An assessment of microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion

resistance of dissimilar welds between Inconel 718 and 310S

austenitic stainless steel
A. Mortezaie
a,
*
, M. Shamanian
b
a
Department of Materials Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, P.O. Box 517, Iran
b
Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 17 October 2013
Received in revised form
21 January 2014
Accepted 30 January 2014
Keywords:
Nickel base alloy
Austenitic stainless steel
Dissimilar materials joints
a b s t r a c t
In the present study, dissimilar welding between Inconel 718 nickel-base superalloy and 310S austenitic
stainless steel using gas tungsten arc welding process was performed to determine the relationship
between the microstructure of the welds and the resultant mechanical and corrosion properties. For this
purpose, three ller metals including Inconel 625, Inconel 82 and 310 stainless steel were used.
Microstructural observations showed that weld microstructures for all ller metals were fully austenitic.
In tension tests, welds produced by Inconel 625 and 310 ller metals displayed the highest and the
lowest ultimate tensile strength, respectively. The results of Charpy impact tests indicated that the
maximum fracture energy was related to Inconel 82 weld metal. According to the potentiodynamic
polarization test results, Inconel 82 exhibited the highest corrosion resistance among all tested ller
metals. Finally, it was concluded that for the dissimilar welding between Inconel 718 and 310S, Inconel
82 ller metal offers the optimum properties at room temperature.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
During the past two decades, dissimilar materials welding has
been increasingly considered in industry because of its several
benets including reduction of material costs and improvements in
design exibility. This method is often used where a transition in
mechanical properties and performance in service are required
[1,2]. Dissimilar joint of Inconel 718 and AISI 310S can be employed
in high temperature and corrosive environments such as chemical
processing equipment and oil and gas industry. In addition, due to
the high resistance against oxidation and appropriate creep
strength, the use of dissimilar joint Inconel 718/310S has been
expanded in land-based gas turbines. Inconel 718 is a precipitation
hardenable nickel-based superalloy strengthened primarily by g
00
-
Ni
3
Nb precipitates. Alloy 718 is widely used in severe working
conditions such as chemical and process industries, nuclear re-
actors and gas turbine engines due to its good properties including
corrosion and oxidation resistance and appropriate strength at high
temperatures [3,4]. On the other hand, alloy 310S is an austenitic
stainless steel for high temperature applications (about 800

C),
especially in oil, gas and petrochemical industries containing hot
concentrated acids. Due to the high levels of nickel and chromium
in the chemical compositions, grade 310S is extremely resistant to
oxidation [5,6].
One of the main concerns for dissimilar welding between nickel
based superalloys and stainless steels is the selection of a proper
ller metal. Reports related to dissimilar welding between Inconel
718 and 310S steel show that, if the ller metal is not properly
selected, some weld defects such as solidication and liquation
cracks in the fusion zone may occur in the welded joints. In recent
years, extensive research has been conducted for introducing
suitable ller metals in dissimilar welding between nickel based
alloys and stainless steels. The studies showed that in most cases,
nickel based ller metals offer better properties because they
generally have satisfactory mechanical properties and good ther-
mal stability [1,7e10]. In this regard, Sireesha et al. [7] evaluated the
dissimilar welds between 316LN austenitic stainless steel and alloy
800 using four types of ller metals. Their results showed that
Inconel 82/182 ller materials exhibited the best thermal stability.
Lee et al. [8] used two types of ller metals, Included Oxford Filler
Metal 52 and Electrodes 152, and investigated the effects of various
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 98 9133068945; fax: 98 3113915737.
