Evaluation of solidification cracking of Ni-based alloy dissimilar welds based on Trans-Varestraint test

This study aims to evaluate the weldability of dissimilar welds with the Inconel 625 and the Hastelloy C-276 nickel-based alloys deposited on ASTM A36 and AISI 1045 carbon steel plates. The welds were carried out by the GMAW process and evaluated by the Trans-Varestraint test. The test results were statistically evaluated, and Fusion Zone solidification processes were simulated in JMatPro software using several dilution levels. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test results showed that the two different base metals did not affect the weldability of Inconel 625. However, the Hastelloy C-276 alloy showed a significant drop in weldability with the AISI 1045 steel compared to the ASTM A36. The results of the Hastelloy C-276 as the filler metal and the AISI 1045 steel as the base metal showed greater susceptibility to solidification cracking than all the other pairs tested, according to the Trans-Varestraint test. Moreover, the ANOVA test results indicated that the different heat input levels did not influence the sets’ weldability; this was probably because there was only a tiny variation in the dilution levels. The solidification process simulation indicates that higher dilution levels promote the precipitation of a larger secondary phase fraction.