Experimental Investigation of Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of SAW Welded Mild Steel

Abstract

The performance of any welding process depends upon its input process parameters. The main aim of this research work is to understand how each welding parameter influence the mechanical properties of the mild steel (weld metal) welded by submerged arc welding (SAW). The major welding parameters identified were welding current, arc voltage and polarity. The effect of the various combinations of these parameters has been observed on various mechanical properties namely hardness, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and microstructure of the weld metal by conducting hardness test, tensile test and metallographic examination on the V-groove butt welded specimens of mild steel. It was found that the mechanical and microstructural properties are better at 500 ampere welding current, 35V arc voltage with DCSP. The results showed that the selected welding parameters have major effects on the responses, viz. weld metal chemical composition and mechanical properties. Amongst the selected welding parameters, polarity was found to be important for all responses under study