A study on mechanical and microstructure characteristics of the STS304L butt joints using hybrid CO2 laser-gas metal arc welding

In order to examine mechanical characteristics of the stainless steel (STS304L) hybrid welded butt joints, two-dimensional thermal elasto-plastic analysis has been carried out. To this end, a 2D simulation model has been developed considering hybrid welding features. Based on thermal history data obtained from this heat source model, the residual stress distribution in weld metal (WM), heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal (BM) characteristics have been calculated and found to be in reasonable agreement with the experimentally measured values. In order to investigate the effect of welding process, thermal elasto-plastic behaviour of the hybrid welded joints was compared with a welded joints obtained by conventional submerged arc welding (SAW) process. The results show that the longitudinal residual stress in the hybrid welded joints is less (13–15%) than that of the SA welded joints. Weld metal formed in both welding processes shows very fine dendritic structure. Due to higher heat input in SAW, the HAZ size of the SA welded joints is more than twice that of the hybrid welded joints. Therefore, from mechanical and metallurgical point of view, it could be confirmed that it makes a good sense to use SAW instead of hybrid CO₂ laser-gas metal arc welding (GMAW) for butt joint of the STS304L thick steel.     

A study of the residual stress and deformation in the welding between half-pipe jacket and shell

Half-pipe jacketed vessels are widely used as the heating or cooling structure in the chemical industries. But the leakage of the welding joint between the jacket and cylinder is a big problem, which is greatly affected by the residual stress and deformation. This paper presents a finite element analysis of residual stress and deformation induced by welding half-pipe jacket to shell, and the effects of heat input, cooling inside the shell and welding sequence on residual stress have been discussed. It is found that large longitudinal stress is generated in the weld metal. Due to the local weld heating, the jacket and shell become un-circle. A wave shape of stress along the circumferential of shell is generated. With the heat input increase, the residual stress and ellipticity increase linearly. On the premise of entire penetration welding, smaller heat input should be used to avoid too big deformation. Filling the shell with cooling water can decrease the residual stress and ellipticity during the welding, and welding the two joints of one jacket simultaneously is also available, which provides a reference for the welding of half-pipe jacket.     

Numerical and experiment analysis of residual stress on magnesium alloy and steel butt joint by hybrid laser-TIG welding

Hybrid welding technology has received significant attention in the welding of dissimilar materials recently. While, great welding residual stress and deformation often result by the difference of coefficient of thermal expansion This study describes the thermal elastic–plastic analysis using finite element techniques to analyze the thermo mechanical behavior and evaluate the residual stresses and welding distortion on the AZ31B magnesium alloy and 304L steel butt joint in laser-TIG hybrid welding. A new coupled heat source model was developed which combined by double-elliptic planar distribution, double-ellipsoid body distribution and Rotary–Gauss body distribution model. From the results, it can be concluded that the temperature distribution at the hybrid weld region is exposed to faster rate of heating and cooling in hybrid welding than TIG. Furthermore, compared to the welding stress distribution on the TIG weld, residual stress σ_y is found about 20% higher on hybrid weld joints, and the residual stress on the 304L steel plate is lower than that on the AZ31B magnesium plate.     

钛合金薄板激光和钨极氩弧焊残余应力测试研究

采用小孔释放法对钛合金薄板激光焊和钨极氩弧焊(TIG焊)的焊接残余应力进行了测试，并分析了焊接方法、焊接线能量和焊后热处理对残余应力分布规律的影响。研究结果表明：激光焊残余应力分布规律与普通熔焊方法相似，但其分布区域较窄；在热影响区内，激光焊残余拉应力值比TIG焊的约低100MPa；在焊缝及其熔合线附近，激光焊残余应力却比TIG焊的高。对于不同线能量激光焊接，线能量越大，焊缝越宽，热影响区的残余应力也越大。焊后真空热处理能降低残余应力90％。     

Comparative study on CO2 laser overlap welding and resistance spot welding for galvanized steel

The CO₂ laser overlap welding and the resistance spot welding are respectively investigated on DC56D galvanized steel used for auto body. The characteristics of the two types of welding methods are systematically analyzed in terms of the weld molding, tensile-shear performance, microstructure, hardness, and corrosion resistance of welding joint. The results show that, the fusion widths of the upper and lower surface are almost the same for the resistance welding joint, and the weld nugget is surrounded by the heat-affected zone. While the laser welding joint belongs to deep penetration welding, the weld fusion width presents wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and the heat-affected zone is situated on both sides of the weld pool. Compared with resistance spot welding joint, laser welding joints have much more ultrafine microstructures, much smaller heat-affected zones, as well as greater resistance to deformation and corrosion. In addition, the tensile-shear performance of laser weld joints is superior to that of resistance welding joints under certain conditions.     

