on the surface.
The metal loss during this period is generally
minimal, and the surface is smooth and hardened.
Unlike the case for other alloys, such as 300-series stainless steels, this incubation period is long
and high hardness levels (450 HV) are reached in
the steady state.
After the surface is fully hardened, further
cavitation causes damage by initiating fatigue
cracks and subsequent detachment of particulates
at the intersections of the deformation twins. Because the twins are relatively small and the metal
particles also small, the result is a uniform and
slow degradation of the metal surface.
The main effect of these chemical composition modifications on the mechanical properties
of austenitic stainless steels is illustrated by the
tensile curves shown in Fig. 11. The work- or
strain-hardening coefficient increases markedly
when going from 304 to 301, and in particular for
the cobalt-containing stainless steel. Decreasing
the nickel and replacing it with cobalt results in a
decrease in yield strength and in an important increase in ultimate tensile strength. Although the
initial strain-hardening coefficient for these steels
is quite similar, it increases to a very high value at
larger strains (up to 1.26) for cobalt-containing
stainless steels. This larger strain hardening is as-

Stainless Steel Cladding and Weld Overlays / 115

35.00

34

35
30.00

30

25.00
s:

';
E 20.00
ell

304N
304
301N
Fe-1BCr-l0Co

'
c
0

'(;;

15.00

e
UJ
10.00

5
Ou:;~~;:::[g-::::I':::=------,------,-----,-,--

10

15

20

25

30
Elongation, %

35

40

5.00

45
0.00
1020

Fig. 12

500

Fe-1BCr-l0Co
A_

'0

II--

~ 400

Stellite-21

Ol

~
>
I

~300

{--30B

s:

200

o
(ID-

1020 (ferrite)

100'----_-'-_---'--_ _'----_-'-_---'--_---'
-50
50
100
150
200
250
o
Cavitation time, min
(a)

400

Stellite-21

.Q

::: 300

Fe-18Cr-l0Co
A

>
I

ss:ei 200 ~""'--:

301
30B
--==-_o

- - - - - l : l . -_ _

1020
""-------XJo---_:>----~~'""t

1OO.........-L~-'-.o-1~-'-~l-o._'_~.L............L............J
o 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Depth.jim
(b)

Fig. 13
Source: Ref 18

301SS

CA-6NM

Cavitation-induced surface (a) and crosssection (b) hardening in various materials.

fe-15Mn-14Cr Stellile-21

Stellile-6

fe-IOCr-lOCo fe-18Cr-8Co

Alloy

Fig. 14

"E

308SS

Deformation-induced martensitic transformation measured in tensile tests.Source: Ref 18

Comparison of cavitation erosion rate of various materials. Source: Ref 18

sociated with a faster initial martensitic transformation, 'Y~a', of the less stable austenite phase,
as shown in Fig. 12. The higher the cavitation resistance, the less the plastic deformation required
to transform the fcc "{-austenitic phase to the bee
a'-martensitic phase. For the cobalt-containing
steel, only 5% elongation is required to produce
some 25% transformation,
Figure I3 presents the actual hardness values
reached by the material surface exposed to cavitation. Almost no cavitation-deformation hardening could be detected for 1020 carbon steel,
whereas substantial strain hardening was measured for austenitic stainless steels and the cobaltbase alloy, in good correlation with their ultimate
tensile strength and cavitation resistance. The
hardness values measured on the surfaces exposed to cavitation also correspond quite well to
values equivalent to their ultimate strength. It appears to be not so much the initial hardness or the
strain energy (area under the stress-strain curve)
that controls cavitation resistance, but rather the
strain-hardening capability under cavitation exposure (Ref 18). Figure I3(b) shows that strain
hardening is restricted to a very thin surface layer
50 um), which is even thinner for the cobaltcontaining alloys.
Cobalt-containing austenitic stainless steels
are about ten times more resistant to cavitation
erosion than the standard 300-series stainless
steels (Fig. 14). Although cobalt-containing
stainless steels may become less ductile because of their high work-hardening coefficient,
their ductility is good enough to be welded or
cast without cracking. The as-welded hardness
is around 25 HRC, with work-hardened materials reaching 50 HRC. With a tensile elongation
between 10 and 55%, the annealed yield
strength is around 350 MPa, and the ultimate
strength can exceed 1000 MPa (145 ksi). The
corrosion resistance is fair, comparable to that
of type 301 stainless steel, being somewhat limited by the higher carbon content. Nevertheless,