E-mail addresses: alimortezaie110@gmail.com, mortezaie.a@gmail.com
(A. Mortezaie).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ i j pvp
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpvp.2014.01.002
0308-0161/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46
levels of Titanium addition on the welding feasibility and me-
chanical properties of dissimilar welds between Inconel 690 and
SUS 304L. The results showed that with an increase in Ti in ller
metal composition, the microstructure tends to change from one of
columnar dendrite to one of equiaxial dendrite. Dissimilar welding
between AISI 304 and Monel 400 using E309L and ENiCu-7 ller
metals was performed by Ramkumar et al. [10]. Their results
showed that the tensile strength properties of dissimilar welds
with ENiCu-7 ller metal are better than those produced with
E309L ller metal. Evaluation of various sources in the eld of
dissimilar materials welding indicates that no systematic research
has been reported regarding the dissimilar welding between
Inconel 718 and 310S. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was
to investigate microstructural features, mechanical properties and
corrosion resistance of the joints between 310S austenitic stainless
steel and Inconel 718 nickel-based superalloy, and to evaluate the
inuence of different ller materials on the individual properties.
2. Materials and methods
The base materials used in this study were in the form of 10 mm
thick plates of wrought 310S stainless steel and cast bulk material of
Inconel 718. The former material was received in the solution-
annealed condition whereas the latter was obtained initially in
the precipitation-hardened state. In order to provide better weld-
ability behavior before welding, a solution treatment was carried
out on the Inconel 718 base metal at 1040

C for 2 h, followed by
water quenching. Afterwards, rectangular plates with dimensions
200 45 10 mm were prepared from each base metals for the
welding experiments. Plates were machined to create a single V
groove butt joint conguration with a 70

groove angle. The root

face and the root opening were 1 and 2 mm, respectively. To
perform the dissimilar welding; three ller metals Inconel 625,
Inconel 82 and type 310 SS were employed. The chemical compo-
sitions of the base and ller materials are given in Table 1. Welding
procedure was performed in four passes by the manual gas tung-
sten arc welding process with Direct Current Electrode Negative.
The welding parameters and the heat input in each welding pass
are given in Table 2.
After welding, a series of tests were conducted to determine the
properties and microstructure. Transverse sections of the welds
were metallographically characterized after etching in marble so-
lution (10 g CuSO
4
50 ml H
2
O 50 ml HCl) using the optical
microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped
with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) point analysis. In order
to determine the tensile strength of the base and weld metals, the
tensile test was performed with a nominal loading rate of 1 mm/
min. Tensile test specimens were prepared from the transverse
section of the welds according to AWS B4.0 standard. Fig. 1 shows
the dimensions of the tensile test specimens. Charpy V-notch
impact test was conducted on the base metals and welds at room
temperature by an impact tester. The impact test specimens with
the dimensions of 55 mm 10 mm 10 mmwere prepared based
on AWS B4.0 standard. After performing the impact test, fractured
surfaces of impact test specimens were examined by scanning
electron microscope. In order to obtain statistically reliable results,
impact and tensile tests were carried out using three specimens for
each individual material testing.
Potentiodynamic polarization test was performed to evaluate
the corrosion behavior of the base and weld metals by a poten-
tiostat/galvanostat (PARSTAT 2273) in the 3.5 wt% NaCl solution at
room temperature. The polarization tests were conducted in a
conventional three-electrode cell using graphite as the auxiliary
electrode, and a saturated calomel electrode (SCE) as the reference
electrode. The working electrodes were prepared fromthe base and
weld metals, respectively. Polarization curves were plotted in the
potential range 200 to 600 mV versus E
corr
with the scan rate of
1 mV/s.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. The microstructural characterization of the base metals
Fig. 2a shows the as-cast microstructure of Inconel 718 in the
precipitation-hardened conditions. Accordingly, two types of pre-
cipitates can be observed. Small precipitates within the austenitic
grains and also at the grain boundaries represent g
00
-Ni
3
Nb,
whereas the needle-shaped and the grain boundary precipitates
correspond to the brittle d-Ni
3
Nb phase. It should be noted that
both phases have the identical composition (Ni
3
Nb), but g
00
has a
bct crystal structure and d has an orthorhombic crystal structure
[11]. These precipitates were formed in the preferred crystallo-
graphic orientations. Fig. 2b shows microstructure of Inconel 718
after solution treatment at 1040

C for 2 h. It can be seen that the
microstructure does not contain any g
00
-Ni
3
Nb and d-Ni
3
Nb phases,
Table 1
Chemical compositions of base metals and ller metals (wt.%).
