Welding Stainless Aircraft Steels

DURING recent years considerable attention has been given to the welding of alloy steels. Until recently a limiting factor in the use of 18–8 stainless steels was that certain service conditions had a tendency to lower their corrosion resistance by producing a susceptibility to inter‐granular corrosion. Welding also was found to cause the same susceptibility in narrow zones in the parent metal near the weld. In some cases, heat‐treatment after welding would restore the desired properties but this was not always feasible. However, the recent introduction of a columbium‐treated 18–8 stainless steel welding rod is likely to mark an important advance in the fabrication of stainless steel. The use of this rod in conjunction with 18–8 base metal treated or “stabilized” with columbium or titanium permits the manufacture of welded stainless steel products which, in the as‐welded condition, have full resistance to corrosive and oxidizing influences, particularly at elevated temperatures.