Microstructure and Properties of Joint of 443 Ferritic Stainless Steel Welded by Resistance Seam Welding

Resistance seam welding test was used to weld 443 ferritic stainless steel sheets of 0.4 mm thickness. The microstructure, static load tensile property, cup raised tensile property and intergranular corrosion resistance of the weld joints with natural cooling and trailing water cooling were analyzed. The results show that the microstructure of fusion zone was bulky columnar grains and the grain size of heat-affected zone (HAZ)was near to that of base metal, which demonstrated that the way of water cooling had no significant effects on grain size of the joints; the static load tensile strength of the weld joints were high, and the ductility was about 72% of the base metal. The intergranular corrosion resistance of the weld joints were good.