Fatima 2015

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Original Article
Proc IMechE Part L:

J Materials: Design and Applications
Optimization of process parameters for 0(0) 1–14
! IMechE 2015
plasma arc welding of austenitic stainless Reprints and permissions:
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steel (304 L) with low carbon steel (A-36) DOI: 10.1177/1464420715584392

pil.sagepub.com
Shane Fatima1, Mushtaq Khan1, Syed Husain Imran Jaffery1,2,

Liaqat Ali1, Mohammad Mujahid3 and Shahid I Butt1
Abstract
This research aims to optimize the process parameters of plasma arc welding for welding of dissimilar metals: austenitic
stainless steel SS-304 L and low carbon steel A-36. It investigates the effect of welding current and welding speed on the
quality of the welded joints. The quality characteristics like bead geometry, microstructure, hardness, ferrite measure-
ment and tensile test are considered for qualification of the welded samples. Welded specimens were prepared both with
and without filler material. These specimens were mechanically tested and analyzed using metallographic techniques.
Based on the results, suitable welding parameters were found to be 45 A and 2 mm/s for samples prepared with and
without filler wire. An all-martensitic weld zone structure was obtained for direct fusion. However, a complex hetero-
geneous microstructure was obtained by using austenitic stainless steel filler wire E 309 L. Hardness of directly fused
sample was observed to be significantly higher compared to filler wire sample.
Keywords
Plasma arc welding, dissimilar metal welding, microstructure, hardness, tensile testing
Date received: 15 August 2014; accepted: 6 April 2015
However, the DMW between SS and CS is com-

Introduction plex due to different thermal expansion coefficients
Stainless steel (SS) is a widely used material in vari- and melting temperatures of both metals. The coeffi-
ous industrial applications such as reactor coolant cient of thermal expansion of low CS (A-36) is
piping, valve bodies, pressure vessels. It is also used 11:7 10e 6 C1 , whereas for SS304L the coeffi-
in chemical and process industries and petrochemical cient of thermal expansion is 17:2 10e 6 C1 .17
industries due to its excellent high temperature The possibility of weld failure increases with alloys
mechanical and corrosion resistant properties.1,2 having different thermal expansion coefficients due
Carbon steel (CS) is another extensively used mater- to uneven stress distribution during fusion zone sol-
ial in large plants as it is widely available, cheap, idification.18 The melting point of austenitic SS is
easily fabricated. heat treatable, etc.3 Many applica- slightly lower than the melting point of low carbon
tions in industries demand the joining of CS to stain- steel, i.e. 1510 C where as the melting temperature of
less steel. Hence, dissimilar metal welding is the CS is 1540 C. Due to lower melting temperature of
matter of interest owing to their technical and eco- austenitic SS, welding current is usually lower as com-
nomical potentials.4–11 In power generation applica- pared to current used for low carbon steel. Another
tions, the boiler and heat exchangers operating at
low temperature and less corrosive environment
1
permit the use of inexpensive CS, whereas the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National
University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
super heaters and re-heater areas operating at high 2
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of
temperatures and high corrosive areas require the use New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
of austenitic stainless steel.10 A dissimilar metal weld 3
School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National
(DMW) must be made at the transition region University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
between CS to SS. Similarly, several other joint con-
nections exist between pipes, supports, exchangers, Corresponding author:
Syed Husain Imran Jaffery, Faculty of Engineering, School of Mechanical
etc. where high quality of DMW is essential owing and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney
to criticality of plant and to avoid accident due to NSW 2052, Australia.
failure of joint.12–16 Email: Imran_hj@yahoo.com
Downloaded from pil.sagepub.com at Purdue University Libraries on June 20, 2015

