Investigate the causes of cracks in welded 310 stainless steel used in the Flare tip

• Microstructural aspects of welding failure causes in the industrial part (Flare tip).
• Service condition factors' effects such as temperature and gases, on crack nucleation.
• Present a mechanism to prevent the occurrence of cracks in welded stainless steel 310.

The present study examines the causes of the cracks in welded 310 stainless steel that has been used in the Flare tip. According to the tests, including metallographic examination, macroscopic hardness test and scanning electron microscopic analysis, the reasons for the nucleation and growth of the cracks in the weld zone have been discussed. The results show that, because of the service temperature of Flare tip between 500 and 900 °C, and hydrocarbon gases such as methane, ethane, sour gas and carbon dioxide that are the combustion products, the component surface has been oxidized and carburized. Thus, the surface carburized oxide layer and also the subsurface damage can be fertile field for the nucleation of cracks. Likewise, the presence of sigma phases, austenite dendrites and interdendritic delta ferrite can cause a drop in toughness in the weld zone and provide fields for the crack growth in the weld zone.