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INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 8249

Third edition
2018-07

Welding — Determination of Ferrite

Number (FN) in austenitic and duplex
ferritic-austenitic Cr-Ni stainless steel
weld metals
Soudage — Détermination de l'indice de ferrite (FN) dans le
métal fondu en acier inoxydable austénitique et duplex ferritique-
austénitique au chrome-nickel

Reference number
ISO 8249:2018(E)

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


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© ISO 2018
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Published in Switzerland

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


Contents Page

Foreword......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................v
1 Scope.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
4 Principle......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
5 Calibration................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
5.1 Coating thickness standards........................................................................................................................................................ 2
5.2 Magnet............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
5.3 Instruments................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
5.4 Calibration curve.................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
6 Standard method for covered electrode test pads............................................................................................................. 5
6.1 Dimensions of weld metal test specimens....................................................................................................................... 5
6.2 Depositing weld metal test specimens................................................................................................................................ 5
6.3 Measuring..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
6.3.1 Surface finishing................................................................................................................................................................ 6
6.3.2 Individual measurements......................................................................................................................................... 6
6.3.3 Reporting................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
7 Standard methods for test pads of other processes and for production welds................................... 7
7.1 Standard method for test pads for other weld metals........................................................................................... 7
7.2 Production welds................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
8 Other methods......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
8.1 Methods.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
8.2 Maintaining calibration.................................................................................................................................................................... 8
9 Procedures used to prepare secondary standards for delta ferrite in austenitic
stainless steel weld metal............................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Annex A (informative) Manufacture of secondary standards by strip cladding...................................................... 9
Annex B (informative) Manufacture of secondary standards by centrifugal chill casting.........................19
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 27

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www​.iso​.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www​.iso​.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www​.iso​
.org/iso/foreword​.html.
This document was prepared by IIW, the International Institute of Welding, Commission II.
Any feedback, question or request for official interpretation related to any aspect of this document
should be directed to IIW via your national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be
found at www​.iso​.org/members​.html.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 8249:2000), which has been technically
revised. The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— corrections have been made to Table 2 (previously Table 1);
— minor editorial changes in Clause  9 (previously Clause  8) and throughout the document have
been made.

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


Introduction
At present, there is no universal opinion concerning the best experimental method that gives an absolute
measurement of the amount of ferrite in a weld metal, either destructively or non-destructively. This
situation has led to the development and use, internationally, of the concept of a "Ferrite Number" or FN.
A Ferrite Number is a description of the ferrite content of a weld metal determined using a standardized
procedure. Such procedures are laid down in this document. The Ferrite Number of a weld metal has
been considered approximately equivalent to the percentage ferrite content, particularly at low FN
values. More recent information suggests that the FN can overstate the volume percent ferrite at higher
FN by a factor in the order of 1,3 to 1,5, which depends to a certain extent on the actual composition of
the alloy in question.
Although other methods are available for determining the Ferrite Number, the standardized measuring
procedure, laid down in this document, is based on assessing the tear-off force needed to pull the weld
metal sample from a magnet of defined strength and size. The relationship between tear-off force and
FN is obtained using primary standards consisting of a non-magnetic coating of specified thickness on
a magnetic base. Each non-magnetic coating thickness is assigned an FN value.
The ferrite content determined by this method is arbitrary and is not necessarily the true or absolute
ferrite content. In recognition of this fact, the term "Ferrite Number" (FN) is used instead of "ferrite per
cent" when quoting a ferrite content determined by this method. To help convey the message that this
standardized calibration procedure has been used, the terms "Ferrite Number" and "FN" are capitalized
as proper nouns.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 8249:2018(E)

Welding — Determination of Ferrite Number (FN) in

austenitic and duplex ferritic-austenitic Cr-Ni stainless
steel weld metals

1 Scope
This document specifies the method and apparatus for:
— the measurement of the delta ferrite content, expressed as Ferrite Number (FN), in largely austenitic
and duplex ferritic-austenitic stainless steel1) weld metal through the attractive force between a
weld metal sample and a standard permanent magnet;
— the preparation and measurement of standard pads for manual metal arc covered electrodes. The
general method is also recommended for the ferrite measurement of production welds and for weld
metal from other processes, such as gas tungsten arc welding, gas shielded metal arc welding and
submerged arc welding (in these cases, the way of producing the pad should be defined);
— the calibration of other instruments to measure FN.
The method laid down in this document is intended for use on weld metals in the as-welded state and
on weld metals after thermal treatments causing complete or partial transformation of ferrite to any
non-magnetic phase. Austenitizing thermal treatments which alter the size and shape of the ferrite
change the magnetic response of the ferrite.
The method is not intended for measurement of the ferrite content of cast, forged or wrought austenitic
or duplex ferritic-austenitic steel samples.

2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.

