An Evaluation of Optimal Friction Stir Welding Factors (FSWF) For Yellow Brass 405-20

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a green, environmentally amicable, and solid-state joining technology. FSW can successfully weld a wide range of materials (similar/dissimilar parent materials) including aluminum, copper, steel, different alloys from these materials, plastics, composites. FSW of brass has already been accomplished by fewer researchers. In this research, yellow brass 405-20 is, therefore, welded with FSW that was never welded before. In this study, tool material utilized was M2 HSS that was also novel. Effect of two friction stir weld factors (FSWF), rotational speed (RS) and traverse speed (TS), was found on three output parameters i.e., weld temperature, weld strength and weld hardness. Weld temperature developed, was found to be 63.72% of melting point of base metal. A significant improvement in friction stir weld strength (FSWS) was also measured that was found to be 106.37% of the base brass strength. Finally, weld hardness was measured which was found to be 87.80% of original brass hardness. Based on main effects, optimal FSW factors were found to be 1450 rpm and 60 mm/min resulting interestingly in optimal temperature, optimal weld strength, and optimal hardness. Rotational speed (RS) was found to be significant to affect the weld temperature only at the friction stir weld zone (FSWZ) with the highest percent contribution (PCR) of 65.69%. However, PCR of transverse speed was found to be maximum for affecting weld strength as compared to its PCR towards both weld temperature and weld hardness. Current study was also deepened by microscopic investigation.

Effects of Welding Wire Composition on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Welded Joint in Al-Mg-Si Alloy

The effects of welding wire composition on microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joint in Al-Mg-Si alloy were studied by electrochemical test, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and metallographic analysis. The results show that the weld zone is composed of coarse columnar dendrites and fine equated grains. Recrystallized grains are observed in the fusion zone, and the microstructure in the heat affected zone is coarsened by welding heat. The hardness curve of welded joint is like W-shaped, the highest hardness point appears near the fusion zone, and the lowest hardness point is in the heat affected zone. The main second phases of welded joints are: matrix α-Al, Mg2Si, AlMnSi, elemental Si and SiO2. The addition of rare earth in welding wire can refine the grain in weld zone obviously, produce fine grain strengthening effect, and improve the electrochemical performance of weld.

Assessment of the Corrosion Behavior of Friction-Stir-Welded Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys

The fuel consumption of high-density automobiles has increased in recent years. Aluminum (Al) alloy is a suitable material for weight reduction in vehicles with high ductility and low weight. To address environmental problems in aircraft and maritime applications, in particular rust development and corrosion, the current study assesses the corrosion behavior during friction stir welding (FSW) of two dissimilar Al alloys (AA6061 and AA8011) in various corrosive conditions using salt spraying and submersion tests. Two acidic solutions and one alkaline solution are used in these tests, which are performed at room temperature. The two specimens (AA6061 and AA8011) and the weld region are suspended in a salt spraying chamber and a 5 wt.% NaCl solution is continually sprayed using the circulation pump for 60 h, with the specimens being weighed every 15 h to determine the corrosion rates. According to the salt spraying data, the weld zone has a higher corrosion resistance than the core components. For twenty-eight days, individual specimens are submerged in 3.5 wt.% HCl + H2O and H2SO4 + H2O solutions and seawater. The weld area specimens exhibit stronger corrosion resistance than the base material specimens, and weight loss in the saltwater medium is lower when compared to the other test solutions, according to the corrosion analysis. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis demonstrates that the base metal AA8011 is considerably corroded on its surface.

Investigation on Impact of Heat Input on Microstructural, Mechanical, and Intergranular Corrosion Properties of Gas Tungsten Arc-Welded Ti-Stabilized 439 Ferritic Stainless Steel

In the present study, gas tungsten arc welding was employed to weld Ti-stabilized 439 ferritic stainless steel using 308L austenitic stainless steel filler electrode with varying heat input, i.e., low heat input (LHI) and high heat input (HHI). The optical microstructure revealed the formation of retained austenite (RA) and ferrite in the weld zone (WZ), whereas the peppery structure consisting of chromium-rich carbides were observed in the heat-affected zone for both the weldments. The volumetric fraction of RA was calculated using X-ray diffraction analysis. The RA’s content decreased, whereas grain size in WZ increased with an increase in heat input. The local misorientation and grain boundary distribution in the welded region was investigated by electron backscattered diffraction. The LHI weldment depicted the higher micro-hardness and tensile strength attributed to the higher content of RA as compared to HHI; however, the opposite trend was observed for the intergranular corrosion resistance.