thematerialsareadequateformostapplicationsin
flowing river or tap waters.
The original experimental cobalt-containing
stainless steels were named IRECA to denote Improved REsistance to CAvitation. The currently
commercially available welding consumables
that can be deposited on stainless and carbon steel
substrates are 1.2 mm (0.045 in.) and 1.6 mm
(1/16 in.) gas-metal arc welding wires and 3.2 mm
(1/8 in.) and 4.0 mm (5/32 in.) shielded metal arc
welding electrodes. The name for these consumables is Hydroloy HQ9 13, which is a tradename
of Thermodyne Stoody. Additional information
on cobalt-containing stainless steel hardfacing alloys can be found in Ref 16 to 23 and in the article
"Tribological Properties" in this Volume.

Designing with Clad Metals (Ref6)

The choice of a material for a particular application depends on such factors as cost, availability,appearance, strength, fabricability, electrical or
thermal properties, mechanical properties, and cor-

SELFBRAZING MATERIAL
(CopperClad StaInlessSteel)

SELF BRAZINGMATERIAL
(Copper Clad StainlessSteel)

Fig. 15

Heatexchanger fabricated using clad brazing

("self-brazing") materials

116/ Introduction to Stainless Steels

Table 9 Properties of copper-clad stainless steel brazing alloys

Material system

Two-layer systems
C12200/304LSS
CI2200/409SS

Layer
thickness
ratio

MP.

ksi

MP.

ksi

50mm(2ln.),%

6/94
13.5/86.5
15/85

590
650
400

86
94
58

255
300
215

37
43
31

55
55
36

10/80/10
13n4/13
32/34/32
10/80/10
15/80/5

600
575
380
385
385

87
83
55
56
56

310
290
170
205
205

45
42
25
30
30

55
53
48
37
37

0.2%yield strength

Tensile

Elongation in

Three-layer systems
C I2200/304LSS/
CI2200
CI2200/409SS/
C12200
Source:Ref 25

rosion resistance. Clad metals provide a means of

designing into a composite material specific properties that cannot be obtained in a single material.
Self-brazing materials, such as copper-clad
stainless steel (Cu/SS or Cu/SS/Cu), provide an
example of the unique properties designed into a
clad material. Clad brazing materials are produced as strips, using the cold roll bonding technique. The strips comprise a base metal that is clad
with a brazing filler metal on either one or both
sides. These products are used primarily in highvolume manufacturing operations, such as the
production of heat exchangers, brazed bellows,
and honeycomb structures. The use of a self-brazing sheet reduces the total part count, simplifies
the assembly operation (because the brazing filler
metal is always present on the core material), and
reduces assembly time and, therefore, cost. In addition, there is no need for the application of flux
or for its subsequent removal. This not only saves
the initial purchase cost of the flux, but also the
waste-management cost associated with the disposal of the spent material.
Figure 15 depicts an automotive transmission
fluid cooler that was assembled using clad brazing materials. A turbulator is brazed to a copperclad stainless steel base and cover. The base and
cover are formed from a stainless steel strip containing copper braze on one side. After brazing,
the dimensional changes in this part are minimal,

Fig. 16
stainless steel

Photomicrograph of typical clad brazing

material, C12200 copper clad to 3041.

which is important when making a hermetically

sealed heat exchanger. Figure 16 shows a typical
clad brazing strip of copper-clad stainless steel.
Properties of two-layer and three-layer brazing
strips are listed in Table 9. Additional material on
clad brazing alloys can be found in Ref 24 and 25.

(a)

Designing Clad Metals for Corrosion

Control (Ref 6)
Clad metals designed for corrosion control
can be categorized as follows:

..

..

Noble metal clad systems

Corrosion barrier systems
Sacrificial metal systems
Transition metal systems
Complex multilayer systems

Proper design is essential for providing maximum

corrosion resistance with clad metals. This section
will discuss the basis for designing clad metals for
corrosion resistance.
Noble metal clad systems are materials having a relatively inexpensive base metal covered
with a corrosion-resistant metal. Selection of the
substrate metal is based on the properties required
for a particular application. For example, when
strength is required, steel is frequently chosen as
the substrate. The cladding metal is chosen for its
corrosion resistance in a particular environment,
such as seawater, sour gas, high temperature, and
motor vehicles.
A wide range of corrosion-resistant alloys
clad to steel substrates have been used in industrial applications. One example is type 304 stainless steel on steel. Figure 17 shows cross sections
of this material. The uniformity of the bond interface is apparent in Fig. 17(a), and in the polishedand-etched
condition
(Fig.
17b),
the
metallographic structure of the stainless steel is
clearly visible. The grain structure is analogous to
that of annealed stainless steel strip.
Clad metals of this type are typically used in
the form of strip, plate, and tubing. The noble metal cladding ranges from commonly used stainless
steels, such as type 304, to high-nickel alloys,
such as Inconel625. These clad metals find various applications in the marine, chemical process-

