Can Inconel 600 be welded?
Inconel 600 welding characteristics
Under normal circumstances, Inconel 600 welding does not require preheating. However, when the temperature of the base material is lower than 15℃, the joint area on both sides with a length of 250mm~300mm should be preheated to 15℃~20℃ to avoid condensation of water and the formation of pores. To prevent grain growth and carbide precipitation, the interpass temperature shall not be higher than 100℃. Care should be taken to prevent pores caused by excessive cooling. The welding area should be carefully cleaned before welding.
Due to the poor fluidity of molten nickel alloy, the slope of the groove end face in the joint area should be larger. The Inconel 600 welding pool is shallow, which is easy to cause incomplete penetration. It is recommended to use medium-intensity welding current and fast welding. Inconel 600 has a large linear thermal expansion coefficient and is prone to thermal cracking. Therefore, heat input should be strictly controlled during welding.
Welding method, welding electrodes and welding variables
Welding method and electrode selection for Inconel 600:
Stand metal arc welding (SMAW): AWS 5.11 ENiCrFe-3, φ4.0 mm; Actual chemical composition (%) of ENiCrFe-3: C-0.087, Si-0.77, Mn-6.60, S-0.005, P-0.015, Cr-17.00, Ni-66.70, Mo-0.07, Cu-0.09, Nb-1.69.
Tungsten inert gas welding (TIG): AWS 5.14 ERNiCr-3, φ2.0 mm; ERNiCr-3 actual chemical composition (%): C-0.046, Si-0.30, Mn: 5.50, S: 0.004, P-0.005, Cr-15.62, Ni-64.26, Mo-0.09, Cu-0.02, Nb-1.66.
