WELDING OF NICKEL
ALLOYS
CLASSIFICATION OF NICKEL ALLOYS
Ni alloys are mainly divided into 2 groups:
1. SOLID SOLUTION ALLOYS
Ni-Cu alloys
Ni-Cr alloys
Ni-Fe-Cr alloys
Ni-Mo alloys
Ni-Cr-Mo alloys
2. PRECIPITATION HARDENING ALLOYS
Ni-Cu alloys
Ni-Cr alloys
Ni-Fe-Cr alloys
Solid solution nickel base alloys
HastellyN
HastelloyS
HastelloyX
Haynes 230
Inconel 600
Inconel 601
Inconel617
Inconel 625
Precipitation hardenable nickel base
alloys
3MR 235
Inconel 702
Inconel 706
IN 713C
In 738
In 739
Inconel718
Inconel 722
Inconel X-750
Incoloy 901
M252
Rene 41
Udimet 700
Waspalloy
Haynes214
Solid solution iron base alloys
16-25-6
17-14 CUMO
19-9 DL
Incoloy 800H
Incoloy 802
Precipitation hardenable iron base
alloys
A286
Discolloy
Haynes 556
Incoloy 903
Incoloy 909
Solid solution cobalt base
alloys
Haynes 25
Haynes
SURFACE PREPARATION
Oxides should be thoroughly removed, because they can
inhibit wetting and fusion of base material.
Removal may be done by grinding, abrasive blasting,
machining or pickling
Wire brushes used for cleaning should be made of
austenitic stainless steel.
Tenacious surface oxides should be removed by grinding with
an Aluminum oxide or Silicon carbide wheel.
WELD DESIGN
The groove angle must be large enough to permit proper
manipulation of the filler metal, because Ni based alloys has
lower flowability and wetting capacity than stainless steel
weld metals
In GMAW process the arc do not easily get deflected from
straight line, so the joint design should permit the movement
of arc
U groove joints should have 30 bevel angle
Ni alloy joints have wider bevel, narrower root face and
wider root opening
HEAT CONSIDERATIONS
High heat input while welding Ni and Ni-base alloys, may result
in constitutional liquidation, carbide precipitation or other
metallurgical phenomenon which may lead to cracking.
The extent of the changes which takes place in the base
material is determined by the heat input of the process and
the interpass temperature
Maximum inter pass temperature of 93C is recommended
for corrosion resistant alloys
Preheat is not required, but it is desirable to have the surface
temperature at or above 16C, to avoid moisture condensate
WELDING PROCESSES used
GTAW:
best suited for precipitation hardening alloys because it
provides excellent protection against oxidation and precipitation
hardening alloys
Ar, He or a mixture of two are used as shielding gas
arc stability is best when W electrode is ground to a point with
apex angle of 30 to 40
Direct current electrode negative is recommended fro both
automatic and manual welding
while welding alloys with high Al and Ti content, surface must
be free from oxides to avoid lack of fusion with subsequent
passes.
GMAW:
can be used for all of the solution- strengthened alloys except
high Si casting alloys
Direct current electrode negative with electrode diameter of 0.9
mm, 1.2mm and 1.6mm are generally used
Ar and Ar+He are normally used for shielding, addition of 15 to
20% He increases bead width and decreases penetration.
An arc length of 6mm is considered suitable, with spray mode
of metal transfer
SMAW:
Primarily used for welding commercially pure Ni and
solution strengthened Ni alloys
Precipitation hardening alloys are not preferable for this
process because the alloying elements contributing to
hardening are difficult to transfer across the arc
Minimum thickness of metal is 1.5 mm to be welded by this
process
Electrode covering should have the composition similar to
base metals for which they are intended
Direct current electrode positive is used, electrode diameter
of 3.15 mm is suitable for welding in all positions
Other commonly used welding processes:
Submerged Arc Welding
Oxy-Acetylene Welding
Plasma Arc Welding
Resistance Welding
Electron beam Welding
Laser Beam Welding
Soldering
Brazing
STRAIN AGE CRACKING
Most of the precipitation-hardening Ni alloys are subject to
strain age cracking
The higher the Al and Ti content the higher the greater is the
possibility of cracking
If Columbium is substituted in place of Aluminum the ageing
reaction is retarded , consequently the HAZ may remain
sufficiently ductile during the PWHT and strain age cracking
may be prevented
Alloys containing relatively large amount of Al and Ti, such as
Udimet 500, have been successfully welded using overageing
technique, to counter the strain age cracking