Elements Base metals Filler metals
Inconel 718 310S Inconel 625 Inconel 82 310 SS
Cr 18.4 25 21.5 18 26
Ni Rem. 20.1 Rem. Rem. 21
Fe 18.3 Rem. 5 3 Rem
Mo 2.8 0.36 9 e 0.2
Mn 0.15 1.95 0.5 3 2
Nb 5.1 e 4 3 e
Al 0.53 e 0.4 e e
Ti 0.93 0.09 0.4 0.75 e
C 0.06 0.04 0.1 0.1 0.1
Cu e e 0.5 0.5 0.7
Si 0.05 1.7 0.5 0.5 0.5
Table 2
TheGTAWweldingparameters usedinthis study; theheat input was takenas 0.7EI/V:
where E is welding voltage, I is current and V is welding speed.
Filler
materials
Pass Current
(A)
Voltage
(V)
Welding
speed (mm/s)
Heat input
(kj/mm)
Total heat
input (kj/mm)
Inconel 82 Root 190 14.6 1.53 1.26 5.30
Hot 170 15.9 1.36 1.39
Filling 150 16.4 1.21 1.42
Cap 150 17 1.34 1.23
310SS Root 190 15.4 1.72 1.19 5.61
Hot 170 16.3 1.32 1.46
Filling 150 17.1 1.18 1.52
Cap 150 17.3 1.26 1.44
Inconel 625 Root 190 15.7 1.64 1.27 5.91
Hot 170 16.6 1.19 1.66
Filling 150 17.1 1.15 1.56
Cap 150 17.5 1.29 1.42
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of the tensile test specimen: weld metal located in the
middle.
A. Mortezaie, M. Shamanian / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46 38
which indicates the correctness of performed solution heat treat-
ment. Nickel base alloys can be welded in either the solution-
annealed or precipitation-hardened conditions. Welding Inconel
718 in the aged conditions causes liquation cracking in the heat
affected zone that leads to a decrease in strength and toughness
[12,13]. In this regard, Qian and Lippold [13] showed that by per-
forming a solution heat treatment at 1010

C for 2 h, leading to the
elimination of delta phase, the liquation cracking resistance of
Inconel 718 heat affected zone was improved. Thus, it seems that
the welding Inconel 718 in annealed conditions is a better choice
compared to the precipitation-hardened conditions.
Fig. 3 displays the microstructure of wrought 310S austenitic
stainless steel. It can be seen that the structure consists of ne and
equiaxed austenitic grains. Due to performance of proper annealing
heat treatment followed by water-quenching after hot rolling
process, no precipitation of secondary phases in the microstructure
is observed. It can also be seen that some residual high temperature
ferrite (delta ferrite) is aligned along the rolling direction. This
ferrite results from the segregation of ferrite-promoting elements
(primarily chromium) during thermomechanical processing.
Although not considered deleterious in most applications, the
presence of ferrite in the microstructure can reduce the toughness
of austenitic stainless steel [14].
3.2. The microstructural characterization of the weld metals
The fusion zone microstructure of Inconel 625 weld metal is
shown in Fig. 4a. The microstructure is completely austenitic with a
dendritic structure. Niobium and molybdenum contents in Inconel
625 ller metal are 4% and 9%, respectively. Nb and Mo are ele-
ments that show strong segregation during solidication of the
weld metal. This is related to their equilibrium distribution coef-
cient value, k, which is dened as k C
S
/C
L
, where C
S
and C
L
are the
compositions of the solid and liquid at the solideliquid interface,
respectively [15,16]. Equilibrium distribution coefcient for Nb and
Mo is less than one [15], as is for Nb in the Inconel 625 k 0.54 [17].
Previous studies have shown that elements with k <1 values have a
strong tendency to redistribution during solidication [9,15]. Solute
redistribution of alloying elements reduces the temperature at the
front solid/liquid interface, which leads to the occurrence of a
constitutional supercooling (factor required to change the micro-
structure morphology). In these circumstances, solidication mode
will change from planner or cellular to dendritic, and a concen-
tration gradient is generated in the solidied weld metal [15,18].
