This study presents results of experimental tests on quality of dissimilar welded joints between 316L austenitic and 2304 lean duplex stainless steels, welded without ceramic backing. Fiber laser welded butt joints at a thickness of 8 mm were subjected to non-destructive testing (visual and penetrant), destructive testing (static tensile test, bending test, and microhardness measurements) and structure observations (macro- and microscopic examinations, SEM, element distribution characteristics, and ferrite content measurements). Non-destructive tests and metallographic examinations showed that the welded joints meet the acceptance criteria for B level in accordance with EN ISO 13919–1 standard. Also the results of the destructive tests confirmed the high quality of the joints: specimens were fractured in base material with lower strength—316L austenitic stainless steel and a 180° bending angle was obtained confirming the high plasticity of the joints. Microscopic examination, SEM and EDS analysis showed the distribution of alloying elements in joints. The microhardness of the autogenous weld metal was higher by about 20 HV0.2 than that of the lean duplex steel. Ferrite content in the root was about 37% higher than in the face of the weld. The Schaeffler phase diagram was used to predict the phase composition of the welded joints and sufficient compliance with the magnetic method was found. The presented procedure can be used for welding of 316L–2304 stainless steels dissimilar welded joints of 8 mm thickness without ceramic backing.

Autogenous Fiber Laser Welding of 316L Austenitic and 2304 Lean Duplex Stainless Steels

In this article, the mechanical properties and microstructure of 304L austenitic stainless steel/Incoloy 800HT nickel alloy dissimilar welded joints are investigated. The joints were made of 21.3 mm × 7.47 mm tubes using the TIG process with the use of S Ni 6082 nickel filler metal. No welding imperfections were found and high strength properties of joints were obtained, meeting the assumed acceptance criteria of the product’s standards. The tensile strength of the welded joints was higher than for the joined materials (Incoloy 800HT). Macro- and microscopic metallographic tests revealed the correct morphology of the joints and the appropriate structures in their critical zones. However, differences were found in the morphologies of the zones between the weld and the base materials. In fusion boundary from the side of the Incoloy 800HT alloy, no clear outline of the fusion line was observed (type A fusion boundary), while increased grain size and an epitaxial structure were observed. In turn, in the zone: weld–304L steel, a distinct fusion line was observed with areas with an increased amount of high-temperature δ ferrite (type B fusion boundary). No precipitates were found that could reduce the resistance of the joints to intergranular corrosion. A hardness decrease (approximately 30 HV0.1) in the transition zone: austenitic steel–weld and an increase of hardness (approximately 10 HV0.1) on the opposite side of the welded joint were observed.

Mechanical and Microstructural Characterization of TIG Welded Dissimilar Joints between 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel and Incoloy 800HT Nickel Alloy

The high-strength low-alloy S460ML and S460N steels were chosen for underwater wet welding of dissimilar T-joints using covered electrodes For improving the quality of joints, the temper bead welding (TBW) method was used The application of TBW in pad welding conditions has been investigated earlier but the possibility of usage of this technique in welded joints was not analyzed The main aim of the study was to check the influence of TBW on the hardness and structures of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of dissimilar T-joints made in the underwater conditions The experiments conducted showed that the technique used can reduce the susceptibility to cold cracking by decreasing the hardness in HAZ, which is a result of changes in its structure The TBW technique reduced the hardness in the HAZ of the S460N steel by 40–50 HV10 and in S460ML by 80–100 HV10 It was also found that the changes in S460ML and S460N were much different, and therefore, the investigated technique can provide better results in the steel characterized by lower carbon equivalent CeIIW

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Dissimilar underwater wet welding of HSLA steels

This paper presents examinations of the role of the bead sequence in underwater welding. Two specimens of wet welded layers made by covered electrodes with the use of normalized S355G10+N steel were welded by a reasonable bead sequence. For each specimen, metallographic macro- and micro-scopic tests were done. Then, Vickers HV10 hardness measurements were conducted for each pad weld in the welded layer. The results show that welding in the water environment carries many problems in the stability of the welding arc, which influences the properties of the welds. The effects of refining and tempering the structure in heat-affected zones of earlier laid beads was observed, which provides a reduction of hardness. The possibility of applying two techniques while welding the layer by the wet method is described. It is stated that a reasonable bead sequence can decrease the hardness in heat-affected zones up to 40 HV10. Tempering by heat from next beads can also change the microstructure in this area by tempering martensite and can decrease susceptibility to cold cracking.

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/12/20/3372/pdf

Role of Bead Sequence in Underwater Welding.

