Type 304L stainless steel alloy is known to be highly resistant to solidification cracking. In the present case the particular design of the welded seams in a simple 200 litre water tank, along with the likely manner in which the closing welds were made, has led to an interesting example of interdendritic hot cracking in 304L GTA welded using a 309L filler metal. The paper presents a short introduction to hot cracking in austenitic stainless steels and uses the fractographic evidence to demonstrate that this form of cracking has occurred. The cracking has occurred primarily from excessive residual restraint stresses arising from weld -fit-up and welding practice, combined with the particular sequence of welds made in finally closing the tank.

众所周知，304L型不锈钢合金具有很高的抗凝固裂纹性。在目前的情况下，简单的200升水箱中焊缝的特殊设计以及进行封闭焊缝的可能方式，导致了一个有趣的例子，即使用309L填料焊接的304L GTA中的枝晶间热裂纹金属。本文简要介绍了奥氏体不锈钢中的热裂纹，并使用分形学证据证明了这种形式的裂纹已经发生。裂纹的产生主要是由于焊接装配和焊接实践中产生的过多残余约束应力，再加上最终关闭油箱的特定焊接顺序。