Extracting Weld Bead Shapes from Radiographic Testing Images with U-Net

Metals created by melting basic metal and welding rods in welding operations are referred to as weld beads. The weld bead shape allows the observation of pores and defects such as cracks in the weld zone. Radiographic testing images are used to determine the quality of the weld zone. The extraction of only the weld bead to determine the generative pattern of the bead can help efficiently locate defects in the weld zone. However, manual extraction of the weld bead from weld images is not time and cost-effective. Efficient and rapid welding quality inspection can be conducted by automating weld bead extraction through deep learning. As a result, objectivity can be secured in the quality inspection and determination of the weld zone in the shipbuilding and offshore plant industry. This study presents a method for detecting the weld bead shape and location from the weld zone image using image preprocessing and deep learning models, and extracting the weld bead through image post-processing. In addition, to diversify the data and improve the deep learning performance, data augmentation was performed to artificially expand the image data. Contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) is used as an image preprocessing method, and the bead is extracted using U-Net, a pixel-based deep learning model. Consequently, the mean intersection over union (mIoU) values are found to be 90.58% and 85.44% in the train and test experiments, respectively. Successful extraction of the bead from the radiographic testing image through post-processing is achieved.

Investigation on the Influence of Weld Position on the Deformation Behavior of Welded Tube During Free Bending Process

The non-uniform distribution of the mechanical properties of welded tube would affect the plastic deformation behavior of tube during the free bending process. To explore the influence of weld position on the forming quality and axis dimensional accuracy of welded tube, the free bending experiment and numerical simulation of welded tube were conducted in this paper. First, the principle of free bending was theoretical deduced and the stress distribution of bent tube was analyzed. Then the hardness test and uniaxial tensile test were conducted to obtain the mechanical properties of weld zone and parent zone of welded tube. The material strength in the weld zone of welded tube is significantly higher than that in the parent zone. Finally, the free bending experiment and numerical simulation with different weld position were carried out, and the influence of weld position on the bending radius, cross-sectional distortion and wall thickness of bent tube was discussed. All these findings advance the insight into the free bending deformation behavior of welded tube and help to improve the forming quality of welded tube and facilitate the application of free bending technology in welded tube.

A Recent Progress in Performance and Property Improvement in Underwater Welding

Underwater welding is the process of connecting materials underwater in the presence of water. It is used to maintain and improve the structure in marine and offshore applications. It's utilized for underwater pipeline maintenance, submerged offshore oil drilling, and ship repairs. It can also be found in nuclear power plants and deep-sea mining. Underwater welding is divided into two categories dry welding and wet welding. Dry welding entails enclosing the weld zone in a hyperbaric tank filled with a gas mixture and welding at the prevailing pressure. Wet welding is a type of welding that uses waterproof electrodes and is done directly on the component to be welded. The major benefit of this welding is its simplicity and cost effectiveness, but we can't obtain high weld quality as easily as we can with dry welding. Dry welding, on the other hand, may provide high weld quality, but it is a time-consuming procedure that needs the welder to secure the region with the hyperbaric vessel, and it is also a costly method. Underwater welding has a number of issues, including bubble arc generation, cold cracking, microstructural deformation, and more. We attempted to bring together the most recent developments in the field of underwater welding. We've outlined several techniques that were used to improve welding characteristics as well as important issues that must be addressed. This review article may be used to figure out what measures need to be taken to enhance the underwater weld joint quality. Keywords: Underwater welding, underwater wet welding, underwater dry welding, hyperbaric vessel, underwater welding development

Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of TIG and ATIG Welded 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel with Multi-Components Flux Optimization Using Mixing Design Method and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)