The purpose of the following study was to compare the effect of the shape of a tool on the joint and to obtain the values of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) parameters that provide the best possible joint quality. The material used was an aluminium alloy, EN AW-3004 (AlMn1Mg1). To the authors’ best knowledge, no investigations of this alloy during FSW have been presented earlier. Five butt joints were made with a self-developed, cylindrical, and tapered threaded tool with a rotational speed of 475 rpm. In order to compare the welding parameters, two more joints with a rotational speed of 475 rpm and seven joints with a welding speed of 300 mm/min with the use of a cylindrical threaded pin were performed. This involved a visual inspection as well as a tensile strength test of the welded joints. It was observed that the value of the material outflow for the joints made with the cylindrical threaded pin was higher than it was for the joints made with the tapered threaded pin. However, welding defects in the form of voids appeared in the joints made with the tapered threaded tool. The use of the cylindrical tool resulted in higher values for about 37% of mechanical properties compared with the highest result for the tapered threaded joint. As far as the parameters were concerned, it was concluded that most of the specimens were properly joined for a rotational speed of 475 rpm. In the joints made with a welding speed of 300 mm/min, the material was not stirred properly. The best joint quality was given for a rotational speed of 475 rpm as well as a variety of welding speed values between 150 and 475 mm/min.

The Influence of Tool Shape and Process Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of AW-3004 Aluminium Alloy Friction Stir Welded Joints.

The paper describes the microstructure of welded joints produced by the plasma+MAG (Metal Active Gas) method of S700MC high yield strength steel (700 MPa). Welded joints of thermomechanical steel have been made with different values of heat input. The results of metallographic research of welded joints, microstructure of the weld and heat affected zone, hardness distribution and impact toughness are presented. The heat affected zone consists of two sub-zones with different grain size and lowered hardness. The tensile test show that strength of welded joints was slightly reduced and the bending test revealed no crack formation in the weld. The impact toughness of measured welded samples with V-notch in HAZ (heat affected zone) reached high values that are higher comparing to samples with notch placed in the weld area. The investigation results show that the use of plasma concentrated heat source together with MAG welding arc does not significantly change the structure and deteriorate properties of welded S700MC thermomechanically treated high strength steel. The hybrid plasma+MAG welding method has a potential to become a beneficial alternative to other welding processes due to its high efficiency, reduced amount of weld metal content or limited requirements for a preparation of edges of welded joints.

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Weldability of S700MC steel welded with the hybrid plasma + MAG method

The article presents selected properties of a titanium metallization coating deposited on aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics surface by means of the friction surfacing method. Its mechanism is based on the formation of a joint between the surface of an AlN ceramics substrate and a thin Ti coating, involving a kinetic energy of friction, which is directly converted into heat and delivered in a precisely defined quantity to the resulting joint. The largest effects on the final properties of the obtained coating include the high affinity of titanium for oxygen and nitrogen and a relatively high temperature for the deposition process. The titanium metallization coating was characterized in terms of surface stereometric structure, thickness, surface morphology, metallographic microstructural properties, and phase structure. The titanium coating has a thickness ranging from 3 to 7 μm. The phase structure of the coating surface (XPS investigated) is dominated by TiNxOy with the presence of TiOx, TiN, metallic Ti, and AlN. The phase structure deeper below the surface (XRD investigated) is dominated by metallic Ti with additional AlN particles originating from the ceramic substrate due to friction by titanium tools.

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/9/12/845/pdf

Structure Investigation of Titanium Metallization Coating Deposited onto AlN Ceramics Substrate by Means of Friction Surfacing Process

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Friction Weldability of UFG 316L Stainless Steel

The paper presents the microstructural investigation of a friction-welded joint made of 316L stainless steel with an ultrafine-grained structure obtained by hydrostatic extrusion (HE). Such a plastically deformed material is characterized by a metastable state of energy equilibrium, increasing, among others, its sensitivity to high temperatures. This feature makes it difficult to weld ultra-fine-grained metals without losing their high mechanical properties. The use of high-speed friction welding and a friction time of <1 s reduced the scale of the weakening of the friction joint in relation to result obtained in conventional rotary friction welding. The study of changes in the microstructure of individual zones of the friction joint was carried out on an optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis system. The correlation between the microstructure and hardness of the friction joint is also presented. The heat released during the high-speed friction welding initiated the process of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of single grains in the heat-affected zone (HAZ). The additional occurrence of strong plastic deformations (in HAZ) during flash formation and internal friction (in the friction weld and high-temperature HAZ) contributed to the formation of a highly deformed microstructure with numerous sub-grains. The zones with a microstructure other than the base material were characterized by lower hardness. Due to the complexity of the microstructure and its multifactorial impact on the properties of the friction-welded joint, strength should be the criterion for assessing the properties of the joint.

Microstructural Investigation of a Friction-Welded 316L Stainless Steel with Ultrafine-Grained Structure Obtained by Hydrostatic Extrusion.

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Beata Skowrońska

Papers

Weldability of S700MC steel welded with the hybrid plasma + MAG method

Structure Investigation of Titanium Metallization Coating Deposited onto AlN Ceramics Substrate by Means of Friction Surfacing Process

Friction Weldability of UFG 316L Stainless Steel

Microstructural Investigation of a Friction-Welded 316L Stainless Steel with Ultrafine-Grained Structure Obtained by Hydrostatic Extrusion.

Wybrane właściwości złączy spawanych stali S700 MC wykonanych metodą hybrydową plazma+MAG