Effect of welding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of a friction stir welded 11Cr-ferritic/martensitic steel

Sato, Yutaka*; Kokawa, Hiroyuki*; Yano, Yasuhide  ; Sekio, Yoshihiro  

PNC-FMS is a newly developed 11Cr-ferritic/martensitic steel with good swelling resistance, designed for the wrapper tubes of fast reactors. In this study, friction stir welding (FSW) was attempted as a welding process of PNC-FMS because fusion welding of this steel significantly reduced mechanical properties through formation of brittle microstructure. FSW was applied to PNC-FMS at 100 to 300 rpm using Q60 tool, and defect-free welds were obtained. The stir zones had fine microstructure with ferrite and martensite, and the grain size and fraction of martensite increased with rotational speed. Since all welds were overmatched, all transverse tensile specimens were broken at the base material region. The tensile test of the stir zone clarified that the stir zone produced at 100 rpm exhibited higher strengths and elongation than the base material. This study showed that FSW at lower rotational speed produced the stir zone having better mechanical properties in PNC-FMS.