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2 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)
Figure 1. Plasma arc welding machine.
Table 1. Welding parameters for PAW (PWH/-3 A). in PAW is constricted in nozzle, which makes it more
directional and confined.23 Also the electrode in PAW
Parameters Values is not in direct contact with weld pool; hence, the
Shielding gas flow rate 10 LPM possibility of tungsten inclusion is minimized and
Purging gas flow rate 10 LPM the life of electrode increases.26 Moreover, PAW is
preferred over other conventional processes due to
Plasma gas flow rate 0.5 LPM
its greater energy concentration, deeper and narrower
Nozzle to plate distance 6 mm
penetration achievement and greater arc stability.27
Filler wire 309 L The practical PAW process is widely appreciated in
Holding time after welding 1 min the aerospace, chemical, naval, nuclear industries,
Joint design Square groove joint etc.24 Prasada et al. investigated the weld quality char-
Shielding gas High purity argon acteristics of pulsed current micro-plasma arc welded
Plasma gas High purity argon austenitic stainless steels and considered weld pool
Electrode used 9-1783 geometry, microstructure, grain size, hardness and
Orifice diameter 0.46 mm tensile properties as weld quality characteristics.
Torch position Vertical It was established that SS 304L attained better weld
Operation type Automatic quality characteristics at same welding conditions as
Pilot arc 5 amp compared to SS 316 L, SS 316Ti, SS 321.21 Reddy
et al. analyzed the microstructure of post weld heat
Mode of operation Fusion mode
treated DMW joint between type 316 L and C-steel by
Plate thickness 2 mm
GTAW process and found that martensite is found in
the HAZ of C-steel with autogeneous welding pro-
cess.28 Sánchez-Tovar et al. studied the micro-
plasma arc welded stainless steels SS 316 L and
problem associated with DMW between CS and SS found that the microstructure of the SS is modified
with an austenitic SS filler metal is the carbide pre- due to the micro-PAW procedure.27 Pouranvari and
cipitation due to higher carbon content of carbon coworkers., studied similar and dissimilar resistance
steel.19 Many researchers reported that the in-service spot welding of low carbon and austenitic stainless
failures of dissimilar weldments are due to weak tran- and determined that pull out failure location for CS/
sition joint.20,21 SS is the base metal of low carbon side. It was also
The selection of suitable welding process is also concluded that increased welding current widened
essential in order to control such critical welds. The fusion-zone side which resulted in martensite forma-
high-power density methods like laser, electron beam tion.29 It has been observed from the published litera-
and plasma arc welding (PAW) are becoming prom- ture review that no systematic work is done to find the
inent as these processes exhibit quick fusion of both role of PAW process parameters on dissimilar metal
metals even if they have quite different melting tem- welding. Dissimilar metal welding is highly critical as
peratures.22–24 PAW is an arc welding process that many issues arise during welding such as the carbon
exhibits joining of metals by heating them with a con- migration from the higher carbon containing alloy
stricted arc established between tungsten electrode steel to relatively low carbon alloy steel. The differ-
and the metals.22,25 PAW is advantageous as the arc ences in thermal expansion coefficients also play

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Fatima et al. 3
Table 2. Chemical composition (wt%) of type 304 L stainless steel, low carbon steel A-36, E-309 L.
Composition %
C Si Mn P S Cr Ni Mo Cu N Fe
Austenitic stainless 0.017 0.37 1.79 0.028 0.010 18.1 8.0 0.40 0.34 0.06 bal
steel 304 L
Low carbon 0.16 0.08 0.49 0.017 0.034 – – – – – bal
steel A-36
E-309 L 0.035 0.53 1.5 0.024 0.021 23.45 12.6 – – – bal
Table 3. Mechanical properties of metals of interest in welding applications involving dissimilar metals.45,51–55
Austenitic
stainless Low carbon Titanium Al Inconel
Property steel 304 L steel A-36 (grade 1) Ti-6Al-4 V 6082-T6 Al7075-T6 718
Density (g/cm3) 8 7.85 4.5 4.42 2.7 2.81 8.22