3 Terms and definitions

No terms and definitions are listed in this document.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:​//www​.iso​.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:​//www​.electropedia​.org/

4 Principle
The measurement of the ferrite content of largely austenitic stainless steel weld metal through the
attractive force between a weld metal sample and a permanent magnet is based on the fact that the
attractive force between a two-phase (or multiphase) sample containing one ferromagnetic phase
and one (or more) non-ferromagnetic phase(s) increases as the content of the ferromagnetic phase
increases. In largely austenitic and duplex ferritic-austenitic stainless steel weld metal, ferrite is
magnetic, whereas austenite, carbides, sigma phase and inclusions are non-ferromagnetic.

1) The term "austenitic-ferritic (duplex) stainless steel" is sometimes applied in place of "duplex ferritic-austenitic
stainless steel".

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


5 Calibration

5.1 Coating thickness standards

The coating thickness standards shall consist of non-magnetic copper applied to an unalloyed steel
base of size 30 mm × 30 mm. The thickness of the unalloyed steel base shall be equal to or greater than
the experimentally determined minimum thickness at which a further increase of the thickness does
not cause an increase of the attractive force between the standard permanent magnet and the coating
thickness standard. The thickness of the non-magnetic copper coating shall be known to an accuracy of
±5 % or better. The chemical composition of unalloyed steel shall be within the limits given in Table 1.

Table 1 — Chemical composition limits – unalloyed steel

Element Limit
% (by mass)
C 0,08 to 0,13
Si 0,10 maximum
Mn 0,30 to 0,60
P 0,040 maximum
S 0,050 maximum

The copper coating may be covered by a chromium flash. The force required to tear off a given
permanent magnet from the copper coating side of such a standard increases as the thickness of the
copper coating decreases.
To ensure adequate reproducibility of the calibration, the coating thickness standards defined above
should be used. In particular, coating thickness standards produced by the US National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST, formerly National Bureau of Standards or NBS) may be used.

5.2 Magnet
The standard magnet shall be a permanent magnet of cylindrical shape, 2 mm in diameter and about
50  mm in length. One end of the magnet shall be hemispherical, with a 1  mm radius and polished.
As an example, such a magnet can be made of 36  % cobalt magnet steel, 48,45  mm  ±  0,05  mm long,
magnetically saturated and then diluted to 85 %. The magnetic strength of the magnet shall be such
that the force needed to tear off the standard magnet from the different coating thickness standards
is within ±10  % of the relationship shown in Figure 1 (the weight of the magnet excluded). This is
equivalent to a relationship between tear-off force and Ferrite Number of 5,0 FN/g ± 0,5 FN/g.

5.3 Instruments
The measurement by this method shall be made by an instrument enabling an increasing tear-off force
to be applied to the magnet perpendicularly to the surface of the test specimen. The tear-off force shall
be increased until the permanent magnet is detached from the test specimen. The instrument shall
accurately measure the tear-off force which is required for detachment. The reading of the instrument
may be directly in FN or in grams-force or in other units. If the reading of the instrument is in units
other than FN, the relationship between the FN and the instrument reading shall be defined by a
calibration curve.
NOTE Many instruments used to measure the thickness of a non-magnetic coating over a ferromagnetic
base are suitable (e.g. MAGNE-GAGE of USA origin) and some commercially available instruments are designed
directly for measurement of ferrite content (e.g. ALPHA-PHASE-METER of former USSR origin). In addition, after
suitable in-house alterations, some laboratory balances can be used.

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


Key
x non-magnetic coating thickness, millimetres (mm)
y tear-off force, gram force (gf)

Figure 1 — Relationship between the tear-off forces of the standard magnet defined in 5.2 and
the coating thickness standards defined in 5.1

5.4 Calibration curve

In order to generate a calibration curve, determine the force needed to tear off the standard magnet
defined in 5.2 from several coating thickness standards defined in 5.1. Then, convert the thickness
of non-magnetic coating of the coating thickness standards into FN in accordance with Table 2, or in
accordance with Formula (1)[4]:
FN = exp{1,805 9 −1,118 86 [ln(t)] − 0,177 40 [ln(t)]2 − 0,035 02 [ln(t)]3 − 0,003 67 [ln(t)]4} (1)

where t is the non-magnetic coating thickness, expressed in millimetres.

Finally, plot the calibration curve as the relationship between the tear-off force in the units of the
instrument reading and the corresponding FN.
To calibrate the instrument for measurement of ferrite content within the range from 0  FN to
approximately 30 FN, which is appropriate for nominally austenitic stainless steel weld metals, a set

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


consisting of a minimum of eight standards with copper coating thicknesses between approximately
0,17 mm and approximately 2 mm is recommended.
NOTE This calibration procedure can give misleading results if used on instruments measuring the ferrite
content in ways other than through the attractive force or on instruments measuring ferrite through the
attractive force but employing other than the standard magnet defined in 5.2. Instruments which cannot be
calibrated by the coating thickness standards and by the procedure specified in 5.2 to 5.4 can be calibrated as
described in Clause 8.

To extend the calibration from approximately 30 FN to 100 FN, which is appropriate for duplex ferritic-
austenitic stainless steel weld metals, a set consisting of a minimum of five standards with coating
thicknesses between 0,03 mm and 0,17 mm is recommended.

