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.     

Multiobjective optimization of friction welding of UNS S32205 duplex stainless steel

The present study is to optimize the process parameters for friction welding of duplex stainless steel(DSS UNS S32205).Experiments were conducted according to central composite design.Process variables,as inputs of the neural network,included friction pressure,upsetting pressure,speed and burn-off length.Tensile strength and microhardness were selected as the outputs of the neural networks.The weld metals had higher hardness and tensile strength than the base material due to grain refinement which caused failures away from the joint interface during tensile testing.Due to shorter heating time,no secondary phase intermetallic precipitation was observed in the weld joint.A multi-layer perceptron neural network was established for modeling purpose.Five various training algorithms,belonging to three classes,namely gradient descent,genetic algorithm and LevenbergeM arquardt,were used to train artificial neural network.The optimization was carried out by using particle swarm optimization method.Confirmation test was carried out by setting the optimized parameters.In conformation test,maximum tensile strength and maximum hardness obtained are 822 MPa and 322 Hv,respectively.The metallurgical investigations revealed that base metal,partially deformed zone and weld zone maintain austenite/ferrite proportion of 50:50.     

Pulsed current and dual pulse gas metal arc welding of grade AISI: 310S austenitic stainless steel

The transverse shrinkage, mechanical and metallurgical properties of AISI: 310 S ASS weld joints prepared by P-GMAW and DP-GMAW processes were investigated. It was observed that the use of the DP-GMAW process improves the aforementioned characteristics in comparison to that of the P-GMAW process. The enhanced quality of weld joints obtained with DP-GMAW process is primarily due to the combined effect of pulsed current and thermal pulsation(low frequency pulse). During the thermal pulsation period, there is a fluctuation of wire feed rate,which results in the further increase in welding current and the decrease in arc voltage. Because of this synchronization between welding current and arc voltage during the period of low frequency pulse, the DP-GMAW deposit introduces comparatively more thermal shock compared to the P-GMAW deposit, thereby reducing the heat input and improves the properties of weld joints.     

Investigation on the process parameters of TIG-welded aluminum alloy through mechanical and microstructural characterization

Multi-pass TIG welding was conducted on plates (15×300×180 mm3) of aluminum alloy Al-5083 that usually serves as the component material in structural applications such as cryogenics and chemical processing industries. Porosity formation and solidification cracking are the most common defects when TIG welding Al-5083 alloy, which is sensitive to the welding heat input. In the experiment, the heat input was varied from 0.89 kJ/mm to 5 kJ/mm designed by the combination of welding torch travel speed and welding current. Tensile, micro-Vicker hardness and Charpy impact tests were executed to witness the impetus response of heat input on the mechanical properties of the joints. Radiographic inspection was performed to assess the joint's quality and welding defects. The results show that all the specimens displayed inferior mechanical properties as compared to the base alloy. It was established that porosity was progressively abridged by the increase of heat input. The results also clinched that the use of me-dium heat input (1-2 kJ/mm) offered the best mechanical properties by eradicating welding defects, in which only about 18.26% of strength was lost. The yield strength of all the welded specimens remained unaffected indicated no influence of heat input. Partially melted zone (PMZ) width also affected by heat input, which became widened with the increase of heat input. The grain size of PMZ was found to be coarser than the respective grain size in the fusion zone. Charpy impact testing revealed that the absorbed energy by low heat input specimen (welded at high speed) was greater than that of high heat input (welded at low speed) because of low porosity and the formation of equiaxed grains which induce better impact toughness. Cryogenic (-196 C) impact testing was also performed and the results corroborate that impact properties under the cryogenic environment revealed no appreciable change after welding at designated heat input. Finally, Macro and micro fractured surfaces of tensile and impact specimens were analyzed using Stereo and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), which have supported the experimental findings.     

