The Use of Surfacing Materials to Increase the Durability of Disc Harrow Working Elements

Introduction. For surface tillage operation there widely used disc harrows, working bodies of which are discs wearing out during operation. The wear intensity of discs depends on the wear resistance of their working surfaces, working modes and properties of the cultivated soil. It has been found that an effective way to increase the life of discs is surfacing them with wear-resistant materials. The aim of the work is to study the wear out of surfacing materials, which can be used to harden discs and to make recommendation for the use of these materials in the repair departments of agricultural enterprises. Materials and Methods. Surfacing with electrodes T-590 and powder wires PP-Np200Kh15S1GRT, VELTEK-N560.02 and PP-Np280Kh9F7SG4 were taken as test materials. For wear tests of materials in abrasive mass, there was used an apparatus to simulate the moisture content and composition (sandy loam or loam) of the soil. In the disk-pad tests, the effect of abrasive particle size, load and sliding friction velocity on the wear of the materials was studied. In field tests, wear of the disks made of 65G steel, surfaced toothed and solid disks were monitored. Results. Laboratory studies of the materials revealed the effect of soil moisture and composition, load, abrasive grit and sliding friction velocity on wear. The main factor determining the wear resistance of materials is their structural state. The indexes of wear resistance of surfacing were determined during the laboratory tests and confirmed by field tests. Discussion and Conclusion. Surfacing with flux-cored wire PP-Np280Kh9F7SG4 has the highest wear resistance of the studied materials. The technology of hard-facing disks with modern materials, in particular with flux-cored wire PP-Np280Kh9F7SG4, can be implemented in repair departments of agricultural enterprises when they have the equipment for hard-facing and sharpening of working surfaces.

Effect of Aluminum on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Weld Metal of Q960 Steel

High-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel is used in important steel structural members because of its strength and plastic toughness. Q960 steel is HSLA steel obtained by adding an appropriate amount of alloy elements and quenching and tempering treatment on the basis of ordinary low-carbon steel. This kind of steel has strong hardenability due to the alloy elements added. Cold cracks, embrittlement and softening of the heat-affected zone easily occur after welding. In particular, the low-temperature impact toughness cannot meet the requirements and limits its use. In this paper, self-shielded welding is used to adjust the content of aluminum in flux-cored wire. The relationship between weld metal (WM) microstructure and strength and properties was studied by tensile test and impact test, and the influence mechanism of Al content on weld metal microstructure and properties was analyzed. The results show that when the content of Al is 0.21%, the impact energy at 0 °C~−60 °C is the best, the tensile strength can reach 1035 MPA and the number of pores is small. The size of inclusions in WM is mostly less than 1.0 μm Al2O3 spherical oxide. It can become the center of acicular ferrite (AF) and increase the nucleation probability. However, with the increase of Al content, large irregular AlN inclusions are produced, which reduces the tensile strength and impact energy of the welded joint.

Effect of structure and phase content on wear resistance of the economical alloyed metastable and secondary hardening steels of Cr-Mn-Ti system

Despite a large number of studies in the field of assessing the causes of the formation of hot and cold cracks during surfacing of wear-resistant alloys, today the issues of working out the use of economically alloyed wear-resistant materials and the technique of their surfacing remain relevant. Goal: The purpose of this work is to study the effect of the structure and phase composition on the wear resistance of economically alloyed metastable and secondary hardening steels of the Cr-Mn-Ti system, as well as with additional alloying with Mo, B, V. Mechanized surfacing was carried out with flux cored wires AN-22 and AN-20 with the supply of a de-energized additive to the head of the weld pool, which reduces the content of sulfur and phosphorus, the specific consumption of electricity and increases the assimilation of alloying elements and the relative mass of the flux. Cladding by manual arc welding was carried out with coated electrodes with the addition of a depleted CaF2-coated flux-cored wire filler. When surfacing with a de-energized additive, the ratio of the filler to the main electrode, the relative mass was determined by β = m1 / m2 (m1, m2 are the mass of the filler and the electrode rod, respectively). Submerged arc surfacing was carried out in the following modes: IN = 300 ... 350 A, UD = 26 ... 30 V, q = 6 ... 10 kJ / cm, with manual surfacing - IN = 180 ... 220 A, UD = 25 ... Results: The studies carried out confirm the possibility of the formation of a “white band” both in alloys with a high concentration of austenitizing elements (Mn, C, Ni) and when alloying carbide-forming elements with a relatively low affinity for carbon (V, Mo). The indicators of resistance to cracking (КС, j-integral, δС), and, consequently, resistance to wear of secondary hardening steels are higher than those of metastable and tool steels.

The Influence of Ni on Bainite/Martensite Transformation and Mechanical Properties of Deposited Metals Obtained from Metal-Cored Wire

The multi-pass deposited metals were prepared by metal-cored wire with low (2.5 wt%) and high (4.0 wt%) Ni to research the effect of Ni on the bainite/martensite transformation. Results showed that deposited metals exhibited a multiphase structure comprised of bainite, martensite and residual austenite, which is not only explained from SEM/TEM, but also identified and quantified each phase from crystallographic structure through XRD and EBSD. With Ni content increasing, the fraction of martensite increases from 37% to 41%, and that of bainite decreases from 61% to 55% accordingly because 4% Ni element narrows the temperature range of the bainite transformation ~20 °C. The 7.8% residual austenite exhibited block and sheet in the deposited metal with low Ni, while the fraction of residual austenite was 3.26% as a film with high Ni, caused by different transformation mechanisms of bainite and martensite. The tensile strengths of deposited metals were 1042 ± 10 MPa (2.5% Ni) and 1040 ± 5 MPa (4% Ni), respectively. The yield strength of deposited metals with high Ni was 685 ± 18 MPa, which was higher than low Ni due to the high fraction of martensite. The impact values of deposited metals with high Ni content decreased because the volume fraction of bainite and residual austenite and area fraction of large-angle grain boundary were lower.