(b)

Fig. 17

Photomicrographs of cross sections of type

304 stainless-steel-clad carbon steel. (a)Aspolished. 300x. (b) Polished and etched. SOOx

Aluminum
Stainless
steel

Fig. 18

Stainless-steel-clad aluminum truck bumper

material that combines the corrosion resistance of stainless steel with lightweight aluminum

ing, power, and pollution control industries. Specific uses include heat exchangers, reaction and
pressure vessels, furnace tubes, and tubes and

Stainless Steel Cladding and Weld Overlays / 117

Low-carbon steel

(a)

Low-carbon steel

Stainless steel
(b)

Fig. 19

Illustrations of the corrosion barrier principle. (a) Solid carbon steel. (b) Carbon-steelclad stainless steel

tube elements for boilers, scrubbers, and other

systems involved in the production of chemicals.
Another group of commonly used noble metal
clad metals uses aluminum as a substrate. For example, in stainless-steel-clad aluminum truck
bumpers (Fig. 18), the type 302 stainless steel
cladding provides a bright corrosion-resistant
surface that also resists the mechanical damage
(stone impingement) encountered in service. The
aluminum provides a substrate with a high
strength-to-weight ratio.
Corrosion Barrier Systems. The combination of two or more metals to form a corrosion barrier system is most widely used where perforation
caused by corrosion must be avoided (Fig. 19).
Low-carbon steel and stainless steel are susceptible to localized corrosion in chloride-containing
environments and may perforate rapidly. When
steel is clad over the stainless steel layer, the corrosion barrier mechanism prevents perforation.
Localized corrosion of the stainless steel is prevented: The stainless steel is protected galvanically by the sacrificial corrosion of the steel in the
metal laminate. Therefore, only a thin pore-free
layer is required.
The example shown in Fig. 20 of carbon steel
clad to type 304 stainless steel demonstrates how
this combination prevents perforation in seawater, while solid type 304 stainless steel does not.
This material can be used for tubing and for wire
in applications requiring strength and corrosion
resistance.

(a)

Fig. 20

cell chemistry. The stainless steel layer provides

strength and resistance to perforation corrosion.

Carbon steel cannot be used when increased

general corrosion resistance of the outer cladding
is required. A low-grade stainless steel with good
resistance to uniform corrosion but poor resistance to localized corrosion can be selected. ill
seawater service, type 304 stainless steel that is
clad to a thin layer of Hastelloy C-276 provides a
substitute for solid Hastelloy C-276. ill this corrosion barrier system, localized corrosion of the
type 304 stainless steel is arrested at the C-276 alloy interface.
The most widely used clad metal corrosion
barrier material is copper-clad stainless steel
(Cu/430 SS/Cu) for telephone and fiber optic cable shielding. In environments in which the corrosion rate of copper is high, such as acidic or
sulfide-containing soils, the stainless steel acts as
a corrosion barrier and thus prevents perforation,
while the inner copper layer maintains high electrical conductivity of the shield.
Sacrificial metals, such as magnesium, zinc,
and aluminum, are in the active region of the galvanic series and are extensively used for corrosion
protection. The location of the sacrificial metal in
the galvanic couple is an important consideration
in the design of a system. By cladding, the sacrificial metal may be located precisely for efficient
cathode protection, as described for the stainlesssteel-clad aluminum automotive trim shown in
Fig. 2.
Transitional Metal Systems. A clad transitional metal system provides an interface between
two incompatible metals. It not only reduces galvanic corrosion where dissimilar metals are
joined, but also allows welding techniques to be
used when direct joining is not possible.
Complex Multilayer Systems. ill many
cases, materials are exposed to dual environments; that is, one side is exposed to one corrosive
medium, and the other side is exposed to a different one. A single material may not be able to meet
this requirement, or a critical material may be required in large quantity.
In small battery cans and caps, copper-clad,
stainless-steel-clad nickel (Cu/SS/Ni) is used
where the external nickel layer provides atmospheric-corrosion resistance and low contact resistance. The copper layer on the inside provides the
electrode contact surface as well as compatible

