Arc characteristics of submerged arc welding with stainless steel wire

The arc characteristics of submerged arc welding （SAW） with stainless steel wire were studied by using Analysator Hannover （AH）. The tests were carded out under the same preset arc voltage combined with different welding currents. By comparing the probability density distribution （PDD） curves of arc voltage and welding current, the changes were analyzed, the metal transfer mode in SAW was deduced, and the characteristics of a stable arc were summarized. The analysis results show that, with an increase of welding parameters, the short-circuiting peak in the PDD curves of arc voltage decreases gradually until it disappears, and the dominant metal transfer mode changes from flux-wall guided transfer to projected transfer and then to streaming transfer. Moreover, when the PDD curves of arc voltage are both unimodal and generally symmetrical, the greater the peak probability and the smaller the peak span, the more stable the arc becomes.

Effects of welding wire composition and welding process on the weld metal toughness of submerged arc welded pipeline steel

The effects of alloying elements in welding wires and submerged arc welding process on the microstructures and low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals have been investigated. The results indicate that the optimal contents of alloying elements in welding wires can improve the low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals because the proeutectoid ferrite and bainite formations can be suppressed, and the fraction of acicular ferrite increases. However, the contents of alloying elements need to vary along with the welding heat input. With the increase in welding heat input, the contents of alloying elements in welding wires need to be increased accordingly. The microstructures mainly consisting of acicular ferrite can be obtained in weld metals after four-wire submerged arc welding using the wires with a low carbon content and appropriate contents of Mn, Mo, Ti-B, Cu, Ni, and RE, resulting in the high low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals.

Optimization of gas tungsten arc welding parameters for the dissimilar welding between AISI 304 and AISI 201 stainless steels

This present study applied gas tungsten arc welding in order to join AISI 304 and AISI 201 stainless steels.The objective was to find the optimum welding condition that gave a weld bead in accordance with DIN EN ISO 25817 quality level B, pitting corrosion potential of the weld metal of not less than that of the AISI304 base metal and a ratio of delta-ferrite in austenite matrix of the weld metal of not lower than 3%.Such a ratio is a criterion widely accepted to protect the weld metal from solidification cracking. At the welding current of 75 A and by using pure argon as a shielding gas 0 to 8 vol.% and applying a welding speed in the range of 2-3.5 mm·s^(-1) was found to give a complete weld bead with an increased depthper-width ratio(promote weldability). For welding speed in the range of 3 and 3.5 mm·s^(-1)(promote corrosion resistance). Increasing the welding speed in such a range decreased the amount of delta-ferrite in the austenite matrix, and increased the pitting corrosion potential of the weld metal to be 302 mV_(SCE).This value was still lower than the pitting corrosion potential of the AISI 304 base metal. Mixing nitrogen in argon shielding gas increased the nitrogen content in the weld. The optimum condition was found when using a welding speed of 3 mm· s^(-1) and mixing 1 vol.% of nitrogen in the argon shielding gas(promote weldability and corrosion resistance). Pitted areas after potentiodynamic test were observed in the austenite in which its Cr content was relatively low.

Gas tungsten arc welding of CP-copper to 304 stainless steel using different filler materials

The dissimilar joining of CP-copper to 304 stainless steel was performed by gas tungsten arc welding process using different filler materials. The results indicated the formation of defect free joint by using copper filler material. But, the presence of some defects like solidification crack and lack of fusion caused decreasing tensile strength of other joints. In the optimum conditions, the tensile strength of the joint was 96% of the weaker material. Also, this joint was bent till to 180° without any macroscopic defects like separation, tearing or fracture. It was concluded that copper is a new and good candidate for gas tungsten arc welding of copper to 304 stainless steel.

The comparison of multi-layer narrow-gap laser and arc welding of S32101 duplex stainless steel

Multi-layer narrow-gap welding of thick S32101 duplex stainless steel was conducted using laser welding with beam wobble process.The phase transition,grain size,phase proportion and crystal texture of welded joint were also studied and compared with gas metal arc welding process.The microhardness and tensile strength were measured and fracture surface was analyzed to evaluate the mechanical properties of welded joints.The results showed that beam wobble technology improved the misalignment of laser beam and filler wire in narrow groove and helped to avoid incomplete fusion defects.Compared to arc welding process,the groove size and heat input were reduced,while welding efficiency was increased.The faster cooling rate and lower temperature gradient of laser wobble welding favored grain refinement,while the austenite content in weld zone decreased.Both the beam wobble and swing arc were conducive to stir weld pool,optimizing the weld microstructure and joint formation.The microstructural variance in various weld passes was caused by the heat input and heat dissipation ability.The microhardness of laser welded joint was lower,while the tensile strength and elongation percentage were higher.The fracture surface of arc welded joint was featured with shallower dimples and cleavage steps.

