Nitrogen retention/enrichment of 316LN austenitic stainless steel welds

The development of nitrogen enriched austenitic stainless steels has been a source of recent interest due to the abundant availability of nitrogen and by the manner in which nitrogen contributes several beneficial material property effects over a wide service temperature range. It is widely recognised that, in the case of nitrogen enriched 316L, improvements in mechanical property and corrosion resistance are derived from the interstitial influence of nitrogen within the matrix. Consequently, having the best combination of strength, toughness and corrosion resistance relationships found in any group of steels, nitrogen strengthened austenitic stainless steels have tremendous scope for application in areas as diverse as the cryogenic, nuclear, power generation and chemical transportation industries.