Zirconium

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Looking for information on welding with zirconium. I have a project that requires GMAW (auto-mig) welding on 2205 base metal.
Reply:???2205 duplex stainless steel?Zirconium alloys usually are numbered 70x.So what are you asking?  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:We have a customer that is asking us to perform Weld Overlay on a 2205 base metal vessel using zirconium. We perform weld overlay for vessels using our own designed advance automated mig equipment. This is an alloy we have not used before and in most cases zirconium is welded using a Tig process. Just want to see if anybody out there has had luck using mig. The area is approx. 200 ft² of the sidewall and the bottom 2:1 head so the Tig process wouldn’t really apply to this application!
Reply:Are there any postweld chemistry/corrosion requirements?
Reply:The prospects don't appear at all favorable for your dissimilar weld.Quote from source below:  "In general, zirconium cannot be fusion-welded to most other common construction metals such as copper, nickel, or iron. Zirconium forms brittle intermetallic compounds with these alloys—compounds that result in cracking. The exceptions to this rule are other reactive or refractory metals, including titanium, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, hafnium, and other zirconium alloys "http://www.thefabricator.com/article...rconium-alloys
Reply:Like pulser said, Nope.Make the vessel out of the desired appropriate material.  Overlaying a weld deposit of zirconium onto a base of 2205 just isn't going to work.  Add in as well that zirconium needs some really-really-really good shielding gas coverage (main gas, trailing gas, back-side gas, the whole shebang) during welding (which is usually going to be done via GTAW, as you know) and you just aren't going to weld zirconium via GMAW and especially not onto a dissimilar base of 2205 stainless.Good find on the article pulser.    The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...