A Comparative Evaluation of Welding Consumables for Dissimilar Welds between 310 Austenitic Stainless Steel and Inconel 657

The current work was carried out to characterize welding of AISI 310 austenitic stainless steel to Inconel 657 nickel-chromium superalloy. The welds were produced using four types of filler materials; the nickel-based corresponding to Inconel 82, Inconel A, Inconel 617 and austenitic stainless steels 310. Of the two joints involved, this paper describes the choice of welding consumables for the joint. The comparative evaluation was based on hot cracking tests (Varestraint test) and estimation of mechanical properties. While Inconel A exhibited the highest resistance to solidification cracking, the Inconel 617 filler material also showed moderate resistance and in addition, the latter was superior from the mechanical properties view-points. It was concluded that for the joint between Inconel 657 and 310 SS, the Inconel A filler material offered the best compromise.