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Effect of A-TIG Welding Process on the Weld Attributes of Type 304LN and 316LN Stainless Steels

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Abstract

The specific activated flux has been developed for enhancing the penetration performance of TIG welding process for autogenous welding of type 304LN and 316LN stainless steels through systematic study. Initially single-component fluxes were used to study their effect on depth of penetration and tensile properties. Then multi-component activated flux was developed which was found to produce a significant increase in penetration of 10-12 mm in single-pass TIG welding of type 304LN and 316LN stainless steels. The significant improvement in penetration achieved using the activated flux developed in the present work has been attributed to the constriction of the arc and as well as reversal of Marangoni flow in the molten weld pool. The use of activated flux has been found to overcome the variable weld penetration observed in 316LN stainless steel with <50 ppm of sulfur. There was no degradation in the microstructure and mechanical properties of the A-TIG welds compared to that of the welds produced by conventional TIG welding on the contrary the transverse strength properties of the 304LN and 316LN stainless steel welds produced by A-TIG welding exceeded the minimum specified strength values of the base metals. Improvement in toughness values were observed in 316LN stainless steel produced by A-TIG welding due to refinement in the weld microstructure in the region close to the weld center. Thus, activated flux developed in the present work has greater potential for use during the TIG welding of structural components made of type 304LN and 316LN stainless steels.

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  1. Advanced Welding Processes and Modelling Section, Materials Technology Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603 102, India

    M. Vasudevan

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  1. M. Vasudevan
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Vasudevan, M. Effect of A-TIG Welding Process on the Weld Attributes of Type 304LN and 316LN Stainless Steels. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 26, 1325–1336 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2517-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2517-x

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