Effect of welding procedure on wear behaviour of a modified martensitic tool steel hardfacing deposit

In the last years hardfacing became an issue of intense development related to wear resistant applications. Welding deposits can functionalize surfaces and reclaim components extending their service life. Tool steels are widely used in hardfacing deposits to provide improved wear properties. Nevertheless systematic studies of wear behaviour of new alloys deposited by hardfacing, under different service conditions are scarce. In this work the effects of shielding gas, heat input and post-weld heat treatment on the microstructural evolution and wear resistance of a modified AISI H13 martensitic tool steel deposited by semi-automatic gas shielded arc welding process using a tubular metal-cored wire, were studied. Four coupons were welded with different welding parameters. The shielding gases used were Ar–2% CO₂ and Ar–20% CO₂ mixtures and two levels of heat input were selected: 2 and 3 kJ/mm. The as welded and 550 °C–2 h post-weld heat treated conditions were considered. From these coupons, samples were extracted for testing metal–metal wear under condition of pure sliding with a load of 500 N. Chemical compositions were determined; microstructure and microhardness were assessed. It was found that content of retained austenite in the microstructure varied with the welding condition and that heat-treated samples showed secondary hardening, associated with precipitation phenomena. Nevertheless, as welded samples showed higher wear resistance than heat treated specimens. Under these test conditions post-weld heat treatment led to a reduction in wear resistance. The best wear behaviour was observed in samples welded with low heat input and under the lowest oxygen potential shielding gas used here, in the as welded condition. The intervening mechanism was mild oxidative. These results were explained in terms of the relative oxidation resistance stemming from different welding conditions.     

Microstructural and mechanical characterization of laser-beam welding of a 8090 Al-Li thin sheet

In extension to a previous study on electron-beam welding (EBW) under vacuum on a 8090 thin sheet, the current paper reports the parallel results of laser-beam welding (LBW) of the same material. Autogenous bead-on-plate laser-beam welding was performed by a 3 kW CO₂ LBW machine. The power of the input laser beam, the specimen moving speed, and the focusing condition was varied from 700 to 1300 W, 1500 to 9000 mm min^–1 and 1 to 3 mm below the specimen top surface, respectively. The protection atmosphere and plasma jet were achieved by blowing either Ar or N₂ gas. The effects of using different gases were evaluated in terms of weld-line appearance, fusion-zone dimension, solute evaporation, microhardness, post-weld tensile properties, as well as porosity distribution. In comparing with the EBW results, LBW on the 8090 alloy was characterized with a higher fusion-zone depth/width ratio, cooling rate and porosity amount, and a lower solute loss and post-weld tensile strain. The primary formation mechanism for porosity was thought to be related to the collapsed key-holes during LBW under Ar or N₂ and the hydride-induced gas pores during EBW under vacuum.     

Hybrid fiber laser – Arc welding of thick section high strength low alloy steel

Hybrid laser – metal active gas (MAG) arc welding is an emerging joining technology that is very promising for shipbuilding applications. This technique combines the synergistic qualities of the laser and MAG arc welding techniques, which permits a high energy density process with fit-up gap tolerance. As the heat input of hybrid laser – arc welding (HLAW) is greater than in laser welding, but much smaller than in MAG arc welding, a relatively narrow weld and restricted heat affected zone (HAZ) is obtained, which can minimize the residual stress and distortion. Furthermore, adding MAG arc can increase the penetration depth for a given laser power, which can translate to faster welding speeds or fewer number of passes necessary for one-sided welding of thick plates. In this work, a new hybrid fiber laser – arc welding system was successfully applied to fully penetrate 9.3 mm thick butt joints using a single-pass process through optimization of the groove shape, size and processing parameters.     

Arc ignition of CWW CO2 welding in A36 steel

In gas metal arc welding, arc ignition significantly influences arc stability, droplet transfer, and the quality of welded joints. Cable-type welding wire (CWW) CO₂ welding is an innovative welding method. This paper analyzes the arc ignition procedure for this type of welding based on experiments with three different wire end conditions: an unsmooth wire end, a smooth wire end, and a preheated smooth wire end. Smaller contact areas between the CWW and the workpiece led to higher arc ignition currents, and higher wire tip temperatures led to shorter arc ignition times (AITs) with the same chemical composition, diameter, and extension. Based on the characteristics of the welding wire end structures and the contact resistance between the CWW and workpiece, a suitable mathematical model of the AIT was developed. The model was validated using experimental arc ignition images. The AITs for the unsmooth smooth and preheated smooth wire ends were 14, 20, and 11?ms, respectively, essentially consistent with the model calculations.     