Hardness (Vickers) 162 108 200 310–400 95 175 370–435
Ultimate tensile 621 396 220 950 310 572 1350
strength (MPa)
Yield strength (MPa) 368 245 140 880 250 503 1170
Elastic modulus (GPa) 200 200 116 113.8 70 71.7 200
Ductility (%) 56 36 54 14 10 11 16
Fracture toughness 190 120 70 75 29–36 20–29 96.4
(MPa m1/2)
Thermal conductivity 8 5 17 6.7 170 130 11.4
(W/mK)
Melting temperature( C) 1540 1510 1668 1660 555 635 1260
Thermal expansion 17.2 11.7 8.8 8.6 24 23.2 12.8
coefficient
ð10e 6 C" ð1ÞÞ
strongly affect the behavior of weld pool, weld

Table 4. Range for processing parameters. appearance and weld defects.32 Welding current
Parameters Values affects weld quality through the temperature and
pressure of arc. Studies depict that increased welding
Current (A) 15, 25, 35, 45 current widens the weld and cause excessive penetra-
Speed (mm/s) 1, 2, 3, 4 tion.32 On the other hand, insufficient current level
results in lack of penetration and undercutting.33
Similarly, inadequate welding speeds result in exces-
significant role in the welding of dissimilar joints. sive penetration and too high speeds result in under-
Dissimilar welding of austenitic SS with low CS is cut and lack of penetration. The formation of the
highly sensitive due to coarse grain phenomena in weld and the mechanical properties of weld
the weld and heat-affected zone of fusion welds joint will be best if a low plasma gas flow rate is
which leads to low toughness and ductility.30 In the used with high current and high speed.22
PAW process, the physical characteristics of the The main objective of the present work is to
welded material and the welding parameters have find the effect of welding current and welding
great influence on the quality and morphology of speed for welding austenitic SS to low CS by
weld joints.31 The main parameters having a signifi- using filler wire and with direct fusion. The opti-
cant effect on the quality of weld include nozzle shape mized welding parameters were determined for
and size, tungsten electrode set back, welding current, both cases. As a part of weld qualification, the
welding speed, plasma gas flow rate, the composition quality characteristics like bead geometry, micro-
and flow of shielding gas, nozzle standoff distance, structure, hardness, ferrite measurement and tensile
etc.22 Composition and flow rate of plasma gas test are considered.

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Speed (mm/sec 3
0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Current (A)
Lack of Fusion Lack of Penetration Good Weld Excessive Penetration
Figure 2. Effect of welding current and speed of PAW on acceptable weld zone of SS-304 L and A-36 with filler wire 309 L.
3
Speed (mm/sec)
0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Current (A)
Lack of Fusion Lack of Penetration Good Weld Excessive Penetration
Figure 3. Effect of welding current and speed of PAW on acceptable weld zone of SS-304 L and A-36 without filler wire 309 L.
LMF04. The mechanical properties determined

for austenitic SS 304 L and low CS A-36 are tensile
Equipment and setup test and hardness test. Tensile test was carried on
The thermal arc 3 A Plasma welding torch, equipment computer-controlled universal testing machine
model PWH/-3A shown in Figure 1, designed for (SHIMADZU AGX PLUS) as per ASTM standards
direct current PAW of ferrous and non-ferrous (E-8). Micro hardness was performed as per ASTM
metals using the transferred arc plasma process is E384 standard. The results of tensile test and hardness
used to weld the samples. The whole welding setup test along with other mechanical properties of SS
includes a control console, a direct current power 304 L and A-36 alloys, as well as prospective metals
source, coolant supply, a gas supply and direct current of interest in dissimilar welding applications are listed
straight polarity (DCSP), and PAW is used for weld- in Table 3. Ferrite measurement was performed as per
ing. The important welding parameters are shown in AWS A 4.2 standard using Fisher Feritscope MP30C,
Table 1. which uses the principle of magnetic induction for
ferrite measurement. It measures all the magnetic
components in the otherwise non-magnetic structure.
Properties of welded materials
Austenitic SS 304 L and low CS A-36in sheets of
100 50 2 mm are welded with square butt
Design of experiments
joint and edge preparation. The chemical composition A total of 32 experiments were conducted to optimize
of the base metals and filler metal, listed in Table 2, is the process parameters of PAW for welding of
determined by using SPECTROMAX X model no SS304L and A-36. The effect of welding current and

