This guide presents a description of wrought solid solution austenitic stainless steels and the most commonly used welding processes and procedures for joining these materials. The most commonly used welding processes, including shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), submerged arc welding (SAW), and flux core arc welding (FCAW), are discussed in detail; laser beam, electron beam, plasma arc, resistance, and braze welding are not covered in great detail.

The welding processes discussed in this guide include recommended welding parameters, filler metals, shielding gases, and fluxes. Procedure qualifications, inspection and repair considerations and methods, and cleaning and safety considerations are also discussed. Practical information has been included as figures, tables, and graphs that should prove useful for determining the capabilities and limitations in the joining of austenitic stainless steels. This guide does not address martensitic, ferritic, duplex stainless steels, or cast stainless steels.

This standard uses both the International System of Units (SI) and U.S. Customary Units. The latter are shown with brackets [ ] or in appropriate columns in tables and figures. The measurements may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system should be used independently.

Safety and health issues may not be fully addressed by this standard. Users of this standard should consult ANSI Z49.1, Safety in Welding, Cutting, and Allied Processes, applicable federal, state, and local regulations, and other relevant documents concerning safety and health issues not addressed herein. Additional information is available via the AWS Safety and Health Fact Sheets—available for free at www.aws.org. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) are available through the material suppliers; they provide information on the health and safety precautions associated with the materials and processes discussed within this document.