When the nonstainless portion of the plate is comparatively thick, as in most pressure vessel applications, it is more economical to use the first method.
When the nonstainless portion of the plate is thin,
the second method is often preferred. When welding components for applications involving elevated
or cyclic temperatures, the differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the base plate and the
weld should be taken into consideration.
All stainless steel deposits on carbon steel
should be made with filler metal of sufficiently
high alloy content to ensure that normal amounts
of dilution by carbon steel will not result in a brittle weld. In general, filler metals of type 308, 316,
or 347 should not be deposited directly on carbon
or low-alloy steel. Deposits of type 309, 309L,
309Cb, 309Mo, 310, or 312 are usually acceptable, although type 310 is fully austenitic and is
susceptible to hot cracking when there is high restraint in a welded joint. Thus, welds made with
type 310 filler metal should be carefully inspected. Welds made with types 309 and 312 filler
metals are partially ferritic and therefore are
highly resistant to hot cracking.
The procedure most commonly used for making welded joints in stainless-clad carbon or lowalloy steel plate is shown in Fig. 21. Stainless steel
filler metal is deposited only in that portion of the
weld where the stainless steel cladding has been
removed, and carbon or low-alloy steel filler metal is used for the remainder. The backgouged por-

(b)

(e)

Welding Austenitic-Stainless-Clad
Carbon or Low-Alloy Steels (Ref 26)
To preserve its desirable properties, stainlessclad plate can be welded by either of the two following methods, depending on plate thickness
and service conditions:
The unclad sides of the plate sections are beveled and welded with carbon or low-alloy steel
filler metal. A portion of the stainless steel cladding is removed from the back of the joint, and
stainless steel filler metal is deposited.
CD The entire thickness of the stainless-clad plate
is welded with stainless steel filler metal.

Photomicrographs of cross sections of materials after 18 months of immersion in seawater at Duxbury, MA. (a) Low-carbon steel. (b) Type 304 stainless steel. (c) Carbonsteel-clad type 304 stainless steel

118/ Introduction to Stainless Steels

D?i;~3'11fj~~-Cladding

SluE B

(b) Fitted up

(c) Welded from side A,

weld ground flush an side B
(d) Surfaced fromside B
~----------------Methad A - - - - - ---------

Weld metal (carbon steel)

(b) Fitted up

SIDE A

(d) Gouged from side B

.--e- ..
3 '<, .. -

a(min)

( a) Faces beveled
and cladding stripped

(b) Filled up

(c) Welded from side A,

weld ground flush on side B

(d) Inlaid and welded

~----------------Method B---------------~

Fig. 22

(e) Welded from side B

( f ) Protective plate welded an

Fig. 21

Procedure for welding stainless-clad carbon

and low-alloy steel, using stainless steel filler
metal only in portion of joint from which cladding was removed. (a) and (b) The clad plates are machined for a tight
fitup, with the bottom of the weld groove not less than 1.6
mm (1/16 in.) above the stainless steel cladding. (c) Carbon
steel filler metal is deposited from side A (a low-hydrogen
filler metal is used for the first pass), taking care not to penetrate closer than 1.6 mm (1/16 in.) to the cladding. (d) Stainless steel cladding on side B is backgouged until sound carbon steel weld metal is reached. (e) The backgouged groove
is filled with stainless steel weld metal in a minimum of two
layers. (f) When required for severely corrosive service, a
protective strip of stainless steel plate may be fillet welded to
the cladding to cover the weld zone.

tion of the stainless steel cladding should be filled

with a minimum of two layers of stainless steel
filler metal (Fig. 2Ie); an additional layer is recommended if a high weld reinforcement at the
cladding surface can be tolerated.
If the cladding is of type 304 stainless steel, the
first layer of stainless steel weld metal should be
of type 309 or 312. Subsequent layers of weld
metal can be oftype 308. If the cladding is of type
316, the first layer is deposited with type 309 Mo
filler metal and the subsequent layers with type
316. When the cladding is of type 304L or 347, the
welding procedure must be carefully controlled to
obtain the desired weld metal composition in the
outer layers of the weld. Chemical analysis of
sample welds should be made before joining clad
plates intended for use under severely corrosive
conditions.
In some applications, a narrow protective plate
of wrought stainless steel of the same composition as the cladding is welded over the completed
weld (Fig. 21f) to ensure uniformity of corrosive
resistance. The fillet welds joining the protective
plate to the cladding should be carefully inspected
after deposition. These welds, of course, are made
with stainless steel filler metal.
Figure 22 illustrates an alternative method
(method A) of welding clad plate, in which a carbon or low-alloy steel weld joins the carbon steel
portion of the plate, and the use of stainless steel