According to the dendritic microstructure of Inconel 625 weld
metal (Fig. 4a), it can be stated categorically that the redistribution
of Nb and Mo has occurred during solidication. Inconel 625 ller
metal also has 5 wt% Iron. Studies by Dupont et al. [19] indicate that
the value of k
Nb
depends on the Iron content of the alloy. The ob-
tained results showed that additional Fe in the chemical compo-
sition of the Nickel base alloys will decrease the solubility of Nb in
austenite. A similar trend has been observed for Molybdenum in
Nickel base superalloys when used in dissimilar welds involving
alloys high in Fe [16,20]. Equilibrium distribution coefcient of Nb
decreases as the Iron content in the weld increases. Therefore,
during solidication of the weld metal, Nb segregates preferentially
to the terminal liquid due to the low solubility in the austenitic
phase. Similarly, Mo segregates to the liquid during solidication of
the weld owing to the low solubility of Mo in the austenite phase,
and leaves the rst solid to form depleted in Mo. In addition, the
low diffusion rate of Mo in austenite does not allow Mo to diffuse
back towards the dendrite cores to eliminate the concentration
gradient [15,20]. Thus, Nb-rich and Mo-rich regions (interdendritic
regions) can be formed at the terminal stages of solidication.
Fig. 4bed illustrates SEM microphotograph and EDS results for
dendritic structure of Inconel 625 weld metal. These results
conrm that during solidication, Nb and Mo have left dendritic
cores and have been rejected to interdendritic regions.
Fig. 5a shows the columnar to equiaxed dendritic transition in
the microstructure of the Inconel 625 weld metal. Equiaxed den-
drites were formed in the weld center line while the columnar
dendrites have been created along the fusion line. The change in the
morphology of dendrites is related to the ratio G/R (Temperature
Fig. 2. (a) Microstructure of the as-received IN-718 base metal: showing g
00
and
d precipitates at the grain boundaries and grains (b) optical microphotograph of IN-718
base metal: The effect of solution treatment on the reduction of g
00
and d phases.
Fig. 3. Microstructure of 310S base metal: austenite with ferrite stringers.
A. Mortezaie, M. Shamanian / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46 39
gradient, G and solidication rate, R), that determines the
morphology of solidication structure weld metal. Kou [21] has
indicated that at a constant temperature gradient, the solidication
rate is maximum at the weld center line (R
CL
max), whereas it is
minimal (R
FL
min) at the weld fusion line, so that (G/R)
CL
< (G/
R)
FL
. It is proved that by reducing G/R, solidication mode changes
from columnar to equiaxed dendritic because the ratio G/R has a
inverse relationship with constitutional supercooling. Therefore, it
can be said that constitutional supercooling can be inuenced by
two factors, k and G/R [21]. Moreover, according to Table 2, the total
Fig. 4. Microstructure of IN-625 weld metal: (a) optical microphotograph includes dendritic structure with columnar dendrites (b) SEM microphotograph with higher magnication
(c) EDS microanalysis result for core dendrite, and (d) interdendritic regions.
A. Mortezaie, M. Shamanian / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46 40
heat input used for the Inconel 625 ller metal is relatively high.
The welding heat input can cause signicant effects on the micro-
structure changes. The use of high heat input reduces the temper-
ature gradient (G) at the center line of the weld pool. In these
conditions, the ratio G/R decreases and the constitutional super-
cooling in front of the advancing solideliquid interface intensies.
In other words, the increase in the heat input is equal that in
constitutional supercooling [18,21]. This intensication in consti-
tutional supercooling has led to the formation of equiaxed dendritic
structure in the center line of the Inconel 625 weld metal. Fig. 5b
shows the equiaxed dendrites at higher magnication. It can be
observed that interdendritic regions (Nb-rich and Mo-rich regions)
appear brighter compared to dendritic cores. As discussed, due to
microsegregation of Nb and Mo, a concentration gradient has been
created. The presence of signicant concentration gradients would
lead to preferential corrosion in the dendrite cores [15,16]. This
makes during etching in marble solution, corrosion occurs more for
dendritic cores. For this reason, dendritic cores appear darker.
