Corrosion Resistance of Laser Beam Welded Joints in Ferritic Stainless Steel

The primary goal of the research work was to determine the corrosion resistance of laser beam-welded joints made of ferritic stainless steel X2CrTiNb18 (1.4509) having a thickness of 1.5 mm. In some of the test joints, the weld was subjected to rolling. In addition, some other joints were subjected to heat treatment involving the use of a prototype induction heating welding station. The research work-related test results revealed that the test joints with the weld subjected to rolling were characterised by a significantly lower rate of linear corrosion progression (linear corrosion rate V_p = 0.008672 mm/year) compared to the test joints only subjected to laser beam welding and those subjected to heat treatment (V_p = 0.011052 mm/ year).