Microstructure of stainless steel weld in double-sided arc welding

Double-sided arc welding with a single power source can effectively increase the weld penetration, diminish distortion, improve welding speed and save energy. Compared to conventional arc welding processes, double-sided arc welding can generate a penetrating electromaguetic field to help to form fine dendritic microstrueture in the weld due to the symmetry of heating. Type 1Cr1SNi9Ti aastenitic stainless steel was bead-on-plate welded with double-sided arc welding and conventional plasma arc welding processes, respectively, and microstructure in the weld, heat-affected zone and base metal were examined. After analyzing the black carbon-enriched band in the weld during plasma arc welding with electron probe microanalyzer （ EPMA ） and X-ray diffraction （XRD） technology, it was found that the black band was shaped from the aggregation of ferrite in the fasion boundary. Hardness measurement showed that this black band does not apparently affect the microhardncss distribution in the weld.

Gas metal arc welding of duplex stainless clad steel plates

The 2205 duplex stainless ＋ DH36 clad steel plate was welded by gas metal arc welding（GMAW）, and the welding performance of the clad steel plate was investigated. The results show that the adaptability of the welding procedure for the base metal of carbon steel, the transition layer, and the cladding material is excellent. The test results indicate that the phase proportion and component dilution of the GMAW-welded joints of clad steel plate can be effectively controlled to yield joints with good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.

Welding of nickel free high nitrogen stainless steel: Microstructure and mechanical properties

High nitrogen stainless steel(HNS) is a nickel free austenitic stainless steel that is used as a structural component in defence applications for manufacturing battle tanks as a replacement of the existing armour grade steel owing to its low cost, excellent mechanical properties and better corrosion resistance.Conventional fusion welding causes problems like nitrogen desorption, solidification cracking in weld zone, liquation cracking in heat affected zone, nitrogen induced porosity and poor mechanical properties.The above problems can be overcome by proper selection and procedure of joining process. In the present work, an attempt has been made to correlate the microstructural changes with mechanical properties of fusion and solid state welds of high nitrogen steel. Shielded metal arc welding(SMAW), gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW), electron beam welding(EBW) and friction stir welding(FSW) processes were used in the present work. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction were used to characterize microstructural changes. Hardness, tensile and bend tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of welds. The results of the present investigation established that fully austenitic dendritic structure was found in welds of SMAW. Reverted austenite pools in the martensite matrix in weld zone and unmixed zones near the fusion boundary were observed in GTA welds. Discontinuous ferrite network in austenite matrix was observed in electron beam welds.Fine recrystallized austenite grain structure was observed in the nugget zone of friction stir welds.Improved mechanical properties are obtained in friction stir welds when compared to fusion welds. This is attributed to the refined microstructure consisting of equiaxed and homogenous austenite grains.

Tensile and Impact Properties of Shielded Metal Arc Welded AISI 409M Ferritic Stainless Steel Joints

The present study is concerned with the effect of filler metals such as austenitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel and duplex stainless steel on tensile and impact properties of the ferritic stainless steel conforming to AISI 409M grade. Rolled plates of 4 mm thickness were used as the base material for preparing single pass butt welded joints. Tensile and impact properties, microhardness, microstructure and fracture surface morphology of the joints fabricated by austenitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel and duplex stainless steel filler metals were evaluated and the results were reported. From this investigation, it is found that the joints fabricated by duplex stainless steel filler metal showed higher tensile strength and hardness compared to the joints fabricated by austenitic and ferritic stainless steel filler metals. Joints fabricated by austenitic stainless steel filler metal exhibited higher ductility and impact toughness compared with the joints fabricated by ferritic stainless steel and duplex stainless steel filler metals.

Effect of the heat input on microstructure and properties of submerged arc welded joint of 08Cr19MnNi3Cu2N stainless steel

SAW308L submerged arc welding wire and SJ601A submerged arc welding flux were selected to weld the 12 mm 08Cr19MnNi3Cu2N low nickel and high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel plates with three different welding heat input,and microstructure,tensile properties,microhardness and corrosion properties of the welded joints were studied.The results show that no defects are found in the three groups of welded joints,and the welded joints have better performance.The tensile strength of 08Cr19MnNi3Cu2N stainless steel welded joints with different heat input is slightly lower than that of the base metal,and fracture occurs in the weld zone,and the hardness of the weld zone is lower than that of the base metal.The weld microstructure of stainless steel welded joints with different heat input is composed of austenite+δferrite,and ferrite is uniformly distributed in austenite.With the increase of the welding heat input,the ferrite content in the weld zone decrease gradually,the grain size in the thermal affected zone increase gradually,and the impact toughness reduce.