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Fatima et al. 5
Figure 4. Weld configuration of (a) incomplete fusion, (b) lack of penetration (c) sound weld (d) excessive penetration/over burn.
Table 5. Bead width, penetration and weld profile of the selected samples.
Bead width Penetration

S/No Designation Welding parameters W (mm) D (mm) Weld edge profile
1 WF01 45 A, 2 mm/s with filler wire 309 L 4.88 2.83
2 DF01 35 A, 1 mm/s without filler wire 5.15 2.55
3 WF02 At 35 A, 1 mm/s with filler wire 6.25 2.95

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600
500 WF01
hardness ( VHN)
400 DF01
SS-304L A-36 WF02
300
DF02
200 DF03
100 Weld zone
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
Locaon at weld joint
Figure 5. Hardness values at different weld zones.
Table 6. Ferrite number of base metal and weld

Results and discussion
metal. From the first set only two samples were visually
accepted. From the second set three samples were
Sample no. Base metal Weld metal
accepted by visual examination. These samples were
WF01 4.58–4.9 5.68 then tested by liquid penetration examination and
DF01 9.76 radiograph examination according to ASME section
WF02 4.26 V for sub surface and in surface discontinuities.
DF02 9.02 All the selected samples passed liquid penetration
DF03 14.08 examination and radiograph examination. The
selected five samples were then further analyzed by
measuring weld bead geometry, hardness, microstruc-
ture, ferrite measurement and tensile test for weld
welding speed on the quality of the weld joint between joint qualification.
SS304L and CS A-36 by PAW process was investi-
gated. The variable parameters were current and Effect of process parameters on welding using filler
speed. The selected range of variables is shown in
Table 4. All the joints were square grooved produced
wire
by using constant plasma gas flow rate of 0.5 LPM on Figure 2 shows the influence of PAW process param-
2 mm thick plates using pure argon gas as shielding eters on the acceptable welding zone between SS304L
gas. The quality characteristics like bead geometry, and A-36 by using filler wire 309 L. It is observed that
microstructure, grain size, hardness, ferrite measure- at low currents, the weld remains unfused due to
ment and tensile test are considered for qualification insufficient heat input; however, at higher current
of the welded samples. The experimental sequence was and medium speed fine weld could be obtained.
divided into two sets. First, the effect of welding cur- Further increase in current from 45 A and increasing
rent and speed was considered by using filler wire speed above 2 mm/s lead to uneven, incomplete weld-
309 L. In second set, the effect of welding current and ing because of insufficient heat input whereas at
speed was considered on the same set of parameters higher currents, i.e. above 45 A and low speed, i.e.
but without using the filler wire. below 2 mm/s excessive penetration and burn through
In order to achieve uniform fusion in thin sheet is observed. Hence, an acceptable welding zone is
materials, it is necessary to properly clean the edges formed with a suitable range of arc current and weld-
and provide suitable fixture for uniform heat sink to ing speed.
minimized distortion. All the test specimens were
cleaned mechanically and were stored in plastic Effect of process parameters on welding
cover before welding. The initial qualification of
welded samples was performed by visual examin-
without filler wire
ation, and samples were disqualified on the criteria Figure 3 shows the effect of arc current and welding
of lack of fusion, lack of penetration and excessive speed on dissimilar metal welding of SS304L and
penetration. A-36 without using filler wire. The visually accepted

