ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Characterization of residual stresses in dissimilar metal rotary friction welded pipes with and without an interlayer and dissimilar cladding

Abstract: Dissimilar metal welds are critical in the energy and petrochemical sectors, where high-strength low alloy (HSLA) steels are joined to ferritic or austenitic stainless steels. Conventional arc welding requires buttering layers to prevent heat-affected zone (HAZ) embrittlement but is slow, stress-inducing, and prone to brittle intermetallic formation. Post-weld heat treatment is often impractical for large components and ineffective when materials have different creep resistances. Solid-state processes such as rotary friction welding (RFW) offer a promising alternative, minimising residual stresses through uniform circumferential heating and reduced thermal gradients. Recent experiment (RB2500036) at Engin-X on solid cylinder specimens showed that RFW significantly lowers residual stresses compared with arc welds. Introducing a dissimilar interlayer prior to RFW can confine the HAZ within the interlayer, effectively converting a dissimilar joint into a similar one, while post-buttering heat treatment (PBHT) may further enhance performance. The proposed research will extend RFW from solid cylinders to full pipe welds, examining stress development and microstructural evolution in dissimilar pipe joints, with and without interlayers or internal cladding, to assess the feasibility of RFW for industrial-scale applications.

Principal Investigator: Dr John Francis
Local Contact: Dr Ruiyao Zhang
Experimenter: Mr Shixian Yue
Experimenter: Dr Robin Laurence

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2610398

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2610398

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr John Francis et al; (2026): Characterization of residual stresses in dissimilar metal rotary friction welded pipes with and without an interlayer and dissimilar cladding, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2610398

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.