焊接工艺对GMAW堆焊焊缝区温度场影响的数值模拟

为了探索焊接工艺对熔化极气体保护堆焊快速成形零件组织性能的影响，根据材料热物理性能参数以及相变潜热与温度的非线性关系，建立了熔化极气体保护堆焊成形过程的数学模型和有限元模型，利用ANSYS软件的APDL语言编写程序，实现了高斯移动热源载荷下的熔化极气体保护堆焊成形温度场计算，分析对比了不同焊接工艺对焊缝区温度场热循环的影响。结果表明：在其他因素一定的条件下，热输入和焊接速度对焊缝区热循环影响显著，而基板厚度对其影响较小；选择厚度约为16mm的基板，采用小于120×20J的热输入和大于10mm／s的焊接速度有望成形出性能优良的零件。     

Stress corrosion cracking behaviour of gas tungsten arc welded super austenitic stainless steel joints

Super 304 H austenitic stainless steel with 3% of copper posses excellent creep strength and corrosion resistance, which is mainly used in heat exchanger tubing of the boiler. Heat exchangers are used in nuclear power plants and marine vehicles which are intended to operate in chloride rich offshore environment. Chloride stress corrosion cracking is the most likely life limiting failure with austenitic stainless steel tubing. Welding may worsen the stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of the material. Stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of Super 304 H parent metal and gas tungsten arc(GTA) welded joints were studied by constant load tests in 45% boiling Mg Cl2 solution. Stress corrosion cracking resistance of Super 304 H stainless steel was deteriorated by GTA welding due to the formation of susceptible microstructure in the HAZ of the weld joint and the residual stresses. The mechanism of cracking was found to be anodic path cracking, with transgranular nature of crack propagation. Linear relationships were derived to predict the time to failure by extrapolating the rate of steady state elongation.     

Effect of fusion welding processes on tensile properties of armor grade,high thickness,non-heat treatable aluminium alloy joints

AA5059 is one of the high strength armor grade aluminium alloy that finds its applications in the military vehicles due to the higher resistance against the armor piercing (AP) threats. This study aimed at finding the best suitable process among the fusion welding processes such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) by evaluating the tensile properties of AA5059 aluminium alloy joints. The fracture path was identified by mapping the low hardness distribution profile (LHDP) across the weld cross section under tensile loading. Optical and scanning electron microscopies were used to characterize the microstructural features of the welded joints at various zones. It is evident from the results that GTAW joints showed superior tensile properties compared to GMAW joints and this is primarily owing to the presence of finer grains in the weld metal zone (WMZ) and narrow heat-affected zone (HAZ). The lower heat input associated with the GTAW process effectively reduced the size of the WMZ and HAZ compared to GMAW process. Lower heat input of GTAW process results in faster cooling rate which hinders the grain growth and reduces the evaporation of magnesium in weld metal compared to GMAW joints. The fracture surface of GTAW joint consists of more dimples than GMAW joints which is an indication that the GTAW joint possess improved ductility than GMAW joint.     

Influence of magnetically constricted arc traverse speed (MCATS) on tensile properties and microstructural characteristics of welded Inconel 718 alloy sheets

The magnetically constricted arc technique was implemented to mitigate the heat input related metal-lurgical problems in Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) of Inconel 718 alloy particularly Nb segregation and subsequent laves phase evolution in fusion zone. This paper reports the direct effect of magnetically constricted arc traverse speed (MCATS) on bead profile, tensile properties and microstructural evolution of Inconel 718 alloy sheets joined by Gas Tungsten Constricted Arc Welding (GTCAW) process. The mechanism amenable for the microstructural modification and corresponding influence on the tensile properties of joints is investigated both in qualitative and quantitative manner related to the mechanics of arc constriction and pulsing. It is correlated to the solidification conditions during welding. The relationship between MCATS and Arc Constriction Current (ACC) was derived. Its interaction effect on the magnetic arc constriction and joint performance was analysed. Results showed that the joints fabricated using CATS of 70 mm/min exhibited superior tensile properties (98.39% of base metal strength with 31.50% elongation). It is attributed to the grain refinement in fusion zone microstructure leading to the evolution of finer, discrete laves phase in interdendritic areas.     

