Will 304 stainless steel angle iron become weak and brittle if its heated up and cooled down from welding an
Answer:
It shouldn't be a huge problem. It will NOT become brittle and friable because of the three heat/cool cycles. (weld-grind-weld). I would be sure to use electrodes appropriate for the series SS you have. Are you certain it's 304 not 304L or 304XLC?? Those alloys, you would have a much stronger end result. They have been engineered to withstand welding better than regular 304SS. Hopefully you aren't building a load bearing member, if so, you need consult a civil and/or mechanical engineer.
quote from a old post.
"""While I am discussing stainless steel, I have a word of caution for those of you get stainless steel tanks welded with fittings. There is a time@temperature range (800-1600F) for austenitic stainless that results in Sensitization. This term is used to describe a precipitation of chromium carbides away from the grain boundaries which results in intergranular corrosion and brittleness. You can practically snap it with your hands. This is a common problem in welding of 304 stainless where the weld zone should be cooled below 1100F within five minutes or the precipitation will start to occur. This also means that heat between 1100-1600F for more than five minutes should be avoided ie weld time. If any of you are noticing leaking or cracking around your fittings, this is what has happened. The only way to fix it is to anneal the whole thing at roughly 1950F for 5min/.1inch section size followed by fairly rapid cooling to avoid Sensitizing it all over again. By the way,304L (L for less carbon) does not usually have this problem, nor does 316L or321. """
304SS is typically welded and should not pose any problem. However, I would have the pieces welded by an experienced welder as stainless welding is tricky. Novice welders will ruin it.
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