Characterization of Inconel 625-SS 304 Weldments Developed by Selective Microwave Hybrid Joining Technique for Promising Applications

Abstract

Production of dissimilar weldments using microwave hybrid heating is currently gaining immense impetus in the field of advanced welding. This is because such heat source could provide benefits like cost-effectiveness, rapid, volumetric, uniform and selective heating, and efficient throughput which would be significant to various industries. Till-date researchers have carried out joining of dissimilar general purpose engineering materials using microwave hybrid heat source. But attention has not been paid on the joining and characterization of dissimilar exotic-general purpose materials using the aforementioned heat source and the promising applications of the weldments. Therefore, the present article is focused on the joining of dissimilar materials- Inconel 625 and SS 304 alloys using selective microwave hybrid joining (SMHJ) technique. In SMHJ, nickel-based powder is used as a filler material, Silicon carbide (SiC) block and SiC powder are used as susceptor to increase the initial temperature. The developed weldments through SMHJ are characterized using various physico-chemical diagnostic methods. The results reveal the average micro-hardness of joint was found to be 303 ± 17 HV owing to the presence of various carbides and nitrides phase like NbC, Cr<inf>23</inf>C<inf>6</inf>, Cr<inf>2</inf>Ni<inf>3</inf>, Ni<inf>8</inf>Nb, and Fe<inf>3</inf>Ni<inf>2</inf> in the joint zone which is evident from XRD. The average UTS of the joints found to be 448.6 MPa with an elongation of 10.93% and flexural strength observed to be 435 MPa. Further, fractography study reveals, the joint regions have mixed mode of failure. The failure was attributed to the existence of secondary phases in the joint zone. © ASM International 2023.