Abstract
A commercial 304 stainless steel alloy is laser-welded using a commercial welding process to join two sheets. The resulting mechanical properties of the welded joints are measured and compared to the reference bulk material. The welding process enables a ~ 40 pct increase in ductility in the material adjacent to the joint compared to unwelded specimens, without any loss in tensile strength. Characterization of the microstructures before, during, and after straining the welded joints suggests the welding process has influenced the deformation-induced phase transformation mechanisms within the material, enabling the laser-welded joint to limit the martensitic phase transformation and prolong the ability of the material to deform. The increase in ductility of the laser-welded joint is attributed to suppression of strain-induced twinning and thus limiting the subsequent α′ formation at higher elongations. This suppression is likely due to disparate grains sizes between the fusion zone and the parent bulk material.