Low temperature thermal aging of austenitic stainless steel welds: Kinetics and effects on mechanical properties

► Embrittlement of 304L and 316L welds after aging up to 20,000 h. ► Spinodal decomposition and G-phase precipitation in ferrite at 400 °C. Only spinodal decomposition at 335 and 365 °C. ► Charpy impact, microhardness and tensile tests for evaluation of aging embrittlement and its kinetics determined.