Mitigation of sensitisation effects in unstabilised 12%Cr ferritic stainless steel welds

Sensitisation in the heat-affected zones of ferritic stainless steel welds is typically prevented by stabilisation of the parent material with titanium or niobium, and suitable design of the overall composition to produce a suitably high ferrite factor. However, such alloy modification has proven to be economically unviable for thick gauge (>10 mm) plate products and therefore unstabilised 12%Cr (3CR12) material is still currently being used for heavy gauge structural applications in many parts of the world. The aim of the current work was to review the mechanisms responsible for sensitisation in these unstabilised ferritic stainless steels, and to characterise the sensitisation effects arising from multipass welding procedures. The objective was to determine the influence of welding parameters, and thereby to recommend mitigating strategies. Two particular sensitisation modes were found to occur in the current work, although only one was predominant and considered problematic from a practical perspective. It was found that with proper positioning of weld capping runs and control of weld overlap, it is possible to ensure that sensitising isotherms remain buried beneath the parent surface, and so reduce harmful corrosion effects.