Comparative study on transverse shrinkage,mechanical and metallurgical properties of AA2219 aluminium weld joints prepared by gas tungsten arc and gas metal arc welding processes

Aluminium alloy AA2219 is a high strength alloy belonging to 2000 series. It has been widely used for aerospace applications, especially for construction of cryogenic fuel tank. However, arc welding of AA2219 material is very critical. The major problems that arise in arc welding of AA2219 are the adverse development of residual stresses and the re-distribution as well as dissolution of copper rich phase in the weld joint.These effects increase with increase in heat input. Thus, special attention was taken to especially thick section welding of AA2219-T87 aluminium alloy. Hence, the present work describes the 25 mm-thick AA2219-T87 aluminium alloy plate butt welded by GTAW and GMAW processes using multi-pass welding procedure in double V groove design. The transverse shrinkage, conventional mechanical and metallurgical properties of both the locations on weld joints were studied. It is observed that the fair copper rich cellular(CRC) network is on Side-A of both the weldments. Further, it is noticed that, the severity of weld thermal cycle near to the fusion line of HAZ is reduced due to low heat input in GTAW process which results in non dissolution of copper rich phase. Based on the mechanical and metallurgical properties it is inferred that GTAW process is used to improve the aforementioned characteristics of weld joints in comparison to GMAW process.     

无电焊接中厚度钢板焊接接头的组织结构与性能研究

采用无电焊接方法对12mm厚度钢板进行了焊接。分析了满足中厚度钢板焊接能量要求的技术途径;利用SEM,EDS,XRD等手段观察、分析了焊缝的组织成分与显微结构;测试了焊接接头的拉伸强度、弯曲强度、显微硬度等力学性能。结果表明:在选择高放热体系基础上,通过增大焊接笔直径、减小反应物料粒径、提高压坯密度等方法,可以有效增大焊接热效率,从而满足中厚度钢板焊接能量需求;焊缝组织分为热影响区、熔合区与合金区,焊缝合金与母材间通过熔合区形成了冶金结合;焊接接头因固溶强化和析晶强化的作用,具有良好的力学性能,拉伸强度、平均显微硬度与弯曲强度分别为357MPa、186HV0.2与644MPa,达到了野战应急抢修技术要求。     

LD10cs 铝合金焊接接头疲劳裂纹扩展速率的研究

本文研究用表面裂纹法测试LD10cs铝合金板材焊接接头各部位疲劳裂纹扩展速率。结果表明:焊接接头各部位疲劳裂纹扩展速率随焊接热循环引起的金属组织变化而变化,有一定规律性。熔合线和焊趾处疲劳裂纹扩展速率较其他部位大。焊缝加强高的存在,引起焊趾处应力集中,使该处疲劳性能进一步恶化,成为焊接接头疲劳性能最差的部位。结合金相组织和扫描电镜分析,对影响焊接接头各部位疲劳裂纹扩展速率的各种因素作了较详细的探讨,并提出了改进焊缝质量的建议。     

Gas tungsten arc welding of ZrB_2-SiC based ultra high temperature ceramic composites

The difficulty in fabricating the large size or complex shape limits the application of ZrB2-SiC composites. Joining them by fusion welding without or with preheating, controlled cooling under protective gas shield leads to thermal shock failure or porosity at the weld interface. In the present work, a filler material of(ZrB2-SiC-B4C-YAG) composite with oxidation resistance and thermal shock resistance was produced in the form of welding wire. Using the filler, gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW) was performed without employing preheating, post controlled cooling and extraneous protective gas shield to join hot pressed ZrB2-SiC(ZS), and pressureless sintered ZrB2-SiC-B4C-YAG(ZSBY) composites to themselves. The fusion welding resulted in cracking and non-uniform joining without any filler material. The weld interfaces of the composites were very clean and coherent. The Vickers micro-hardness across the weld interface was found to increase due to the increase in the volume % of both SiC and B4C in the filler material. The shear strength of the weld was about 50% of the flextural strength of the parent composite.     

Effect of post weld heat treatment on tensile properties and microstructure characteristics of friction stir welded armour grade AA7075-T651 aluminium alloy

This paper reports the effects of post weld heat treatments, namely artificial ageing and solution treatment followed by artificial ageing, on microstructure and mechanical properties of 12 mm thick friction stir welded joints of precipitation hardenable high strength armour grade AA7075-T651 aluminium alloy. The tensile properties, such as yield strength, tensile strength, elongation and notch tensile strength, are evaluated and correlated with the microhardness and microstructural features. The scanning electron microscope is used to characterie the fracture surfaces. The solution treatment followed by ageing heat treatment cycle is found to be marginally beneficial in improving the tensile properties of friction stir welds of AA7075-T651 aluminium alloy.     

