Abstract: | Tensile strength variation across 316LN stainless steel fusion welded joint comprising of base metal, deposited weld metal and heat affected zone (HAZ) has been evaluated by Automated Ball Indentation (ABI) technique. Automated Ball Indentation tests were conducted on the various zones of the steel weld joint at 300, 523 and 923?K. The flow curves obtained from ABI results were consistent with corresponding conventional uniaxial tensile test results. The HAZ exhibited higher tensile strength than the other regions of the steel weld joint at all investigated temperatures. The ratio of ultimate tensile strength to yield stress (YS), which represents the work hardening behaviour, increased with an increase in temperature for the base metal and HAZ; whereas it remained nearly the same for the weld metal. |