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Fatima et al. 7
Figure 6. (a) Parent SS metal, (b) fusion zone with SS (c) weld zone (d) fusion zone with CS (e) parent CS metal.
welding zone was almost the same as in previous

set. Figure4(a) to (d) shows the weld configuration
Hardness results
of lack of fusion, lack of penetration, sound weld Vickers Micro hardness test was performed to identify
and excessive penetration, respectively. the effects of welding parameters on the material
properties. Hardness was measured across the weld
Measurement of weld bead geometry of qualified joint at an interval of 0.5 mm using digital micro hard-
ness testing machine (Figure 5). It is observed that the
samples sample 2 (DF01), sample 4 (DF02), sample 5 (DF03)
Welding was cross-sectioned and samples were pre- acquired by direct fusion showed high hardness at the
pared and mounted as per ASTM-E3 standard. weld center as compared to the sample 1 (WF01) and
Grinding was done up to 1200 Grit paper followed sample 3 (WF02) prepared with the filler metal. In
by polishing using one micron suspension and etching. both cases, weld metal hardness is more than the
Parameters D and W are penetration of weld metal and parent metal.
bead width. The weld bead profile of selected five sam-
ples is shown in Table 5. The code WF stands for with
filler and DF for direct fusion. It is observed that fusion
Ferrite measurement
line is very clear due to difference in alloy compositions. The ability to predict the ferrite content is expressed
Also, joints with complete penetration are produced by in terms of Ferrite number (FN), its accuracy has
using suitable parameters. The weld bead profile shows proven to be very useful in assessing the perform-
that the samples welded with filler alloy have higher ance and predicting various properties of austenitic
amount of material deposition in weld bead than the SS welds such as strength, toughness, corrosion
ones welded without filler alloy. The better organized resistance, etc.34–36 Minimum ferrite content is
weld bead profile is made with filler alloy. The width necessary to avoid hot cracking in SS welds.37 The
and penetration are different for each joint, which is presence of delta ferrite in austenitic SS weld metal
attributed to the total energy in the welding is beneficial in reducing the tendency of weld solidi-
process. Also increase in current results in wider weld fication cracking and also welds metal-liquation
bead, whereas at low speed deeper penetration is cracking.12 The amount of ferrite in the weld
observed. metal also controls the microstructural evolution

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Figure 7. SEM micrographs along with EDS spectra of (a) SS HAZ, (b) Weld zone, (c) CS HAZ.
during high-temperature service. Moreover, the same ferrite content as in base SS alloy; however,
amount of ferrite controls the corrosion and stress all the samples are within the desired limit
corrosion resistance. The weld solidification of FN 30.
cracking may increase with increasing ferrite
content above approximately FN 30.38 Hence, the
quantity of ferrite in the welds must be
Microstructure analysis
minimized during welding of austenitic steel Metallography of both 304 L SS and low CS A-36 was
joints to avoid material degradation during ser- carried out. Etching was performed according to
vice.39 Table 6 shows the total ferrite number in ASTM standard E-407. Freshly prepared 2% Nital
parent SS and weld zones. It is observed that (98 ml C2H5OH, 2 ml HNO3) was used for etching
the samples welded with E-309 L have almost CS while Glyceregia (10 ml HNO3, 20 ml HCL,