Noise and vibration measurements in a Viking military vehicle

Noise and whole-body vibration measurements were made in a Viking military vehicle to determine the variation that should be expected during repeat measures, the effect of speed (up to 60 km/h in 5 km/h increments), and during travel over different types of terrain (comprising concrete road, gravel track and rough cross-country). Measurements were made at various crew positions (including the driver and commander) in both the front and the rear cabs in the vehicles. Three translational axes of vibration were measured in each seat. Two speeds were investigated over road (35 km/h and 55–60 km/h) and gravel (20 km/h and 35 km/h) surfaces. The effect of varying speed of the vehicle on the measured noise and vibration magnitudes was also investigated. The highest sound pressure level (L_Aeq) of 104 dB(A) was measured at the commander’s standing position during travel over concrete road at 55 km/h. Higher noise levels occurred for a standing commander compared with when sitting on the seat. A maximum single axis frequency-weighted vibration magnitude of 1.0 m/s² r.m.s. was measured on the driver’s seat during travel over track at 35 km/h. Higher vibration magnitudes occurred during travel over track compared with travel over road. Both noise and vibration exposure of crew within the Viking vehicle increased with increasing speed of the vehicle.     

Research on fuze microswitch based on corona discharge effect

Abnormal voltages such as electrostatic, constant current, and strong electromagnetic signals can erro-neously trigger operation of MEMS pyrotechnics and control systems in a fuze, which may result in casualties. This study designs a solid-state micro-scale switch by combining the corona gas discharge theory of asymmetric electric fields and Peek's Law. The MEMS switch can be transferred from "off" to"on" through the gas breakdown between the corona electrodes. In the model, one of the two electrodes is spherical and the other flat, so a non-uniform electric field is formed around the electrodes. The theoretical work is as follows. First, the relation among the radius of curvature of the spherical electrode, the discharge gap, and the air breakdown voltage is obtained; to meet the low voltage (30-60 V) required to drive the MEMS switch, the radius of curvature of the spherical electrode needs to be 10-50 μm and the discharge gap between the two electrodes needs to be 9-11 μm. Second, the optimal ratio ε is introduced to parameterize the model. Finally, the corona discharge structural parameters are determined by comparing the theoretical and electric field simulation results. The switch is then fabricated via MEMS processing. A hardware test platform is built and the performing chip tested. It is found that when the electrode gap is 9 μm, the electrostatic voltage is at least 37.3 V, with an error of 2.6% between the actual and theoretical air breakdown voltages. When the electrode gap is 11 μm, the electrostatic voltage is at least 42.3 V, with an error of 10.5% between the actual and theoretical air breakdown voltages. Both cases meet the design requirements.     

Optimization of process parameters of aluminum alloy AA 2014-T6 friction stir welds by response surface methodology

The heat treatable aluminum-copper alloy AA2014 finds wide application in the aerospace and defence industry due to its high strength-toweight ratio and good ductility. Friction stir welding(FSW) process, an emerging solid state joining process, is suitable for joining this alloy compared to fusion welding processes. This work presents the formulation of a mathematical model with process parameters and tool geometry to predict the responses of friction stir welds of AA 2014-T6 aluminum alloy, viz yield strength, tensile strength and ductility. The most influential process parameters considered are spindle speed, welding speed, tilt angle and tool pin profile. A four-factor, five-level central composite design was used and a response surface methodology(RSM) was employed to develop the regression models to predict the responses.The mechanical properties, such as yield strength(YS), ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and percentage elongation(%El), are considered as responses. Method of analysis of variance was used to determine the important process parameters that affect the responses. Validation trials were carried out to validate these results. These results indicate that the friction stir welds of AA 2014-T6 aluminum alloy welded with hexagonal tool pin profile have the highest tensile strength and elongation, whereas the joints fabricated with conical tool pin profile have the lowest tensile strength and elongation.     

