Issues and Concern in Dissimilar Joining Including Additive Manufacturing with Specific Emphasis to Maraging Steels with other High-Strength Steels—A Comprehensive Review

Maraging steel has a wide variety of applications that include landing gear in aerospace to armed vehicles and ballistic protection in defense. This leads to considerable demand for development of appropriate processing routes that include joining methods of the same. One of the most complicated joining processes is dissimilar welding due to compositional and microstructural differences among the two materials that make the feasibility of joining/welding more complex. In this review, an attempt is made to review and analyze welding processes with respect to dissimilar welding of maraging steel. Further application of welding/joining in additive manufacturing of maraging steel is considered. Previous analysis of welding of maraging steel is incorporated in the study to understand the issues in similar joining as well. Research indicates that major issues lie on selection of filler material, heat input, metallurgical compatibility of two dissimilar materials, residual stress, and reverted austenite, among others. Researchers have postulated proper selection of parameters for dissimilar joining of maraging steel with high-strength steel like 300M, 316L SS, H13 tool steel, martensitic steel, austenitic steel, dual-phase steel etc. An attempt is made to postulate a theoretical framework for welding of maraging steel with other ultrahigh-strength steel in the end.