Table 2 — Relationship between Ferrite Number and thickness of non-magnetic coating of
coating thickness standards (specified in 5.1) for calibration of instruments for measurement
of ferrite content through attractive force (specified in 5.3) using the standard magnet
(specified in 5.2)
Coating Coating Coating Coating Coating
thickness thickness thickness thickness thickness
FN FN FN FN FN
t t t t t
mm mm mm mm mm
0,020 110,5 0,049 68,3 0,078 51,0 0,134 35,3 0,300 19,1
0,021 108,0 0,050 67,5 0,079 50,6 0,136 34,9 0,320 18,1
0,022 105,7 0,051 66,7 0,080 50,2 0,138 34,5 0,340 17,2
0,023 103,4 0,052 65,9 0,082 49,3 0,140 34,2 0,360 16,4
0,024 101,3 0,053 65,1 0,084 48,6 0,142 33,8 0,380 15,7
0,025 99,2 0,054 64,4 0,086 47,8 0,144 33,5 0,400 15.0
0,026 97,3 0,055 63,7 0,088 47,1 0,146 33,2 0,420 14,4
0,027 95,4 0,056 63,0 0,090 46,4 0,148 32,8 0,440 13,8
0,028 93,6 0,057 62,3 0,092 45,7 0,150 32,5 0,460 13,2
0,029 91,9 0,058 61,6 0,094 45,1 0,155 31,7 0,480 12,7
0,030 90,3 0,059 60,9 0,096 44,4 0,160 31,0 0,500 12,3
0,031 88,7 0,060 60,3 0,098 43,8 0,165 30,3 0,550 11,2
0,032 87,2 0,061 59,7 0,100 43,2 0,170 29,7 0,600 10,3
0,033 85,8 0,062 59,1 0,102 42,6 0,175 29,0 0,650 9,6
0,034 84,4 0,063 58,5 0,104 42,1 0,180 28,4 0,700 8,9
0,035 83,0 0,064 57,9 0,106 41,5 0,185 27,9 0,750 8,3
0,036 81,7 0,065 57,3 0,108 41,0 0,190 27,3 0,800 7,7
0,037 80,5 0,066 56,8 0,110 40,5 0,195 26,8 0,900 6,8
0,038 79,3 0,067 56,2 0,112 40,0 0,200 26,3 1,000 6,1
0,039 78,1 0,068 55,7 0,114 39,5 0,205 25,8 1,200 4,93
0,040 77,0 0,069 55,2 0,116 39,0 0,210 25,3 1,400 4,09
0,041 75,9 0,070 54,7 0,118 38,6 0,220 24,4 1,600 3,45
0,042 74,8 0,071 54,2 0,120 38,1 0,230 23,6 1,800 2,94
0,043 73,8 0,072 53,7 0,122 37,7 0,240 22,8 2,000 2,54
0,044 72,8 0,073 53,2 0,124 37,2 0,250 22,1 2,200 2,21
0,045 71,8 0,074 52,8 0,126 36,8 0,260 21,4 2,400 1,94

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ISO 8249:2018(E)


Table 2 (continued)
Coating Coating Coating Coating Coating
thickness thickness thickness thickness thickness
FN FN FN FN FN
t t t t t
mm mm mm mm mm
0,046 70,9 0,075 52,3 0,128 36,4 0,270 20,8 2,600 1,72
0,047 70,0 0,076 51,9 0,130 36,0 0,280 20,2 2,800 1,53
0,048 69,1 0,077 51,4 0,132 35,6 0,290 19,6 3,000 1,36

6 Standard method for covered electrode test pads

6.1 Dimensions of weld metal test specimens

Standard weld metal test specimens for manual electrodes shall be of the size and shape indicated
in Figure 2. For the measurement of ferrite content by instruments/magnets or processes other than
those specified in 5.2 and 5.3, a larger specimen can be necessary. In such cases, the size and way of
producing the pad shall be clearly and carefully defined.

6.2 Depositing weld metal test specimens

a) The weld pad shall be built up between two copper bars laid parallel on the base plate. Spacing
shall be adjusted to accommodate the electrode size to be used as specified in Table 3.
b) The weld pad shall be built up by depositing layers one on top of the other to a minimum height
of 12,5  mm (see the Note on Figure 2). Each layer shall be made in a single pass for electrode
diameters ≥4 mm. For small diameters, each layer except the top layer shall be constituted by two
or more beads deposited with a maximum weave of 3 times the core wire diameter. The arc shall
not be allowed to come into contact with the copper bar.
Dimension in millimetres

Key
1 copper bar of dimensions 70 × 25 × 25
l length of the area where ferrite content is measured (see Table 3)
w width of the area where ferrite content is measured (see Table 3)

NOTE The base metal is preferably austenitic Cr-Ni steel type X2CrNi18-9 or X5CrNi18-9 (see ISO  15510)
and, in this case, the minimum pad height is 13 mm. Mild steel (C-Mn steel) can also be used and, in this case, the
minimum pad height is 18 mm.

Figure 2 — Weld metal specimen for ferrite determination

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