Thick-section weldments in 21-6-9 and 316LN stainless steel for fusion energy applications

The mechanical properties of several weldments in 21-6-9 and 316LN stainless steel base metals have been measured at 77 K and room temperature. Filler metals for the 21-6-9 included Nitronic 35W and 40W, 21-6-9, Inconel 82, 182, 625, and 625 PLUS. For the 316LN base metal, 316L, 316L-T3, 316L-4K-O, and Inconel 82 filler metals were used. At room temperature all of the filler metals had yield stengths that exceeded those of the base metals. At 77 K only the Nitronics and the 21-6-9 filler metals exceeded those of the base metals, and the Inconel filler metals were significantly weaker. The impact properties of the weld metals were very good at room temperature, with the exception of Inconel 625. At 77 K the impact toughness was greatly reduced for all of the filler metals, with the dramatic exception of Inconel 82. The 316L-4K-O filler metal showed higher impact energies than the other ferrite-containing filler metals, although the levels were still much lower than for the Inconel filler metals. The Inconel 82 filler had excellent fracture toughness at both temperatures. (orig.)