Fig. 6a exhibits cellular structure of 310 stainless steel weld
metal. Since there are small amounts of elements with a high
tendency for segregation in the composition of 310 SS ller metal,
there is a minimal constitutional supercooling to change the so-
lidication mode fromcellular to dendritic. Although, Fig. 6b shows
that a transition in the microstructure has occurred in 310 weld
metal, this probably occurred due to the use of high heat input
during welding (Table 2), and is not related to segregation of ele-
ments. As it was said, constitutional supercooling is dependent on
the heat input so that with increasing heat input, constitutional
supercooling increases [18,21]. Fig. 6b shows Solidication Sub-
grain Boundaries (SSGB) and Solidication Grain Boundaries (SGB).
Generally, these grain boundaries are observed in the single-phase
austenitic weld metals. The solidication subgrains represent the
nest structure that are normally present as cells or dendrites, and
the boundary separating adjacent subgrains are considered as a
solidication subgrain boundary (SSGB). While the solidication
grain boundary (SGB) results from the intersection of packets or
groups of subgrains. These grain boundaries are the direct result of
competitive growth that occurs along the trailing edge of the weld
pool [14,15]. In this respect, Lippold and Koteki [14] have expressed
that due to the high concentration of solute and impure elements at
the SGB, solidication cracking in austenitic weld metals almost
always occurs along the SGB. But, Fig. 7a reveals that the solidi-
cation cracking can also be formed along the SSGB.
In Fig. 7a, solidication cracking in the intercellular boundaries
(or the same SSGB) is quite evident. Solidication cracks are often
produced when stainless steel ller metals are used for dissimilar
joints between nickel alloys and austenitic stainless steels [14]. EDS
analysis result (Fig. 7b) shows that solidication subgrain bound-
aries are chromium-rich. Since the Cr is the most important active
element in the chemical composition of 310 ller metal, formation
of chromium carbides (specically Cr
23
C
6
) in the microstructure
was predictable. According to EDS result, it can be concluded that
during solidication, Cr is diffused to the SSGB and has led to the
Fig. 5. Optical microphotograph of IN-625: (a) showing transition from columnar to
equiaxed dendrites (b) showing equiaxed dendrites at higher magnication.
Fig. 6. Microstructure of 310 weld metal: (a) fully austenitic microstructure with
cellular morphology (b) showing Solidication Subgrain Boundaries (SSGB) and So-
lidication Grain Boundaries (SGB).
A. Mortezaie, M. Shamanian / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46 41
formation of Cr
23
C
6
phases along this the grain boundaries. Since
the chromium carbide is essentially a brittle phase [14], it does not
have sufcient strength against tensile stresses developed across
the adjacent grains at the end of solidication. Thus, solidication
cracking occurred in the solidication subgrain boundaries. It
should be noted that the tensile stresses developed across the
adjacent grains are caused due to prevent contraction of the weld
metal by the base metals [21].
Fig. 8 shows the microstructure of Inconel 82 weld metal. The
microstructure of the IN-82 weld metal is fully austenitic,
because it does not experience signicant allotropic trans-
formation during solidication. It should be noted that similar to
Inconel 625, Inconel 82 ller metal has considerable amounts of
Nb (3 wt%) and, its Iron content (3 wt%) is less than Inconel 625
weld metal (5 wt%). As mentioned previously, by reducing the
amount of iron in the chemical composition of the weld metal,
Niobium solubility in the austenite phase increases [19]. In these
conditions, the redistribution of Nb is reduced during solidi-
cation of the weld metal and therefore, constitutional super-
cooling will not happen. For this reason, a homogeneous granular
microstructure has emerged. Furthermore, the ne particles can
be observed in the austenitic microstructure of Inconel 82 weld
metal. EDS result shows that these particles are likely to be
Titanium-rich carbides. Studies conducted by Jung et al. [22]
show that diffusion coefcient of titanium in nickel is a consid-
erable amount (D
Ti
in Ni 4.110
4
m
2
/sec) so that it is higher
than the other substitution of alloying elements [15]. On the
other hand, since Ti is inherently a carbide-promoting element, it
can easily diffuse in the weld metal liquid (even solid) reacting
with carbon to form TiC.
