Transient liquid phase bonding of a microduplex stainless steel using amorphous interlayers

Abstract

Microduplex stainless steels are two phase alloys which show excellent corrosion resistance and toughness. In order to join these special steels, fusion welding processes are normally used and a second post-weld heat treatment is necessary to regain the original ferrite to austenite ratio. In this study, transient liquid phase diffusion bonding was used to join a 2205 duplex stainless steel with the aid of amorphous interlayers. The research compares a Ni - B - Si ternary system with that of an Fe - B - Si interlayer, and compositional, microstructural and mechanical assessment was used to determine the quality of the bonds produced. These preliminary results show that the nickel based interlayer stabilises the austenitic phase along the bond length, which hinders grain growth across the joint region. In contrast, the iron based interlayer produces diffusion bonds, which show microstructural and compositional homogeneity across the joint region. Furthermore, mechanical and pitting corrosion tests show that transient liquid phase diffusion bonds can achieve properties similar to those of the parent alloy.