In this study, the effects of pseudo-ternary oxides on mechanical properties and microstructure of 316L stainless steel tungsten inert gas (TIG) and activating tungsten inert gas (ATIG) welded joints were investigated. The novelty in this work is introducing a metaheuristic technique called the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method to develop a mathematical model of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) in terms of proportions of oxides flux. A constrained optimization algorithm available in Matlab 2020 optimization toolbox is used to find the optimal percentages of the selected powders that provide the maximum UTS. The study indicates that the optimal composition of flux was: 32% Cr2O3, 43% ZrO2, 8% Si2O, and 17% CaF2. The UTS was 571 MPa for conventional TIG weld and rose to 600 MPa for the optimal ATIG flux. The obtained result of hardness for the optimal ATIG was 176 HV against 175 HV for conventional TIG weld. The energy absorbed in the weld zone during the impact test was 267 J/cm2 for the optimal ATIG weld and slightly higher than that of conventional TIG weld 256 J/cm2. Fracture surface examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) shows ductile fracture for ATIG weld with small and multiple dimples in comparison for TIG weld. Moreover, the depth of optimized flux is greater than that of TIG weld by two times. The ratio D/W was improved by 3.13 times. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis shows traces of the sulfur element in the TIG weld zone.

Parametric Optimization of Friction Stir Welding Factors (FSWF) for Yellow Brass 405-20

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a green, environmentally amicable, and solid-state joining technology. Industries are really interested in adopting FSW in its various applications e.g., automobile, aerospace, marine, construction, etc. FSW can successfully weld a wide range of materials (similar/dissimilar parent materials) including aluminum, copper, steel, different alloys from these materials, plastics, composites, and this material range is subjected to extension if FSW research efforts develop further in future. FSW of brass has already been accomplished by fewer researchers. In this research, yellow brass 405-20 is, therefore, welded with FSW that was never welded before. In this study, tool material utilized was M2 HSS that was also novel. Effect of two friction stir weld factors (FSWF), rotational speed (RS) and traverse speed (TS), was found on three output parameters i.e., weld temperature, weld strength and weld hardness. Weld temperature was found to be 63.72% of melting point of base metal. A significant improvement in friction stir weld strength (FSWS) was also measured that was found to be 82.78% of the base brass strength. Finally, weld hardness was measured which was found to be 87.80% of original brass hardness. Based on main effects of Anova Analysis, optimal FSW factors were found to be 1450 rpm and 60 mm/min resulting interestingly in maximum (max.)/optimal temperature, max./optimal weld strength, and minimum/optimal hardness. Rotational speed (RS) was found to be significant to affect the weld temperature only at the friction stir weld zone (FSWZ) with the highest percent contribution (PCR) of 65.69%. Transverse speed (TS) was found to be overall insignificant for affecting weld temperature, weld strength and hardness. However, PCR of transverse speed was found to be maximum for affecting weld strength as compared to its PCR towards both weld temperature and weld hardness. Error PCR was found to be the lowest for weld zone temperature, then for weld strength, and finally the highest for weld hardness. Interaction Plots (IPs) were also made for those FSWF which were found to be insignificant and to investigate any combined effect of FSWF on output parameters causing increased error PCR towards weld temperature, weld strength, and weld hardness.

Continuous drive friction welding of AISI 8630 low-alloy steel: experimental investigations on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties

Continuous drive friction welding (CDW) is a state-of-the-art solid-state welding technology for joining metallic components used in aerospace, oil and gas and power generation industries. This study summarises the results of mechanical and microstructural investigations on a modified AISI-8630 steel subjected to CDW. The effects of welding process parameters, including rotational speed, friction and forge forces, during CDW were explored to determine an optimum welding condition. The mechanical properties of the weld, and microstructural characteristics across different regions of the weld were measured and examined. The microstructure characterisation results suggest that the weld zone (WZ) experiences temperatures above Ac3 and the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) experiences temperatures between Ac1 and Ac3 of the material. Investigations with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) demonstrated the occurrence of strain-induced dynamic recrystallisation in the weld. The weld demonstrated higher yield and ultimate tensile strengths at the expense of ductility and hardening capacity compared to the base metal (BM). The strain hardening profiles of the welds exhibited a dual-slopes characteristic, an indication of different levels of plastic deformation experienced by the constituent phases (i.e., martensite, bainite and ferrite) present in the microstructure. The maximum strength-to-ductility combination and static toughness values were obtained for the weld produced under the highest rotational speed, maximum friction force and an intermediate forge force of 1200-1400 rpm, 37.5-42.5 kN and 60-65 kN, respectively.