• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.27-31
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• 2009

Ferritic stainless steels have a good heat resistance and economic advantage. They are used for applications such as automotive exhaust systems where resistance to general corrosion is superior to carbon steels. However, there are not enough research for ferritic stainless steels on weldability mainly used as automotive exhaust manifolds. In this study, mechanical and microstructure properties of as-welded STS 429L and STS 444 ferrite stainless steels were confirmed by tensile, bending, hardness test, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Tensile strength of the STS 444 is higher than the STS 429L when it is a raw material. In contrast to this fact, STS 429L indicated higher tensile strength after butt welded. In addition, the hardness have a increasing tendency as getting down on the bead.