An Analysis of Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance in Underwater Friction Stir Welded 304L Stainless Steel
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2005-06-30 An Analysis of Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance in Underwater Friction Stir Welded 304L Stainless Steel Tad Dee Clark Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Mechanical Engineering Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Clark, Tad Dee, "An Analysis of Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance in Underwater Friction Stir Welded 304L Stainless Steel" (2005). Theses and Dissertations. 535. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/535 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. AN ANALYSIS OF MICROSTRUCTURE AND CORROSION RESISTANCE IN UNDERWATER FRICTION STIR WELDED 304L STAINLESS STEEL TITLE PAGE by Tad D. Clark A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Mechanical Engineering Brigham Young University August 2005 Copyright © 2005 Tad D. Clark All Rights Reserved BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Tad D. Clark This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. ______________________________ ________________________________ Date Tracy W. Nelson, Chair ______________________________ ________________________________ Date Carl D. Sorensen ______________________________ ________________________________ Date Spencer P. Magleby BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Tad D. Clark in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for final submission to the university library. _________________________ _______________________________ Date Tracy W. Nelson Chair, Graduate Committee Accepted for the Department _______________________________ Mathew R. Jones Graduate Coordinator Accepted for the College _______________________________ Alan R. Parkinson Dean, Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology ABSTRACT AN ANALYSIS OF MICROSTRUCTURE AND CORROSION RESISTANCE IN UNDERWATER FRICTION STIR WELDED 304L STAINLESS STEEL Tad D. Clark Department of Mechanical Engineering Master of Science An effective procedure and parameter window was developed for underwater friction stir welding (UWFSW) 304L stainless steel with a PCBN tool. UWFSW produced statistically significant: increases in yield strengths, decreases in percent elongation. The ultimate tensile strength was found to be significantly higher at certain parameters. Although sigma was identified in the UWFSWs, a significant reduction of sigma was found in UWFSWs compared to ambient FSWs. The degree of sensitization in UWFSWs was evaluated using double loop EPR testing and oxalic acid electro-etched metallography. Results were compared to base metal, ambient FSW, and arc welds. Upper and lower sensitization localization bands were identified in the UWFSWs. Although higher sensitization levels were present in UWFSWs compared to the arc weld, ambient FSW, and heat treated base metals, the UWFSWs were found less susceptible to corrosion than arc welds due to the subsurface location of the sensitization bands. A SCC analysis of UWFSWs relative to base metal and arc weldments was performed. U-bends were exposed to two 3.5% NaCl cyclic immersion experiments at 21 oC and 63 oC for 1000 hours each. A tertiary test was conducted in a 25% NaCl boiling solution. The UWFSW u-bends were no more susceptible to SCC than base metal in the cyclic immersion tests. In the boiling NaCl test, the SCC of the UWFSWs showed significant improvement over the SCC of arc welds. Arc u-bends cracked entirely within the weld bead and HAZ, while SCC in the UWFSWs showed no cracking localization. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank all of the members of the BYU Friction Stir Research Lab (FSRL) for their assistance with this research as well as the continuing pursuit of knowledge in the field of friction stir welding. Table of Contents I. Introduction and Background...................................................................................... 1 A. Corrosion....................................................................................................................1 1. Austenitic Stainless Steels ...................................................................................... 1 2. Stress Corrosion Cracking ...................................................................................... 2 3. Sensitization............................................................................................................ 3 3.1 Oxalic Acid Electro-etch Testing...................................................................... 4 3.2 Single Loop EPR Testing.................................................................................. 4 3.3 Double Loop EPR Testing................................................................................ 5 4. Sigma ...................................................................................................................... 7 B. Welding of Austenitic Stainless Steel ........................................................................ 7 1. Traditional Welding Metallurgy ............................................................................. 7 2. Traditional Underwater Welding ............................................................................ 8 2.1 Underwater Friction Welding ........................................................................... 8 3. Friction Stir Welding .............................................................................................. 9 II. Objective..................................................................................................................... 13 III. Method....................................................................................................................... 15 A. Material .................................................................................................................... 15 B. Arc Welds................................................................................................................. 15 C. Underwater Friction Stir Welding............................................................................ 15 1. Process Window.................................................................................................... 18 2. Tensile Testing...................................................................................................... 19 D. Sensitization Testing................................................................................................ 19 1. Sample Preparation ............................................................................................... 19 2. Double Loop EPR Testing.................................................................................... 19 E. SCC Testing.............................................................................................................. 21 1. Sample Preparation ............................................................................................... 21 2. Initial Test: Ambient Conditions .......................................................................... 22 3. Secondary Test: 63 oC Control Volume................................................................ 23 4. Tertiary Test: Boiling NaCl Solution.................................................................... 24 IV. Results and Discussion ............................................................................................. 27 A. Process Window....................................................................................................... 27 B. Evaluation of Microstructure ................................................................................... 29 1. Optical Microscopy............................................................................................... 29 2. Sigma .................................................................................................................... 31 3. Tensile Properties.................................................................................................. 32 C. Sensitization ............................................................................................................. 36 1. Double Loop EPR................................................................................................. 36 2. Analysis of Microstructure ................................................................................... 39 2.1 400 RPM UWFSW ......................................................................................... 39 xv xvi 2.2 500 RPM UWFSW ......................................................................................... 43 2.3 Ambient FSW ................................................................................................. 46 2.4 Arc Weld........................................................................................................