3.3. The microstructural characterization of the interfaces
The interface between Inconel 625 weld metal with Inconel 718
and 310S base metals is shown in Fig. 9a. It can be observed that a
large number of interlocking precipitates were formed in the vi-
cinity of fusion line. EDS analysis shows that precipitates are mainly
Niobium carbide (NbC). In previous studies, it was revealed that Nb
addition increases the solidication temperature range. This
widening in solidication temperature range provides an adequate
Fig. 7. Showing the solidication cracks in microstructure of 310 weld metal: (a) SEM microphotograph (b) EDS microanalysis result indicating the presence of chromium carbide
along solidication subgrain boundaries.
Fig. 8. Microstructure of IN-82 weld metal: austenitic microstructure with granular
morphology and dispersion of Ti-rich carbides within the grains.
A. Mortezaie, M. Shamanian / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46 42
opportunity for the formation of NbC [20,23]. It should also be
noted that carbon can diffuse from the weld metal to the base
metal. Studies show that carbon has a high penetration rate in
nickel, so that activation energy term(Q) for the diffusion of carbon
is low in FeeNi austenite (135 kJ/mol), while the value is almost
double for substitutional alloying elements such as chromium and
aluminum [15]. Cieslak et al. [17] also reported that the equilibrium
distribution coefcient of Carbon in Inconel 625 is less than one
(k
C
0.21 in IN-625). On this basis, there is a intense tendency to
the diffusion and segregation of carbon to react with other ele-
ments. Thus, it appears that these factors are justiable reasons for
the formation of various carbide phases (most notably the MC type)
at the end of solidication.
The interface between Inconel 82 weld metal and 310S base
metal is shown in Fig. 9b. Grain growth can be observed in the 310S
heat-affected zone. This can be attributed to an increase in tem-
perature during different passes of welding. Moreover, a narrow
unmixed zone can be seen in the vicinity of Inconel 82 weld metal,
which is related to the difference in melting temperatures and
chemical compositions of ller material and base metal. In dis-
similar welding, when the melting range of ller materials is
similar to or higher than that of the base metal, only a small fraction
of the base metal can be melted, and no dilution occurs in the
resolidication stage. In these circumstances, the convection cur-
rents are not able to promote adequate uid ow and mixing and
an unmixed zone is formed between the two regions [1,7].
Fig. 9c shows the interface between 310 SS weld metal and 310S
base metal. Due to the effect of heat input of welding, grains growth
can be seen in the heat affected zone. Grains growth also occurred
near the fusion line where grains have grown perpendicular to the
fusion line. Such a growth initiation process is called epitaxial
growth, which occurs when the liquid completely permeates the
substrate [21,24]. In fusion welding, this type of growth occurs
when the base and ller material have similar chemical composi-
tions [21]. In this respect, Dehmolaei et al. [24] also observed
epitaxial growth in dissimilar welds between heat resistant steel
and Incoloy 800 when it was welded with 309 stainless steel ller
metal.
The interface between 310 SS weld metal and Inconel 718 base
metal is displayed in Fig. 9d. There is a wide unmixed zone for
Inconel 718 base metal, presumably due to the difference in the
melting temperatures of base and weld metal. On the other hand,
thickening of grain boundaries can be seen in the heat affected zone
of Inconel 718 base metal. The precipitation of free Nb in these
boundaries and the formation of delta and laves phases may be the
reasons for this phenomenon. It can be seen that the liquation
cracking in the heat-affected zone of Inconel 718 has not occurred,
which is certainly related to the elimination of all phases (specif-
ically, delta phase) after solution treatment. Research shows that in
alloy 718, the presence of a high fraction of d phase increases
cracking susceptibility. This is due to the dissolution of the d phase
in the heat affected zone and the subsequent segregation of Nb to
the grain boundaries where it promotes liquid lm formation
[15,25].
