Welding and Corrosion Behavior of AISI H13 Welds: The Effect of Filler Metal on the Microstructural Evolutions

Welding of AISI H13 tool steel which is mainly used in mold making is difficult due to the some alloying elements and it high hardenability. The effect filler metal composition on the microstructural changes, phase evolutions, and hardness during gas tungsten arc welding of AISI H13 hot work tool steel was investigated. Corrosion resistance of each weld was studied. For this purpose, four filler metals i.e. ER 312, ER NiCrMo-3, ER 80S, and 18Ni maraging steel were supplied. Potentiodynamic polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to study the corrosion behavior of weldments. It was found the ER 80S weld showed the highest hardness owing to fully martensitic microstructure. The hardness in ER 312 and ER NiCrMo3 weld metals was noticeably lower than that of the other weld metals in which the microstructures mainly consisted of austenite phase. The results showed that the corrosion rate of ER 312 weld metal was lower than that other weld metals which is due to the high chromium content in this weld metal. The corrosion rate of ER NiCrMo-3 was lower than that of 18Ni maraging weld. The obtained results from EIS tests confirm the findings of potentiodynamic polarization tests.