Impacts of stress relief treatments on microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of metal active-gas welding joint of 2205 duplex stainless steel

Abstract Stress relief treatments were carried out separately with a pneumatic chipping hammer, ultrasonic peening treatment, and heat treatment for metal active-gas welding (MAG) welded joints of 2205 duplex stainless steel. The effects of these methods on the residual stress, microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of welded joints were studied. Results show the stress state of the weld and the surrounding area was effectively improved by the pneumatic chipping hammer and ultrasonic peening treatment, and the residual stress field of the surface layer changed from tensile stress to compressive stress. On the contrary, low-temperature stress relieving annealing had no obvious effect on stress distribution. After the pneumatic chipping hammer and ultrasonic peening treatment, the welded joints were machined and hardened. Correspondingly, strength and hardness were improved. However, the heat treatment only led to a slight decrease in strength and hardness due to the static recovery of the welded joint structure. All stress relief methods effectively improved the corrosion resistance of welded joints, with the ultrasonic peening treatment giving the best performance