3.4. Assessment of mechanical properties
The results of tensile tests for welded joints are shown in Table 3
along with the properties of the two base metals. During the
transverse tensile tests, fracture occurred in all weldments in the
310S heat-affected zone. As mentioned before (Fig. 9bec), occur-
rence of grain growth in the heat affected zone of 310S base metal
has caused fracture to occur in these zones. It should be mentioned
that unlike the conventional tensile specimens, failure processes
Fig. 9. (a) Interface between Inconel 625 weld metal and Inconel 718 base metal: shownig Nb-rich carbides in the vicinity of fusion line (b) Interface between Inconel 82 weld metal
and 310S base metal (c) Interface between 310 SS weld metal and 310S base metal (d) Interface between 310 SS weld metal and IN-718 base metal.
A. Mortezaie, M. Shamanian / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46 43
are more complicated in welded specimens, particularly in dis-
similar welding which contains different zones with different
properties, and behavior of one zone can have an effect on its
adjacent zones [26]. Results obtained from tensile tests on the
weldments indicate that dissimilar welds produced by Inconel 625
ller metal have the maximum yield strength and tensile. This
result species that the presence of concentration gradients in
microstructure of Inconel 625 has not led to a decrease in its tensile
strength. Moreover, 310 SS weld metal showed the lowest strength
and total elongation value compared to other weld metals, this was
predictable due to the appearance of solidication cracks in the
microstructure. Overall, the average yield strengths of the three
welded joints are higher than those of 310S base metal, which in-
dicates the yield strength of welded joints meets the requirements
of engineering application [1].
Charpy impact test results for weldments and base metals are
listed in Table 4. Despite the dissolution of the d-phase after solu-
tion heat treatment, a fully brittle fracture occurred for Inconel 718
base metal. In contrast, 310S base metal enjoys higher toughness
that can be attributed to the presence of wrought and annealed
austenitic grains. Charpy V-notch impact energies for the weld
metals are within the values pertaining to the base metals. Among
the weldments, the toughness of Inconel 82 weld metal is the
highest. This can be related to the high amount of Nickel and the
monolithic structure this weld metal. Inconel 625 weld metal
shows lower impact energy compared to Inconel 82 weld metal due
to the high concentration of molybdenum in the interdendritic
regions. Similar to the tensile test results, solidication cracks in
310 SS weld metal have reduced its impact energy. SEM micro-
photographs fromthe fracture surfaces of the impact specimens are
shown in Fig. 10aec. Fracture surfaces of three types of weld metals
are ductile, which includes a combination of deep and wide dim-
ples. It can be observed that for Inconel 625 weld metal, dimples
size is smaller compared to that of Inconel 82 although in the case
of Inconel 82 weld metal, dimples are more evenly distributed. It
should be noted that due to the application of dissimilar joint IN-
718/310S in high temperatures working conditions, changes in
mechanical properties are unavoidable. Because transformation
reactions occur in the weld and base metals at high temperature,
and undesired compounds appearing in the microstructure, which
may lead to a decrease in toughness or strength [27,28]. In this
respect, Naffakh et al. [28] have shown that after subjecting dis-
similar joint Inconel 657/310 stainless steel to an embrittling heat
treatment at 1000

C for 100 h, fracture energy of base and weld
metals declined although tensile strength for both increased.
3.5. Assessment of corrosion behavior
The potentiodynamic polarization test results of base and weld
metals are shown in Fig. 11a and b, respectively. Furthermore, their
electrochemical parameters are given in Table 5. It can be seen that
the corrosion potential is almost identical for both base metals.
Corrosion potential is a static indicator of electrochemical corrosion
resistance, which reveals the susceptibility of materials to corro-
sion. In general, materials that exhibit a high corrosion potential
offer higher corrosion resistance [29]. It can be observed that the
corrosion potential of the weld metals is lower than that of base
Table 3
Tensile properties of the base and weld metals at room temperature.
