EN 1011-1 general guidance for

arc welding
EN 1011-2 arc welding of ferritic
steel
EN 1011-3 arc welding of stainless
steel

Gives general guidelines for the satisfactory

production and control of welding.
Details the possible detrimental phenomena
which may occur.
Advice the methods by which they may be
avoided.
Applicable to all stainless steel and is
appropriate regardless of the type of
fabrication.
Permissible design stresses in welds, methods
of testing and acceptance levels are not
included .
Permissible design stresses in welds, methods

PASSIVE LAYER
A thin transparent and tightly adherent film on
the surface of stainless steel which protects
them from corrosive attack

FERRITE NUMBER
A number indicating magnetic attraction,
approximately equal to ferrite (delta ferrite)
content over the range of 0% to 10%.

STABILIZED/ UNSTABILIZED
Stabilized steel contain additions of strong
carbide / nitride forming elements (titanium or
niobium), which limit the formation of chromium
carbides/ nitrides, allowing the stainless steel to
retain its corrosion resistance, particularly
around grain boundaries.

It applicable to all arc welding processes viz

1Manual metal arc welding
2Gas shielded metal arc welding- MIG/ MAG
3Gas tungsten arc welding
4Plasma arc welding
5Submerged arc welding

This standard applicable to stainless

steel of the austenitic, ferritic,
martensitic and austenitic/ferritic
types, according to groups 8 to 10 of
ISO 15608.
Reference standard EN- 10088-1

Environment shall be controlled to avoid damage of

passive layer which gives protection against
corrosion
Contact between stainless steel and other materials
e.g carbon steel, copper, paint, dyes etc. to be
avoided.
Packing shall be strongly build and shall be lined
with materials that not contaminate stainless steel.
Lifting grabs, Welding fixtures, earth clamps or

Facilities for fabrication of SS shall be separated

from other works and kept free of all possible
contaminating materials such as lead, zinc,
copper alloys, carbon steels etc.
Only tools dedicated to stainless steel shall be
employed
Oxides / slag produced during in welding shall be
removed
Hard stampings should be avoided

Welding details shall be described in an

appropriate Welding Procedure Specification in
accordance with
EN ISO 15609
Acceptance criteria for misalignment of joints are
given in EN ISO-5817
Run on/ run off pieces shall be manufactured from
similar material and similar joint

Removal of Run on/ run off pieces shall be

performed by method which does not adversely
affect the properties of the weld / parent metal
Inspection shall be carried out to demonstrate
that the parent metal as well as weld metal are
free from unacceptable imperfection.
For one side welding the other side (root) to be
protected from atmospheric contamination

Welded joints shall be free from

imperfections that would impair the service
performance of the construction
Acceptance level shall be in accordance with
the application standard where it exists.
If no application standard exists,
acceptance level shall be based on EN ISO
5817

Distortion in a weldment results from

non uniform expansion and contraction
of weld metal and adjacent parent
metal during welding.
Austenitic steel is more pronounced
than un alloyed steel due to a larger
expansion coefficient and lower
thermal conductivity.

Recommendation for reducing

distortion
1.Minimise the weld metal volume
2.Balanced joint welding (both side)
3.Reduce heat input
4.Reduce number of weld layers
5.Use welding sequence
6.Preset the parts to be welded
7.Use jigs and mechanical restraints
8.Use correct tack welding
9.Use heat sinks

Most readily weldable amongst all SS

Types:
standard austenitic , fully austenitic , nitrogen
alloyed austenitic, heat resistant austenitic,
austenitic steel with improved machine ability (EN
10088-1)
( in standard austenitic SS small amount of
ferrite is present)

Nitrogen alloyed steels may require

wider joint preparation
Thin sheets and plates may be welded
without filler wire
Filler rods should be selected as per EN
1600/ 12072/12073
Consumables are generally selected to
get the ferrite content of 3FN to 15FN in
as deposited fusion zone.
No pre-heat or post weld heat treatments
are generally required

No pre-heat or post weld heat treatments are

generally required
Nitrogen alloyed steels may require wider joint
preparation
Thin sheets and plates may be welded without
filler wire
Filler rods should be selected as per EN 1600/
12072/12073
Consumables are generally selected to get the
ferrite content of 3FN to 15FN in as deposited
fusion zone.

Consumables may contain increase manganese

content to minimise the risk of hot cracking.
Chemical composition of the welding
consumable is usually slightly over alloyed
comparing to parent metal
Shielding gases for TIG/ MIG/MAG welding : Argon, Argon - Helium, Argon hydrogen, or
mixtures as per EN 439

PROBLEMS IN WELDING
Solidification cracking
Poor solubility of impurities like Phosphorus,
Boron,
Sulphur, Selenium, Silicon etc in austenite
Segregate along GB during solidification
GB becomes weaker
Tendency to develop cracks i.e. Micro fissures
under
solidification stress.
Remedy
By producing some ferrite (4-5%) in the weld
metal

Recommendation for reducing hot crack

1 Select consumables with low impurity and
higher manganese content
2 Ensure cleanliness
3 Reduce restraint on the job
4 Use low heat input and avoid wide weld pools
5 Reduce inter-pass temperature ( maximum
150C)
6 Reduce travel speed
7 Width to depth ratio of the weld pool should
be between approx. 1 to 1.5

Can be welded with MMAW, GMAW, GTAW, PAW

Other Process are EBW, LASER, resistance welding.
Ferritic SS are susceptible to excessive grain growth.
Heat input should be kept low.
Pre- Heating 200-300C may used for semi ferrite grades
(semi ferrite grades small amount of martensite) for
thickness more than 3mm.
Inter pass temperature should be the same range.
Pick up of carbon and nitrogen during welding to be kept
minimum by clean weld area and short arc.

Austenitic welding consumables are preferred

because of higher ductility.
If there is a danger of sulphur pick up during
service, then it is to be welded with ferritic SS or
ferritic- austenitic SS consumables.
TIG welding can be carried out with or without
filler wire.
Covered electrodes are to be re backed before
use.
Shielding gases should be argon based mixtures
and not containing CO2. ( as per EN 439)
nitrogen or hydrogen.

CONSEQUENCES OF WELDING
1)COLD CRACKING.
Cold cracking due to low toughness can be
avoided by
preheating in the range of 200 300C for
over 3mm
thickness and conditions of high restraints to
be
avoided
2) HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT
Hydrogen embrittlement or hydrogen induced
cracking can be avoid by keeping the

CONSEQUENCES OF WELDING
3. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Mechanical properties of weld metal of
austenitic and ferritic stainless steel
consumables should match with the
requirement of the parent metal
Ferritic stainless steel of low ductility shall be
preheated from 200 to 300C prior to cold
forming

CONSEQUENCES OF WELDING
4) CORROSION RESISTANCE
Ferritic stainless steel suffer from inter granular
corrosion, unless chromium depletion is
avoided by low content of carbon and nitrogen
by stabilization
or by annealing at the temperature between
750 - 800C