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Fatima et al. 9
Figure 8. (a) Parent SS metal, (b) fusion zone with SS, (c) weld zone, (d) fusion zone with CS, (e) parent CS metal.
10 ml CH3COOH and 30 ml Glycerine) was employed transformation occurring in this zone. Figure 7(b) indi-
as etchant for SS. Out of five qualified weld sam- cates the microstructure of fusion zone with a complex
ples, two were selected, i.e. one with filler (WF) and heterogeneous structure. The matrix consists of pearlite
the other without filler (DF). Samples WF01 and with carbide at prior austenite grain boundaries. Also,
DF01, both at 45 A and 2 mm/s were selected con- some portion of martensite is expected to be present as
sidering the economical factor associated with high- suggested by Schaeffler diagrams.41 In case of using
speed welding. austenitic SS filler wire 309 L, the diffusion of alloying
Figure 6(a) shows optical micrograph of the parent elements is controlled and the weld zone retains the
SS material for the WF01 sample. Figure 6(c) shows chromium and nickel equivalent to the composition
the dendritic structure of the fusion zone, while the of austenitic SS base metal. Figure 7(c) indicates the
interface between the fusion zone and the SS HAZ HAZ of CS. It consists of ferrite and pearlite structure.
can be observed in Figure 6(b). It is observed that The corresponding EDS spectra of zone a, b and c are
the interface is not very sharp; therefore, a broad shown along with structures. The elemental distribu-
and diffuse fusion zone is produced for stainless tion of SS HAZ and weld zone is similar. The spectra
steel. In addition fine dendritic structure seen in the reveal the high peaks of Fe, Cr, Ni, in weld zone and
weld zone can be attributed to the very high cooling SS HAZ, whereas CS HAZ does not consist of Cr and
rates in the fusion zone.40 On the other hand, Figure Ni peaks.
6(d) shows the interface of CS HAZ with the fusion Similar to sample 1 (WF01), the microstructure
zone, where a very sharp fusion line is observed. of sample 2 (DF01) was studied using optical
Figure 6(e) shows the structure of parent CS metal. microscopy and SEM. Figure 8(b) shows the inter-
The CS structure consists of equiaxed ferrite (white face of SS HAZ with fusion zone, whereas, Figure
areas) and pearlite (dark areas). In the light of above 8(d) shows the interface of CS HAZ with fusion
observations, it is clear that full penetration joint was zone. Figure 8(c) reveals the dendrite structure of
produced by using filler wire at 45 A, 2 mm/s and with weld zone. Full penetration joint was produced by
0.5 LPM plasma gas flow rate. direct fusion at 45 A, 2 mm/s and with 0.5 LPM
Figure 7(a) to (c) shows SEM images along with plasma gas flow rate. Similar to sample 1,
compositional analysis for SS HAZ, fusion zone and Micrographs of sample 2 did not reveal any defects
CS HAZ for the WF 01 sample. SS HAZ (Figure 7(a)) such as micro cracks or porosity in the welded
revealed the austenitic microstructure with no phase sample.

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Figure 9. SEM micrographs along with EDS spectra of (a) SS HAZ, (b) weld zone, (c) CS HAZ.
Figure 9(a) shows the austenitic microstructure of

SS HAZ. No phase transformation has occurred in SS
HAZ. Figure 9(b) indicates the microstructure of weld
zone which shows a full martensite structure as also
confirmed by Schaeffler diagram. Figure 9(c) indicates
the HAZ of CS which consists of ferrite and pearlite
structure. The corresponding EDS spectra of zone a, b
and c are shown along with microstructures. Zone ‘‘a’’
and ‘‘b’’ is rich in Fe, Cr and Ni. However, zone ‘‘c’’ is
only rich in Fe and C and no presence of Cr and Ni.
This shows CS HAZ has no change in chemical com-
position and only grain refinement has occurred in the
Figure 10. Tensile specimen WF01 before and after tensile region. In case of direct fusion of CS (A-36) to
test. Austenitic SS (SS-304 L) chromium and nickel from

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Fatima et al. 11
Figure 11. Tensile test result of sample WF01.
the weld. The fracture on CS side is consistent with

the reduced hardness of the samples on CS side of the
weld as well as lack of fusion at the weld interface.
Summary of discussion and analysis

