TECH SPOTLIGHT

Color etching and

electrolytic
etching can help
metallographically
evaluate delta
ferrite content.

100 Pm

Fig. 2 Mill Clad 3 (MC3) is a weld cladding for rebuilding caster rolls, hot strip mill rolls, and other types of steel mill rolls. When the
as-welded steel is etched with the color etch, the delta ferrite as well as the general microstructure of the weld is revealed

Etching Stainless Steels for Delta Ferrite

Timken Co.
Canton, Ohio
methodology for calculating the
approximate ferrite content in
austenitic stainless steel welds
was first described by Schaeffler in
1949. Subsequently, the original diagram was revised by DeLong, and
later revised by the Welding Research
Council several times (Fig. 1).
Based on the composition of the
stainless steels being welded, a nickel
and chromium equivalent of the
weld metal is calculated using Equations 1 and 2.

Creq. = %Cr + 1.5 x %Si + %Mo +

0.5% x (%Ta + %NB) + 2 x %Ti +
%(W + V + Al)
(Eq. 1)
Nieq. + %Ni + 30 x %Co +
0.5 x %Mn + 0.5 x %Co (Eq. 2)
Because the actual amount of ferrite in stainless steels depends on
non-equilibrium solidification processing as well as composition, several different techniques would be
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suitable to actually measure the ferrite content of the weld metal. This
tech note will describe how color
etching and electrolytic etching can
metallographically evaluate the delta
ferrite content of two martensitic
stainless steels as shown in the table.
The color etch in these examples
was a modified potassium metabisulfite etch composed of 1% HCl, 1g
K2S2O5, and 1g NH4HFH in 100 ml of
distilled water. Approximately 15
seconds was required to etch the
specimens.
The electrolytic etch was ASTM
E407 number 220. This etch is composed of 20g of NaOH in 100 ml of
distilled water. The specimens were
etched at 6 volts for approximately
30 seconds.

0% D

30

10% D

20% D

Austenite

Nickel equivalent, %

Dennis W. Hetzner*

20

40% D

A+M

80% D

10
Martensite

M+F
Ferrite
10

Weld cladding
Mill Clad 3 (MC3) is a weld
cladding for rebuilding caster rolls,
hot strip mill rolls, and other types of
steel mill rolls. When the as welded

20
30
Chromium
equivalent, %

40

Fig. 1 Modified Schaeffler diagram for

the delta ferrite content in austenitic stainless steel welds.

Martensitic stainless steel compositions

Element

Si

Mn

Cr

Mo

Ni

Co

Cb (Nb)

MC3 Weld

0.12

0.40

1.1

12.7

1.4

2.8

0.2

0.2

Wrought P675

0.07

0.40

0.65

13.0

1.8

2.6

0.6

5.4

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/FEBRUARY 2007

33

CLEMEX

3. For this field of view, the delta ferrite content of this weld appears to
be in the range of 10% to 15%.
Equations 1 and 2 show that the
chromium and nickel equivalents for
this alloy are 15.0% and 6.95% respectively. Reference to the modified
Schaeffler diagram indicates that this
compositional point is in the M + F
phase field, and the exact amount of
each phase is difficult to predict.

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50 Pm

Fig. 3 Electrolytic NaOH. When the

specimen is etched with the electrolytic etch,
only the delta ferrite is attacked.

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50 Pm

Fig. 4 Alloy P675 is carburizable

bearing steel manufactured by Carpenter
Technology. For a specimen given a heat
treating cycle similar to that for hardening
carburized components, the color etch clearly
reveals the delta ferrite as white stringers in
the longitudinal microstructure.

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50 Pm

Fig. 5 Electrolytic NaOH. After electrolytic etching, the delta ferrite is once again
clearly revealed. However, the contrast between the delta ferrite and the unetched matrix is not as high as that for the color etch.

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steel is etched with the color etch, the

delta ferrite as well as the general microstructure of the weld is revealed,
Fig. 2. However, when the specimen
is etched with the electrolytic etch,
only the delta ferrite is attacked, Fig.

Bearing steel
Alloy P675 is carburizable bearing
steel manufactured by Carpenter
Technology. For a specimen given a
heat treating cycle similar to that for
hardening carburized components,
the color etch clearly reveals the delta
ferrite as white stringers in the longitudinal microstructure, Fig. 4. Microstructural banding is clearly revealed by the color etch as long dark
streaks in the microstructure. After
electrolytic etching, the delta ferrite
is once again clearly revealed. However, the contrast between the delta
ferrite and the unetched matrix is not
as high as that for the color etch, as
shown in Fig. 5.
Multiple fields of view for this
specimen indicate that the amount
of delta ferrite is less than 1%. For
this alloy, the chromium and nickel
equivalents are found to be 16.0%
and 7.7% respectively. Once again
this composition in contained within
the M + F phase field, Fig. 1.
Several interesting observations
can be made from these results. For
both alloys, electrolytic sodium hydroxide clearly reveals only the delta
ferrite. The same would be true for
revealing delta ferrite in austenitic
stainless steel welds. The color etch
clearly revealed the delta ferrite in
the wrought stainless steel. However, for the weld metal, the color
etch revealed several different microstructural features. Thus, the delta
ferrite was difficult to measure.
Although there was not a great
deal of difference in the chromium
and nickel equivalents for the alloys,
the processing greatly affected the
amount of delta ferrite in the steels.
All these facts are revealed by careful
metallography.

For more information: Dr. Dennis

Hetzner is a senior materials specialist at
the Timken Co., Canton, OH 44706; tel:
330/471-2150; dennis.hetzner@timken.com.

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/FEBRUARY 2007