Spatter and blowhole formation phenomena in pulsed gas shielded metal arc welding

Abstract

This paper investigates systematically the effect of pulse conditions, type of shielding gas, and wire composition on blowhole and spatter formation and on wire melting rate to obtain guidelines for selection of welding conditions. It was found that spatter formation can be reduced significantly by using a shielding gas of composition Ar + 2·4%O₂ +20% CO₂ for pulsed gas shielded metal arc (MAG) welding. It was also found that it is possible to reduce blowhole formation using pulsed MAG welding. However, blowhole formation is affected greatly by variations of pulse condition and by shielding gas composition.

MST/1423     

Dissimilar Joining Between Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steel in Double-Shielded GMAW: A Comparative Study

In the present work, the effect of double-layer shielding and five other process parameters, namely welding voltage, current, primary shielding gas type, its flow rate, and filler material, is studied during dissimilar gas metal arc welding (GMAW) between austenitic and duplex stainless steels (SSs). A simple modification over the GMAW setup is made for additional supply of secondary shielding gas at different flow rates. Two different sets of welding are performed between austenitic and duplex SSs, i.e., AISI 304 with Duplex 2205 and AISI 316 with Duplex 2205, and the contributions of process parameters, their interactions on joint distortion, tensile strength, toughness, and fusion zone microhardness are evaluated. Improvements in joint quality due to the double-shielding environment are also highlighted. Double-layer shielding with secondary shielding by CO₂ supply significantly improves tensile strength and toughness and reduces distortion. Fusion and interface zone microstructures are observed by scanning electron microscopy to study the metallurgical behavior of joints fabricated under single- and double-layer shielding environment.     

Activated flux TIG welding of Inconel 718 super alloy in presence of tri-component flux

In this study, we have explored the influence of newly developed tri-component oxide flux (Cr₂O₃, FeO, and MoO₃) on weldability, bead geometry, weld pool temperature variation, and mechanical strength of Inconel 718 welded joints. Moreover, the influence of used flux on weld pool, the surface morphology of electrode and penetration capability of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding on Inconel 718 plates have been well elucidated. Results indicate that the flux mixture significantly increases the penetration depth as well as aspect ratio almost 200% as compared to conventional TIG welding. The arc constriction caused by newly developed oxide flux upsurges the heat density and the weld pool temperature of joints. The alloying effect caused by entrapped oxide particles greatly improves the hardness as well as the tensile strength of joints. The reported reinforcement in the welding performance may increase potential utility of the developed methods for real-world applications.     

Influence factors of X80 pipeline steel girth welding with self-shielded flux-cored wire

For girth weld of high-pressure oil and gas transmission pipeline, there is impact toughness values deviation phenomenon with self-shielded flux-cored semi-automatic welding technology. The macro-images, microstructure and mechanical performance of girth welding joint have been investigated by OM, SEM, TEM. The results show that there are several factors of impact toughness unqualified values of weld joints, such as welding heat input, coarse grain zone and a chain of M–A organisations, Al₂O₃ and Zr Precipitates particle sizes and distribution et al., which are the main unqualified reasons of welding impact toughness of the semi-automatic self-shielded core butt welding process of X80 pipeline steel.     

Effects of activating flux on the welded joint characteristics in gas metal arc welding

This paper presents the effect of each welding parameter on the weld bead geometry, and then sets out to determine the optimal process parameters using the Taguchi method to determine the parameters. Three kinds of oxides, Fe₂O₃, SiO₂, and MgCO₃, were used to investigate the effect of activating flux aided gas metal arc welding (GMAW) on weld bead geometry, angular distortion and mechanical properties in AISI 1020 carbon steel. During welding, a charge coupled device (CCD) camera system was used to observe and record images of the welding arc and analyze the relationship between penetration increase and arc profile. The experimental results showed that activating flux aided GMAW increased the weld area and penetration and tended to reduce the angular distortion of the weldment. The MgCO₃ flux produced the most noticeable effect. Furthermore, the welded joint presented better tensile strength and hardness.     

Metallurgical characterization of pulsed current gas tungsten arc,friction stir and laser beam welded AZ31B magnesium alloy joints

This paper reports the influences of welding processes such as friction stir welding (FSW), laser beam welding (LBW) and pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding (PCGTAW) on mechanical and metallurgical properties of AZ31B magnesium alloy. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-Ray diffraction technique were used to evaluate the metallurgical characteristics of welded joints. LBW joints exhibited superior tensile properties compared to FSW and PCGTAW joints due to the formation of finer grains in weld region, higher fusion zone hardness, the absence of heat affected zone, presence of uniformly distributed finer precipitates in weld region.     