Research on submerged arc welding wire for X100 pipeline steel

According to the study of the microstructure and properties of X100 pipeline steel, the welding consumable-wire based on Mn-Ni-Mo-B-Ti alloy system was successfully designed and developed. The yield strength of the deposited metal of the developed welding wire was 695 MPa, the tensile strength was 810 MPa, and Charpy impact energy was 92 J at negative 20 ℃ when matching with BSG-SJ101H1 sintered flux. The results of the weldability test for X100 pipeline steel which adopting this developed wire showed that the tensile strength of the weld was 827 MPa, 185 J of Charpy impact energy（ -10 ℃ ） , 97% of section of shear and the weld had good strength and toughness matching when the welding speed got to 1.7 m/min. The microstructure and fracture appearance of the weld were analyzed by using metallographic microscope, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and laser confocal microscope, the results indicated that the microstructure was mainly granular bainite in the weld metal, and the fracture was dimple with 200 - 300 μm depth presenting a typical ductile fracture characteristics. The test of welding wire with different content of Ni and Cr element indicated that Ni was better than Cr in improving the strength and toughness of weld metal.

Feasibility of surface-coated friction stir welding tools to join AISI 304grade austenitic stainless steel

An attempt is made to develop the tools that are capable enough to withstand the shear, impact and thermal forces that occur during friction stir welding of stainless steels. The atmospheric plasma spray and plasma transferred arc hardfacing processes are employed to deposit refractory ceramic based composite coatings on the Inconel 738 alloy. Five different combinations of self-fluxing alloy powder and 60% ceramic reinforcement particulate mixtures are used for coating. The best friction stir welding tool selected based on tool wear analysis is used to fabricate the austenitic stainless steel joints.

Microstructure and pitting corrosion of shielded metal arc welded high nitrogen stainless steel

The present work is aimed at studying the microstructure and pitting corrosion behaviour of shielded metal arc welded high nitrogen steel made of Cromang-N electrode. Basis for selecting this electrode is to increase the solubility of nitrogen in weld metal due to high chromium and manganese content. Microscopic studies were carried out using optical microscopy(OM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM). Energy back scattered diffraction(EBSD) method was used to determine the phase analysis, grain size and orientation image mapping. Potentio-dynamic polarization testing was carried out to study the pitting corrosion resistance in aerated 3.5% NaCl environment using a GillAC electrochemical system. The investigation results showed that the selected Cr-Mn-N type electrode resulted in a maximum reduction in delta-ferrite and improvement in pitting corrosion resistance of the weld zone was attributed to the coarse austenite grains owing to the reduction in active sites of the austenite/delta ferrite interface and the decrease in galvanic interaction between austenite and delta-ferrite.

Research on porosity of underwater wet FCAW duplex stainless steel

To study the influence laws of welding parameters on weld porosity, underwater wet flux-cored arc welding （ FCAW） duplex stainless steel S32101 was carried out in a hyperbaric chamber, and the second-order multiple regression equation was established. The interactive effects of welding parameters on the porosity were analyzed by the three dimensional response surfaces and the contour plots. The results present that the interaction effect between water depth and voltage on the porosity is the most significant. Theoretically, a non-pores weld bead can be gained by reasonably matching these parameters with water depth less than 10 m. Always, the weld porosity reaches its peak value with a 7 mm/s welding speed.

Study on Factors Effecting Weld Pool Geometry of Pulsed Current Micro Plasma Arc Welded AISI 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel Sheets Using Statistical Approach

Pulsed current Micro Plasma Arc Welding is used to joint thin sheets of AISI 304L sheets, which are used in manufacturing of metallic bellows and diaphragms. In this article the effects of pulsing current parameters on weld pool geometry namely front width, back width, front height and back height of pulsed current micro plasma arc welded AISI 304L stainless steel sheets was analyzed. Four factors, five levels, central composite design was used to develop mathematical models, incorporating pulsed current parameters and weld pool geometry. The mathematical models have been developed by Response Surface Method. The adequacy of the models was checked by ANOVA technique. Variation of output responses with input process variables are discussed. By using the developed mathematical models, weld pool geometry parameters can be predicted.