Filler and base metal type Yield strength
(MPa)
Ultimate tensile
strength (MPa)
Total elongation
(%)
Inconel 718 base metal 942 12 1170 9 23 6
310S base metal 310 2 627 2 58 4
Inconel 82 weld metal 420 8 671 6 34 8
Inconel 625 weld metal 470 14 712 7 31 6
310 SS weld metal 380 18 495 14 14 3
Fig. 10. SEM fractograph of fractured Charpy impact specimens: (a) IN-625 weld metal,
(b) 310 weld metal (c) IN-82 weld metal.
Table 4
The charpy V-Notch impact energy values at room temperature.
Material Impact energy (J) Type of fracture
Inconel 718 base metal 32 4 Fully brittle
Type 310S Stainless steel base metal 170 2 Fully ductile
Inconel 82 weld metal 166 5 Fully ductile
Inconel 625 weld metal 135 6 Fully ductile
310 SS weld metal 118 12 ductile
A. Mortezaie, M. Shamanian / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 116 (2014) 37e46 44
metals. The corrosion potentials differences between the weld and
base metals are nearly 0.2e0.3 V, which can lead to the formation of
effective galvanic couples and can increase the corrosion rate. Ac-
cording to Fig. 11b, Inconel 625 displays a lower corrosion potential
compared to Inconel 82 because the concentration gradient
microstructure reduce its corrosion resistance. Studies show that
the concentration gradients in the solidied microstructure can
cause very localized corrosion between interdendritic regions and
dendritic cores, and can accelerate galvanic corrosion at the
microstructure level [20]. The passivation behavior in anodic
branch of the polarization curve of Inconel 625 can be attributed to
the high chromium contents in its chemical composition [14]. In
addition, although 310 weld metal has lower corrosion potential
compared to two other ller metals, its anodic branch indicates a
very signicant passivation behavior. It can be seen that the pri-
mary passivation potential and breakdown potential for 310 weld
metal are lower and higher, respectively, compared to the same
values in the polarization curves of Inconel 625 weld metal. In other
words, passivation of 310 weld metal occurred at a lower potential
and remained stable at a higher potential difference range. Ac-
cording to Table 1, it can be observed that the chromium content of
310 ller metal is more than that in 625 and 82 ller metals. Ex-
istence of this element in stainless steels increases the stability of
passive lm [14]. On the other, due to the higher austenite content
and lack of concentration gradient in microstructure of Inconel 82,
a higher corrosion potential was obtained for it. As a result, in 3.5%
NaCl solution, the ranking for corrosion resistance is : IN-718
BM > 310S BM > FM-82 > FM-625 > ER310.
4. Conclusions
The investigations performed on Inconel 718/310S dissimilar
joints by GTAW process, and using three types of ller materials
Inconel 625, Inconel 82, and 310 austenitic stainless steel have led
to the following conclusions:
Due to the redistribution of niobium and molybdenum during
solidication, a concentration gradient was generated in the
microstructure of Inconel 625 weld metal. At the end of solidi-
cation, microstructure obtained for Inconel 625 consisted of
columnar dendritic and equiaxed. The microstructure of 310
weld metal includes solidication cracks along solidication
subgrain boundaries.
Due to the pre-weld heat treatment conducted on Inconel 718
base metal, and the subsequent elimination of the delta phase,
liquation cracking did not occur in its heat-affected zone. In the
interface between 310S base metal and other weld metals, a
signicant growth in grains occurred, which led to a decrease in
tensile properties of 310S heat-affected zone.
In tension tests, the yield strength of three kinds of welded
joints meets the requirements of engineering application.
Nevertheless, from the standpoint of tensile strength, 310
stainless steel ller metal is not recommended for this dissimilar
joint. Among the weldments, Inconel 625 weld metal had the
highest yield strength and tensile.
According to impact tests, Inconel 82 and 310 SS weld metals
displayed the highest and lowest toughness values, respectively.
In addition, fracture surfaces of three types of weld metals
included deep and wide dimples.
In potentiodynamic polarization test, Inconel 625 weld metal
displays a lower corrosion potential compared to Inconel 82
weld metal because the concentration gradient obtained from
the solidication reduced its corrosion resistance.
Due to the offer optimum properties, it is suggested that for
dissimilar joints between Inconel 718/310S austenitic stainless
steel, IN-82 ller metal to should be used.
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