Embrittlement of austenitic stainless steel welds

To prevent hot-cracking, austenitic stainless steel welds generally contain a small percent of delta ferrite. Although ferrite has been found to effectively prevent hot-cracking, it can lead to embrittlement of welds when exposed to elevated temperatures. The aging behavior of type-308 stainless steel weld has been examined over a range of temperatures 475--850 C for times up to 10,000 hrs. Upon aging, and depending on the temperature range, the unstable ferrite may undergo a variety of solid state transformations. These phase changes creep-rupture and Charpy impact properties