Representation of gas metal arc pulsed welding process behavior on bead geometry: a study of leading variables

Gas metal arc welding is one of the most influential processes in the production and repair of structures and equipment; therefore, the need to improve the productivity and quality of welded joints has led to the development of techniques for good control of welding parameters. Also, the development of semi-automatic welding processes led to the control of one of the variables such as pulsed current; this technique is characterized by a lower heat input and lower energy expenditure, which directly influences the structural quality of the welded joint and the geometry of the weld bead. This work focused on evaluating the effects of various welding operating parameters using the central composite design tool based on the response surface methodology; next, the experimental development employed an inverter type power source for weld depositions, a commercial grade Stargold clean 96% Ar and 4% CO2 shielding gas at the rate of 15 L/min stationary arc, a 1.2 mm metal cored wire for welding deposit and a carbon steel base plate with a thickness of 6 mm. During the welding process, the torch was kept at a 90° inclination and a 16 mm stroke. To examine the adequacy of the empirical models and the significance of the regression coefficients, the variance analysis was employed. Consequently, the graphs were obtained through the determination of the model; from the statistical results obtained, it was shown that the above models were adequate to predict the weld width, bead height, and penetration within the range of variables studied. Furthermore, it was observed that the wire feed rate it has a very marked effect on weld bead geometry, followed by frequency pulse and peak current; finally, the effectiveness of employing these methodologies for the management of variables attributing to the execution of welding tasks with higher accuracy was demonstrated.

Experimental investigation on cladding with metal cored wire using GMAW process and parametric optimization

Cladding is widely used in manufacturing industries for the production of pressure vessel by depositing thick layer of filler material for providing corrosion resistant-surface. The use of metal cored wire in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process is popular due to its higher deposition rate and productivity. This work investigates the effect of process parameters on the deposition of cladding layer with ER 309L metal core wire (as filler material) on a corrosion resistant material (IS 2062). The welding parameters viz., wire feed rate (WFR), voltage (V), welding speed (S) and nozzle to plate distance (NTD) are employed as process parameters while penetration (P), bead width (W), reinforcement (R), weld penetration, shape factor (WPSF) and weld reinforcement form factor (WRFF) as welding responses. The predictive model developed for P, W, R, WPSF, and WRFF using the response surface methodology (RSM) approach is found adequate at 95% confidence interval. The validation results for the developed model results in a model accuracy (MA) of 92.82%, 96.34%, 91.47% 88.98% and 87.75% for model P, W, R, WPSF, and WRFF respectively and it shows higher predictability and accuracy. The process parameters are optimized simultaneously with integrated optimization approach using RSM with Jaya algorithm and obtain optimal solution in less than 20 number of iterations. The minimum fitness value obtained as 1.3008 at an optimal parameter setting of WFR=12m/min, V=26V, S=280mm/min, NTD=10mm. The validation result at the optimal parameter setting results in an improvement of 6.45%, 11.29%, 13.58%, 16.07%, 15.38% is noted for P, W, R, WPSF, and WRFF respectively.

Manual metal arc welding of dissimilar 30MnB5 and S 235 low alloyed steels for agricultural applications

In agricultural mechanization industry, different types of materials are assembled with each other to establish agricultural machine systems. However, the necessity of joining dissimilar materials used in the same machine system may cause some problems. Joining two different materials by welding and selecting the most appropriate weld metal (electrode) for this is a very difficult problem. The increasing importance of the economic factors in today’s industry requires both the use of dissimilar materials in agricultural mechanization and the production of longer-lasting agricultural machines, thus making it necessary to use dissimilar steels in agricultural mechanization systems. Therefore, it is important to apply a welding process to dissimilar steels used in agricultural mechanization. In this study, 30MnB5/S235 steel pairs were joined by the manual metal arc welding (MMAW) method using different covered electrodes. In order to determine the mechanical properties of the welded samples, hardness, bending, and impact tests were carried out. In addition, visual inspection to the weld seams, liquid penetrant testing, and metal-lographic examinations to determine the microstructural properties were conducted. As a result of the microstructure studies, structures such as grain boundary ferrite, Widmanstätten ferrite, acicular ferrite, bainite, and martensite were determined in the weld metal and HAZs. As a result of the hardness test, the highest hardness values were determined in HAZs on the side of 30MnB5 steel. As a result of the bending test, the highest mechanical properties were obtained in the weld seams made with basic flux-cored wire. As a result of the notch impact test, the highest mechanical properties were obtained in the weld seams made with basic flux-cored wire, after the base metals.

Influence of the formulation of a flux-cored wire on the microstructure and hardness of welded metal

For this paper, the microstructure and hardness of the weld metal were investigated by conducting experiments with the flux cored arc welding process in underwater and air conditions. A rutile/oxidizing tubular wire was used, manufactured by the Robotics, Welding and Simulation Laboratory at Minas Gerais Federal University, especially for underwater wet welding. Underwater welds had a lower volumetric fraction of acicular ferrite in the weld metal compared to air welds. In the thermally affected zone, for both welds, there was a predominant formation of martensite. However, the grain size and width of the thermally affected zone of underwater welds are smaller. The hardness values shown correspond to the microstructure formed in the weld metal. On the other hand, in the region of the thermally affected zone, the hardness values were higher underwater welds, due to the smaller martensite grains presented.