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Duplex stainless steels can be very attractive alternatives to austenitic grades due to their almost double strength at equal pitting corrosion resistance. When welding, the duplex alloys normally require addition of filler metal, while the commodity austenitic grades can often be welded autogenously. Over-alloyed consumables are used to counteract segregation of important alloying elements and to balance the two phases, ferrite and austenite, in the duplex weld metal. This work focuses on the weldability of the recently-developed lean duplex stainless steel LDX 2101® (EN 1.4162, UNS S32101). The pitting corrosion resistance of this grade is better than that of austenitic AISI 304 (EN 1.4307) and can reach the level of AISI 316L (EN 1.4404). The austenite formation is rapid in LDX 2101 compared to older duplex grades. Pitting resistance tests performed show that 1-2.5 mm thick laser and gas tungsten arc (GTA) welded LDX 2101 can have good corrosion properties even when welding autogenously. Additions of filler metal, nitrogen in the shielding gas, nitrogen-based backing gas and use of laser hybrid welding methods, however, increase the austenite formation. The pitting resistance may also be increased by suppressing formation of chromium nitrides in the weld metal and heat affected zone (HAZ). After thorough post-weld cleaning (pickling), pitting primarily occurred 1-3 mm from the fusion line, in the parent metal rather than in the HAZ. Neither the chromium nitride precipitates found in the HAZ, nor the element depletion along the fusion line that was revealed by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) were found to locally decrease the pitting resistance. The preferential pitting location is suggested to be controlled by the residual weld oxide composition that varies over the surface. The composition and thickness of weld oxide formed on LDX 2101 and 2304 (EN 1.4362, UNS S32304) were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The heat tint on these lean duplex grades proved to contain significantly more manganese than what has been reported for standard austenitic stainless steels in the AISI 300 series. A new approach to heat tint formation is presented; whereby evaporation of material from the weld metal and subsequent deposition on the already-formed weld oxide are suggested to contribute to weld oxide formation. This is consistent with manganese loss from the weld metal, and nitrogen additions to the GTA shielding gas enhance the evaporation. The segregation of all elements apart from nitrogen is low in autogenously welded LDX 2101. This means that filler wire additions may not be required as for other duplex grades assuming that there is no large nitrogen loss that could cause excessive ferrite contents. As the nitrogen appears to be controlling the austenite formation, it becomes essential to avoid losing nitrogen during welding by choosing nitrogen-containing shielding and backing gas. / QC 20101213

The majority of UK’s intermediate level radioactive waste is currently stored in 316L and 304L austenitic stainless steel containers in interim storage facilities for permanent disposal until a geological disposal facility has become available. The structural integrity of stainless steel canisters is required to persevere against environmental degradation for up to 500 years to assure a safe storage and disposal scheme. Hitherto existing severe localised corrosion observances on real waste storage containers after 10 years of exposure to an ambient atmosphere in an in-land warehouse in Culham at Oxfordshire, however, questioned the likelihood occurrence of stress corrosion cracking that may harm the canister’s functionality during long-term storage. The more corrosion resistant duplex stainless steel grade 2205, therefore, has been started to be manufactured as a replacement for the austenitic grades. Over decades, the threshold stress corrosion cracking temperature of austenitic stainless steels has been believed to be 50-60°C, but lab- and field-based research has shown that 304L and 316L may suffer from atmospheric stress corrosion cracking at ambient temperatures. Such an issue has not been reported to occur for the 2205 duplex steel, and its atmospheric stress corrosion cracking behaviour at low temperatures (40-50°C) has been sparsely studied which requires detailed investigations in this respect. Low temperature atmospheric stress corrosion cracking investigations on 2205 duplex stainless steel formed the framework of this PhD thesis with respect to the waste storage context. Long-term surface magnesium chloride deposition exposures at 50°C and 30% relative humidity for up to 15 months exhibited the occurrence of stress corrosion cracks, showing stress corrosion susceptibility of 2205 duplex stainless steel at 50°C.The amount of cold work increased the cracking susceptibility, with bending deformation being the most critical type of deformation mode among tensile and rolling type of cold work. The orientation of the microstructure deformation direction, i.e. whether the deformation occurred in transverse or rolling direction, played vital role in corrosion and cracking behaviour, as such that bending in transverse direction showed almost 3-times larger corrosion and stress corrosion cracking propensity. Welding simulation treatments by ageing processes at 750°C and 475°C exhibited substantial influences on the corrosion properties. It was shown that sensitisation ageing at 750°C can render the material enhanced susceptible to stress corrosion cracking at even low chloride deposition densities of ≤145 µm/cm². However, it could be shown that short-term heat treatments at 475°C can decrease corrosion and stress corrosion cracking susceptibility which may be used to improve the materials performance. Mechanistic understanding of stress corrosion cracking phenomena in light of a comprehensive microstructure characterisation was the main focus of this thesis.