Mild Steels

These steels which conform to EN 10025 (DIN 17100) are determined by components which will be utilised essentially at ambient temperatures. According to the regulations of EN 10027, Part 1 (Classification of Steels) the code letter 1. S - Steels for general steel construction, or 2. E - Machine-construction Steels is set in front of the abbreviated designation followed by a number which refers to the minimum yield strength in N/mm given the lowest thickness manufactured. The yield strength ranges lie between 185 and 355 N/mm (~27 and 51 ksi) for steels classified "S" and between 295 and 360 N/mm (~43 and 52 ksi) for steels classified "E". The ability to specify a specific maximum value of carbon equivalent (CET) on purchase orders may be considered an advantage from the weldability point of view. However, this applies only to steel grades "S 235" to "S 355". All other steels of this standard exhibit limited qualifications for welding. Steel grades such as these must be classified primarily as possessing "limited weldability", the fabrication process for which is left up to the manufacturer where the chemical composition is not defined at all.

Welding of Mild Steels

The weldability of steels diminishes as the carbon content rises due to the increase in hardness. Therefore steels with no guarantee of weldability must be treated specifically in order to avoid unacceptably high hardness. The ability to predict the tendency towards hardening, e.g. by calculation of the carbon equivalent, etc., is well known. As a rule of thumb it may be said that hardness increase in the transition zone should not exceed 350 Vickers units for non-alloy constructional steels and 400 Vickers units for alloy constructional steels. Welding Technology for Mild Steels Filler metals must be selected with respect to the minimum requirements for the mechanical properties of the parent metals. Steels with guaranteed weldability and wall thicknesses exceeding 30 mm (13/16) or 20 mm (3/4) must be preheated to 100 - 150C (210 - 300F) and basic-type filler metals must be used. Steels with limited weldability must be preheated in accordance with the carbon equivalent; only rebaked basic filler metals are to be used. For rimmed steels avoid melting of segregation zones as far as possible and use basic filler metals as well. Filler metals The following section lists examples of suitable filler metals. base material (example)
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BHLER product FOX OHV, FOX ETI, FOX EV 50, EMK6, EMS2/BF16, HL 50-FD

S235J2G3 to S355J2G3

Dependency of Welding Procedure on Material Thickness In addition, reference must be made to the fact that as the thickness of the component increases threedimensional stresses caused by localised heating and cooling may reach the yield strength or may even exceed it when superimposed with operating loads. These stresses then lead to cold deformation, ageing and embrittlement. Therefore even steels with guaranteed weldability require preheating above certain wall thicknesses. Typical wall thicknesses for good weldability are: tensile strength [N/mm2] up to 360 > 360-540 thickness limit [mm] 30 20

Larger wall thicknesses call for preheating to 100 - 150C (210 - 300F) in all cases.
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Weldability of Rimmed Steels

According to EN 10025 and DIN 17100 respectively rimmed steels may also be welded. These steels show a pure and ductile shell zone ("bacon rind") which causes no problems during welding but contains a core rich in segregation with poor weldability. The core often exhibits significantly higher contents of carbon, phosphorus, sulphur, oxygen and manganese than the shell zone due to liquefaction phenomena on solidification (segregation in the ingot). One is confronted with a number of negative influences in respect of the segregated zone, such as increased tendency towards hardening, risk of brittle fracture, tendency to hot cracking and embrittlement by ageing. Given these facts the segregated zone exhibits lower ductility and poor weldability compared with the pure shell zone. The primary rule for welding rimmed steels is therefore not to fuse segregated zones if possible, which is a point that should be taken into account at the design stage. Rimmed steels with segregation will be welded in practice using basic-coated electrodes or using a combination of rutile and basic-coated electrodes (basic coated electrodes for the segregated zone, rutile type electrodes for root and cap layer).

Free-cutting Steels
Free-cutting steels are characterised by good machinability and good chip brittleness that are essentially achieved by means of higher sulphur contents coupled in part with lead and other elements. They allow high edge lives of the cutting tools at high cutting speeds during cutting on automatic high-speed machines and as a result produce finished parts with a very clean smooth surface. The microstructure of free-cutting steels differs from that of other steels only due to the sulphidic inclusions introduced on purpose. Welding of Free-cutting Steels Similar considerations to those for the welding of unkilled steels apply to the welding of low-carbon freecutting steels and consequently welding is possible to a limited extent. On the other hand the welding of higher-carbon steels must be considered difficult. In this case the tendency towards hot cracking is extremely high due to the higher contents of carbon and sulphur. Particular attention must be paid to poor penetration and stress-free welding. The suitability of free-cutting steels for welding is very limited indeed. Free-cutting steels containing lead should not be welded due to the health hazards caused by leaded welding fume.

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