Optimization of Argon Gas Metal Arc Welding Process Parameters with Regard to Tensile Strength for AISI 310 Stainless Steel Using Taguchi Technique

Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is the leading process in the development of arc welding process for higher productivity and quality. In this study, the effect of process parameters of argon gas welding on the strength of T type welded joint of AISI 310 stainless steel is analyzed. The Taguchi technique is used to develop the experimental matrix and tensile strength of the welded joint is measured using experimental method and finite element method. Optimization of input parameter is performed for the maximum tensile strength of welded joint using ANOVA. The results showed that welding speed is the most significant factor affecting the tensile strength followed by voltage in argon gas metal arc welding (AGMAW) process. Argon gas welding process performance with regard to the tensile strength is optimized at voltage: 18.5 V, wire feed speed: 63 m/min and welding speed: 0.36 m/min.

Recreating Ductility-Dip Cracking via Gleeble®-Based Welding Simulation

Face-centered cubic alloys, such as nickel-based alloys and austenitic stainless steels, are important to many industries, notably nuclear power generation and petrochemical. These alloys are prone to ductility-dip cracking (DDC), an inter-mediate-temperature, solid-state cracking phenomenon. They experience an abnormal elevated-temperature ductility loss, which leads to cracking upon applying sufficient restraint. A unified mechanism for DDC has been elusive. To learn more about DDC, an experimental procedure has been designed and evaluated for use in future studies. It is a thermomechanical test that replicates welding conditions via simulated strain ratcheting (SSR) using the Gleeble thermomechanical simulator. This study evaluates SSR and aims to establish the procedure is reproducible and adequately optimized for producing DDC. A design of experiments was created with four alloys tested at varying preloads, elevated temperature strains, and a number of thermomechanical cycles. Mechanical energy imposed within the DDC temperature range was used for quantification of the effect of thermomechanical cycling on the DDC response. The materials tested were 310 stainless steel and Nickel 201 base metals as well as nickel-based filler metals 52M and 52MSS. The SSR successfully recreated DDC while maintaining higher fidelity to actual production conditions than past laboratory tests and offered a more controlled environment than large-scale weld tests. Therefore, the SSR will provide a viable experimental procedure for learning more about the DDC mechanism.

AISI 310 Stainless Steel Formed by Gelcasting: An Alternative Manufacturing Method

This work evaluates the microstructure and the yield strength under compression at room temperature and at 800°C of specimens prepared with AISI 310 stainless steel powder (D50 = 10 μm), manufactured by gelcasting. Parts were vacuum sintered in a single batch at 1280°C. At room temperature, specimens presented average yield strength of 270 MPa, and at 800°C, 105 MPa. Microstructure analysis involved the measurement of grain size along the vertical axis of cylindrical specimens, with special attention to the effect of particles settling, and was conducted using scanning electron and optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Settling effect was assessed considering the position where the specimen was taken and was negligible: both density and yield strength did not vary significantly along the vertical axis.

The Effect of Phase Transformation on the Tensile Fracture of Austenitic Stainless Steel

The tensile fracture of two austenitic stainless steels with different degrees of stability for low temperature strain induced martensitic transformation was investigated. A stable AISI type 310 stainless steel displayed typical tensile stress-strain curves with decreasing work hardening rate at temperatures in the interval of 25 to-196°C, in which no martensitic transformation occurred. By contrast, a metastable type 302 stainless steel with martensitic transformation from 25 to-196°C showed a range of plastic deformation with increasing work hardening rate. The fracture of the stable 310 steel presented the characteristic cup and cone ductile aspect with micro dimples and sparse evidence of intergranular cracks. On the contrary, the martensitic transformation in the metastable 302 steel causes a neckless fracture with generally brittle appearance, despite the relatively high strain attained at fracture. At-80 and-196°C, associated with higher amount of transformed martensite, the fracture surface was covered with micro-craters formed around inclusions enveloped by thin strain induced martensite lamellae.