Full joint penetration was obtained by PAW with
filler wire and also with direct fusion. Hence, satisfac-
tory joints between austenitic SS and low CS in terms
of weldability and strength can be produced by PAW.
Micrographs of sample 1and sample 2 produced with
and without filler wire did not reveal defects such as
micro cracks or porosity in the welded sample.
Figure 12. Tensile specimen DF01 before and after tensile The elemental distribution of both samples reveals
test.
that weld zone has the properties of stainless steel,
the concentration of elements are same in SS and
SS diffuse into the weld metal also the concentration weld zone. However, the hardness profile of both sam-
of Cr and Ni increases at elevated temperature result- ples reveals that HAZ portion in CS is greater as
ing increase in harden ability of the weld zone.42 compared to stainless steel. The thermal conductivity
Carbon migration from low CS also occurs towards of CS (51:9Wm 1K 1) is higher as compared to
weld metal, this increase carbon content in the weld stainless steels which leads to wider HAZ as compared
zone will further increase harden ability and the struc- to SS.44,39 On the other hand, the thermal expansion
ture will transform to martensite during cooling.43 coefficient of SS (17:2 10 2 6 C1 ) is higher as
compared to Carbon steels (11:7 10 2 6 C1 ).
Hence, the fusion zone of SS is wider as compared
Tensile test to CS,45 which leads to asymmetrical shape of weld
Tensile test was carried out on sample WF and DF. A nugget. The higher hardness values of weld zone indi-
total of three samples each (with and without filler cate that the strength of weld zone is greater as com-
material) were used for tensile testing. Tensile testing pared to parent metal. The measured values of
was carried out in accordance with ASTM E-8 hardness for both samples are in agreement with pre-
Standard Test Methods for Tension Testing of vious findings.46–48 The higher hardness at weld zone
Metallic Materials. The welded specimens (WF01 can also be expected due to enrichment of weld zone
and DF01) were machined by wire EDM to the with Fe, Ni and Cr contents.46 The ultimate tensile
required size by keeping weld interface at the center strength of both samples was nearly same due to the
as shown in Figures 10 and 12, respectively. Figures fact that the failure mode of welds is initiated from CS
11 and 13 show the tensile test result of WF01 and base metal in both cases. However, the sample 2
DF01 showing that the sample breaks from CS side of (DF02) welded by direct fusion has higher failure

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Figure 13. Tensile test result of sample DF02.
energy as compared to sample 1 (WF01) which relates

Funding
to the higher ductility and strength of SS leading to
increase plastic deformation during tensile test. This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Fusion zone microstructures depend upon the dilu-
tion ratios of base metals. According to Schaeffler
Acknowledgement
diagrams,41 the sample WF01 welded with filler wire
has a complex heterogeneous microstructure. It con- The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical support
provided by Pakistan Welding Institute and National
sists of Austenite with 10% ferrite along with some
Center for Non Destructive Testing.
martensite, whereas the directly fused sample (DF02)
is expected to have fully martensite structure which is
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Proc IMechE Part L:

steel (304 L) with low carbon steel (A-36) DOI: 10.1177/1464420715584392

Shane Fatima1, Mushtaq Khan1, Syed Husain Imran Jaffery1,2,

Date received: 15 August 2014; accepted: 6 April 2015

However, the DMW between SS and CS is com-

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2 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

Figure 1. Plasma arc welding machine.

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Density (g/cm3) 8 7.85 4.5 4.42 2.7 2.81 8.22

strongly aﬀect the behavior of weld pool, weld

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4 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

Lack of Fusion Lack of Penetration Good Weld Excessive Penetration

LMF04. The mechanical properties determined

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Bead width Penetration

1 WF01 45 A, 2 mm/s with filler wire 309 L 4.88 2.83

2 DF01 35 A, 1 mm/s without filler wire 5.15 2.55

3 WF02 At 35 A, 1 mm/s with filler wire 6.25 2.95

4 DF02 45 A, 2 mm/s without filler wire 6.20 2.37

5 DF03 45 A, 3 mm/s without filler wire 3.55 2.18

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6 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

100 Weld zone

Figure 5. Hardness values at different weld zones.

Table 6. Ferrite number of base metal and weld

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welding zone was almost the same as in previous

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8 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

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10 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

CrLl CrLa FeLl

Figure 9(a) shows the austenitic microstructure of

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Figure 11. Tensile test result of sample WF01.

the weld. The fracture on CS side is consistent with

Summary of discussion and analysis

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12 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

Figure 13. Tensile test result of sample DF02.

energy as compared to sample 1 (WF01) which relates

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14 Proc IMechE Part L: J Materials: Design and Applications 0(0)

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