Effect of silicon on the solidification cracking behavior and metastable carbide formation in austenitic high Mn steel welds

Addition of 1.5 wt.% Si into Fe–18Mn–0.6C steel noticeably increased the tendency of solidification cracking. Extensive segregation of Si at the dendritic and grain boundaries suppressed the formation of (Fe,Mn) 3 C eutectic carbide during solidification. On the other hand, Si segregation led to the formation of a metastable carbides consisting of a mixture of (Fe,Mn) 5 SiC and (Fe,Mn) 23 C 6 .