Alternative procedures for joining stainless-clad carbon and low-alloy steel plate involving different techniques for replacing portions of the stainless steel cladding removed before welding the carbon or low-alloy
steel side. The joint is prepared by beveling side A and removing a portion of the stainless steel cladding from side B to a
minimum width of 9.5 mm WB in.) from each side of the joint, and the joint is fitted up in position for welding. Use of a root
gap (not shown) is permissible (a and b, methods A and B).Carbon steel filler metal is deposited, and the root of the weld is
ground flush with the underside of the carbon steel plate (c, methods A and B).The area from which cladding was removed
is surfaced with at least two layers of stainless steel weld metal (d, method A), or an inlay of wrought stainless steel can be
welded in place (d, method B).

filler metal is limited to replacement of the cladding that was removed prior to making the carbon
or low-alloy steel weld. This method is more expensive than the method described in Fig. 21 because of the cost of removing a larger portion of
the cladding and depositing more stainless steel
filler metal. Because there is no danger of alloy
contamination from the cladding layer, method A
in Fig. 22 permits the use of faster welding processes, such as submerged arc welding, in depositing the carbon steel weld.
In depositing the stainless steel weld metal, the
first layer must be sufficiently high in alloy content to avoid cracking as a result of normal dilution by the carbon steel base metal. A stringer
bead technique should be employed; penetration
must be held to a minimum. If the proper weld
metal composition is not achieved after the second layer has been deposited, a portion of the second layer should be ground off and additional
filler metal should be deposited to obtain the desired composition. Figure 22(d) of method B
shows an alternative procedure in which the exposed carbon steel weld on side B is covered by
welding an inlay of wrought stainless steel to the
edges of the cladding.
The most common method of joining stainless-steel-clad carbon or low-alloy steel plate
with a weld that consists entirely of stainless steel
is shown in Fig. 23. This method is most frequently used for joining thin sections of stainlessclad plate. The same basic welding procedure is
followed for both the butt and comer joints shown
in Fig. 23. After the plate has been beveled and fitted up for welding, a stainless steel weld is deposited from the carbon steel side, using a filler metal
sufficiently high in alloy content to minimize difficulties (such as cracking) resulting from weld
dilution and joint restraint. Types 309 and 312
filler metals are suitable for this application.

(a) Faces beveled

(b) Fitted up

(c) Welded from side A

(d) Welded from side B

Butt

joint-------~

(b) Fitted up

(a) Faces beveled

(c) Welded from side A

(d) Welded from side B

Corner joint -

Fig. 23

Procedures for welding V-groove butt and

corner joints in stainless-clad carbon or lowalloy steel plate, using stainless steel filler metal exclusively,
The clad plates are beveled and fitted up (a and b, butt and
corner joints), The root of the weld is cleaned and gouged, if
necessary, before depositing stainless weld metal from the
stainless steel side (d, butt and corner joints),

Stainless Steel Cladding and Weld Overlays / 119

After the stainless steel weld has been deposited from the carbon steel side (Fig. 23c), the root
of the weld is cleaned by brushing, chipping, or
grinding, as required, and one or more layers of
stainless steel filler metal are deposited (Fig. 23d).
The filler metal composition should correspond to
that normally employed to weld the type of stainless steel used for cladding. If the cladding is type
304, the final layer of weld metal should be type
308. If the cladding is type 316, it may be necessary to backgouge before deposition of the final
weld metal layers to ensure that the proper weld
metal composition is obtained at the surface of the
weld.

6.

7.

8.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The editor thanks Howard Ocken, Project
Manager, Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) and Raynald Simoneau, Vice-Presidence
Technologie, Institut de Recherche d'HydroQuebec (IREQ), for their significant contributions to this article. Mr. Ocken supplied material
on cobalt-free NOREM alloys developed at
EPRI. Mr. Simoneau contributed material on cobalt-containing IRECA alloys that he developed
atIREQ.

9.

10.

11.

12.

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