Effect of activating flux on arc shape and arc voltage in tungsten inert gas welding

The effects of activating fluxes on welding arc were investigated. A special set of water-cooling system and stainless steel were used as parent material. During welding process, high-speed camera system and oscillograph were used for capturing instantaneous arc shape and arc voltage respectively. The experimental results indicate that the SiO2 flux can increase the arc voltage, while TiO2 has no this effect on arc voltage. Compared with conventional tungsten inert gas welding (C-TIG), it is found that the arc shape of A-TIG welding used with the SiO2 flux has changed obviously.

Effect of welding processes and consumables on fatigue crack growth behaviour of armour grade quenched and tempered steel joints

Quenched and Tempered(Q&T) steels are widely used in the construction of military vehicles due to its high strength to weight ratio and high hardness. These steels are prone to hydrogen induced cracking(HIC) in the heat affected zone(HAZ) after welding. The use of austenitic stainless steel(ASS) consumables to weld the above steel was the only available remedy because of higher solubility for hydrogen in austenitic phase. The use of stainless steel consumables for a non-stainless steel base metal is not economical. Hence, alternate consumables for welding Q&T steels and their vulnerability to HIC need to be explored. Recent studies proved that low hydrogen ferritic steel(LHF) consumables can be used to weld Q&T steels, which can give very low hydrogen levels in the weld deposits. The use of ASS and LHF consumables will lead to distinct microstructures in their respective welds. This microstructural heterogeneity will have a drastic influence in the fatigue crack growth resistance of armour grade Q&T steel welds. Hence, in this investigation an attempt has been made to study the influence of welding consumables and welding processes on fatigue crack growth behaviour of armour grade Q&T Steel joints. Shielded metal arc welding(SMAW) and Flux cored arc welding(FCAW) were used for fabrication of joints using ASS and LHF consumables. The joints fabricated by SMAW process using LHF consumable exhibited superior fatigue crack growth resistance than all other joints.

Effect of shielding gas on microstructure and properties of GTAW joints of 2205 duplex stainless steel

2205 duplex stainless steels （ DSSs） are welded in gas tungsten arc welding （GTAW） with the addition of N2 to argon, and the desirable microstructure and properties of the joints are obtained by altering the nitrogen percentage in the shielding gas mixture. The mechanical properties of joints are tested with tensile and microhardness machine, and the joint micrustructure is analyzed with scanning electron microscope （SEM） and optical microscope （ OM ） , and detrimental phase precipitate is investigated with X-ray diffraction （XRD）, respectively. Finally, the corrosion behaviour of joint is also evaluated. Results show that the favorable joint strength and corrosion resistance can be obtained with appropriate shielding gas mixture in GTA W. No detrimental phase precipitates in the weldment, and the joint tensile fracture obviously presents the characteristic of ductile fracture.

Mechanical and corrosion properties of 445J2 ultra pure ferritic stainless steel joint

The microstracture, mechanical and corrosion resistance properties of 445J2 ultra pure ferritic stainless steel thin plate joints conducted by the pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding （PCGTAW） were discussed in this paper. In order to avoid weld defects, the appropriate welding process was adjusted. The joints were subjected to optical microscopy, transverse static tensile, plastic deformation, intergranular corrosion and electrochemistry corrosion tests. The results indicated that the weld zone （WZ） is characterized with columnar grains and equiaxed grains and the heat-affected zone （HAZ） shows coarse ferrite grains due to the rapid solidification of thin plate welding. The PCGTAW joint exhibited acceptable mechanical properties and equivalent corrosion resistance properties as the base metal.

Comparison of microstructure and properties between joints of FSW and TIG 316L austenitic stainless steel

FSW and TIG were conducted on 316L stainless steel.Variation during microstructure and properties in joints obtained by different welding methods was studied.The results show that the effect of severe mechanical stirring and intense plastic deformation creat a fine recrystallized grain in the welding joint during FSW.As for TIG,the temperature of welding joint exceeds the melting point of welded material itself.The entire welding process belongs to the solidification of a small molten pool;and the microstructure of the joint takes on a typical casting structure.When the welding parameters were selected appropriately,the average ultimate tensile strength of FSW joints can reach 493 MPa,which is 83.6%of base metal;the average elongation is 52.1%of base metal.The average ultimate tensile strength of TIG joints is 475 MPa, which is 80.5%of base metal;the average elongation is 40.8%of base metal.The tensile test of FSW joints is superior to the TIG joints.The microhardness of FSW joint compared to base metal and TIG joint having a significant improvement,which arel95.5 HV,159.7 HV and 160.7 HV,respectively;grain refinement strengthening plays an important role in enhancing the microhardness.The electrochemical corrosion tests show that the joint of FSW 316L austenitic stainless steel has a good corrosion resistance.