Endurance of cruciform welded joints in 13KhGMRB high-strength steel produced by mechanized submerged-arc and gas shielded welding

Investigations were carried out into the fatigue failure resistance of welded joints in 13KhGMRB high-strength steel in relation to the methods and technological processes of welding. Bend tests were carried out on cruciform specimens welded in CO₂, in a Ar + CO₂ mixture, as well as under a flux with and without preheating, with a symmetric load cycle. The results show that the maximum values of the endurance limit are recorded for welded joints produced by mechanized submerged-arc welding with preheating. The endurance limits of the welded joints produced by submerged-arc welding without preheating and in CO₂ are very similar. The lowest endurance limit is typical of the welded joints produced in Ar+CO₂ mixture.Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 7, pp. 61–64, July, 1991.     

FEM prediction of buckling distortion induced by welding in thin plate panel structures

Welding distortion generated during assembly process has a strongly nonlinear feature, which includes material nonlinearity, geometric nonlinearity, and contact nonlinearity. In order to obtain a precise prediction of welding distortion, these nonlinear phenomena should be carefully considered. In this study, firstly, a prediction method of welding distortion, which combines thermo-elastic-plastic finite element method (FEM) and large deformation elastic FEM based on inherent strain theory and interface element method, was developed. Secondly, the inherent deformations of two typical weld joints involved in a large thin plate panel structure were calculated using the thermo-elastic-plastic FEM and their characteristics were also examined. Thirdly, using the developed elastic FEM and the inherent deformations, the usefulness of the proposed elastic FEM was demonstrated through the prediction of welding distortion in the large thin plate panel structures. Finally, the influences of heat input, welding procedure, welding sequence, thickness of plate, and spacing between the stiffeners on buckling propensity were investigated. The numerical simulation method developed in this study not only can be used to predict welding distortion in manufacturing stage but also can be employed in design or planning stage.     

Influences of heat source model on welding residual stress and distortion in a multi-pass J-groove joint

Welding mechanical behaviors including residual stress and distortion are highly non-linear phenomena in nature. When numerical simulation methods such as thermal elastic plastic finite element method (FEM) are used to quantitatively predict welding residual stress and distortion, a long computational time is required especially for multi-pass joints. In real engineering structures, many weldments have large dimensions and complex shapes, and they are usually assembled by a multi-pass welding process. Therefore, it is necessary to develop time-effective computational approaches for practice engineering analysis. In this study, a method based on variable length heat sources was proposed for the analysis of thermo-mechanical behaviors for multi-pass joints. The welding residual stress field in a dissimilar metal J-groove joint with axis-symmetric geometrical shape, which was performed by a semi-circle balanced welding process, was investigated using the proposed method. The simulation results were compared with the measured data as well as the simulation results computed by a moving heat source. Meanwhile, the instantaneous line heat source was also employed to estimate the welding residual stresses in the same joint in an extreme case. The influences of heat source model (type) on welding residual stress and distortion were discussed.     

Abnormal distribution of microhardness in tungsten inert gas arc butt-welded AZ61 magnesium alloy plates

In this study, the effects of heat input on the distribution of microhardness of tungsten inert gas (TIG) arc welded hot-extruded AZ61 magnesium alloy joints were investigated. The results show that with an increase of heat input, the distributions of microhardness at the top and bottom of the welded joints are different because they are determined by both the effect of grain coarsening and the effect of dispersion strengthening. With an increase of the heat input, the microhardness of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) at the top and bottom of welded joints and the fusion zone (FZ) at the bottom of welded joints decreased gradually, while the microhardness of the FZ at the top of welded joints decreased initially and then increased sharply. The reason for the abnormal distribution of microhardness of the FZ at the top of the welded joints is that this area is close to the heat source during welding and then large numbers of hard β-Mg₁₇(Al,Zn)₁₂ particles are precipitated. Hence, in this case, the effect of dispersion strengthening dominated the microhardness.     

The effect of gas tungsten arc welding and pulsed-gas tungsten arc welding processes’ parameters on the heat affected zone-softening behavior of strain-hardened Al–6.7Mg alloy

The heat affected zone (HAZ) softening behavior of strain-hardened Al–6.7Mg alloy welded by gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process was investigated. Increasing the heat input during welding led to formation of a wider HAZ. Moreover, the size of the precipitates was increased at higher heat inputs. Consequently, by increasing the heat input, lower strength was obtained for the welding joints. At the second stage of the study, pulsed-GTAW (PGTAW) process was employed to improve the strength of the joints. It was observed that the overall strength of the welding joints was improved and the fracture during tensile test was moved from the HAZ to the fusion zone. Moreover, the effect of duration ratio and pulse frequency was studied. For the current study, the duration ratio did not have a significant effect on the strength and microstructure of the weld, but increasing the frequency led to higher strength of the weld and finer microstructure.