Metallurgical response of weld metal to different filler metal and joint design combinations of laser-arc hybrid welded lean duplex and novel ferritic stainless steels

Laser and laser-arc hybrid welding of duplex and ferritic stainless steels is demanding, because microstructure of the welds tends to be highly ferritic. Therefore, filler metal must be used for maintaining corrosion and mechanical properties of the welds. In this study, different filler metals including duplex, basic, and overalloyed austenitic grades were used with laser-arc hybrid method to weld lean duplex 1.4162 and novel ferritic stainless steels grades 1.4622 and 1.4509. Several sets of joint design and welding parameter combinations were used to adjust the amount of filler metal in the weld. The purpose of the trials was to evaluate whether weld metal microstructures (grain morphology, austenite/ferrite balance, etc.) can be modified by using an applicable joint preparation and an “overmatched” filler metal addition. Weld characterization included several research methods such as: Macro- and microscopic examination using light microscope¸ cross-sectional dilution ratio determination from the metallographic cross sections, electron backscatter diffraction method in order to assess austenite, and ferrite phase proportions in the test welds. The effects of used groove geometry, filler metal composition, and content on resulting metallurgical features of the welds are discussed in detail.