Microstructure,mechanical and corrosion behavior of high strength AA7075aluminium alloy friction stir welds-Effect of post weld heat treatment

High strength aluminium alloy AA7075(Al-Zn-Mg-Cu) is a precipitate hardenable alloy widely used in the aerospace,defense,marine and automobile industries.Use of the heat treatable aluminium alloys in all these sectors is ever-increasing owing to their excellent strength-toweight ratio and reasonably good corrosion resistance.The shortage in corrosion resistance,however,usually poses negative concern about their reliability and lifetime when they service in the variable marine environments.These alloys also exhibit low weldability due to poor solidification microstructure,porosity in fusion zone and lose their mechanical properties when they are welded by fusion welding techniques.Friction stir welding(FSW) is a reliable technique to retain the properties of the alloy as the joining takes place in the solid state.The welds are susceptible to corrosion due to the microstructural changes in the weld nugget during FSW.In this work,the effect of post weld treatments,viz.,peak aging(T6) and retrogression reaging(RRA),on the microstructure,mechanical properties and pitting corrosion has been studied.Friction stir welding of 8 mm-thick AA7075 alloy was carried out.The microstructural changes of base metal and nugget zone of friction stir welds were studied using optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.Tensile and hardness test of base metal and welds has been carried out.Pitting corrosion resistance was determined through dynamic polarization test.It was observed that the hardness and strength of weld were observed to be comparatively high in peak aged(T6) condition but the welds showed poor corrosion resistance.The resistance to pitting corrosion was improved and the mechanical properties were maintained by RRA treatment.The resistance to pitting corrosion was improved in RRA condition with the minimum loss of weld strength.     

Effect of welding processes on mechanical and microstructural characteristics of high strength low alloy naval grade steel joints

Naval grade high strength low alloy(HSLA) steels can be easily welded by all types of fusion welding processes. However, fusion welding of these steels leads to the problems such as cold cracking, residual stress, distortion and fatigue damage. These problems can be eliminated by solid state welding process such as friction stir welding(FSW). In this investigation, a comparative evaluation of mechanical(tensile, impact,hardness) properties and microstructural features of shielded metal arc(SMA), gas metal arc(GMA) and friction stir welded(FSW) naval grade HSLA steel joints was carried out. It was found that the use of FSW process eliminated the problems related to fusion welding processes and also resulted in the superior mechanical properties compared to GMA and SMA welded joints.     

Microstructure and pitting corrosion of armor grade AA7075 aluminum alloy friction stir weld nugget zone-Effect of post weld heat treatment and addition of boron carbide

Friction stir welding(FSW) of high strength aluminum alloys has been emerged as an alternative joining technique to avoid the problems during fusion welding.In recent times FSW is being used for armor grade AA7075 aluminum alloy in defense,aerospace and marine applications where it has to serve in non uniform loading and corrosive environments.Even though friction stir welds of AA7075 alloy possess better mechanical properties but suffer from poor corrosion resistance.The present work involves use of retrogression and reaging(RRA) post weld heat treatment to improve the corrosion resistance of welded joints of aluminum alloys.An attempt also has been made to change the chemical composition of the weld nugget by adding B4C nano particles with the aid of the FSW on a specially prepared base metal plate in butt position.The effects of peak aged condition(T6),RRA and addition of B4C nano particles on microstructure,hardness and pitting corrosion of nugget zone of the friction stir welds of AA7075 alloy have been studied.Even though RRA improved the pitting corrosion resistance,its hardness was slightly lost.Significant improvement in pitting corrosion resistance was achieved with addition of boron carbide powder and post weld heat treatment of RRA.     

Dissimilar friction stir spot welding of AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 aluminum alloys under different welding parameters and media

This paper studies the friction stir spot welding of AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 Al alloys in the ambient and underwater environments by clarifying the nugget features,microstructure,fracture and mechanical properties of the joints.The results show that the water-cooling medium exhibits a significant heat absorption capacity in the AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 welded joint.Nugget features such as stir zone width,circular imprints,average grain sizes,and angular inter-material hooking are reduced by the water-cooling effect in the joints.Narrower whitish(intercalated structures)bands are formed in the under-water joints while Mg2Si and Al2CuMg precipitates are formed in the ambient and the underwater welded joints respectively.An increase in tool rotational speed(600-1400 rpm)and plunge depth(0.1-0.5 mm)increases the tensile-shear force of the welded AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 joints in both the ambient and underwater environments.The maximum tensile-shear forces of 5900 N and 6700 N were obtained in the ambient and the underwater welds respectively.