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The purpose of this paper is to complete fatigue analysis of welded joints considering both the crack initiation sites and crack coalescence, and to generate virtual welded specimens for computer simulation of fatigue life on a specimen-by-specimen basis; knowledge regarding the weld toe stress concentration factor (SCF) sequence is essential. In this study, attempts were made to analyze the sequence and to find a simple method to generate the sequence using computers.

Laser scanning technique was used to acquire the real three-dimensional weld toe geometry of welded specimens. The scanned geometry was digitally sectioned, and three-dimensional finite element (FE) models of the scanned specimens were constructed and the weld toe SCF sequence was calculated. The numbers in the sequence were analyzed using a simple autoregression model and the statistical properties of the sequence were acquired.

The autoregression analysis showed the value of a weld toe SCF is linearly related to its neighboring factor with a high correlation. When a factor value at a toe location is known, the neighboring factor can be simulated by a simple linear equation with a random residual. The weld toe factor sequence can thus be formed by repeatedly using the linear equation with a residual. The generated sequence exhibits close statistical properties to those of the real sequence obtained from FE results.

When the weld toe SCF sequence is known, it is possible to foresee potential crack locations and the subsequent crack coalescence. The results of the current study will be the foundation for the future work on fatigue analysis of welded joints considering the effects of crack initiation site and crack coalescence.

The weld toe SCF sequence was rarely discussed previously because of a lack of the available data. The current study is the first work to investigate the statistical properties of the sequence and found that a simple autoregression equation can be used to perform the analysis. This study is also the first work that successfully generates a weld toe SCF sequence, which can be used to simulate virtual welded specimens.

Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is a typical manual process with many important but dangerous applications for the welder. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology developed for execution time trajectory generation for robotic SMAW which offers greater safety and improved weld quality and repeatability.

The study presents a methodology developed for execution time trajectory generation for the robotic SMAW. In this methodology, while the electrode is melted the robot makes the diving movement, keeping the electric arc length constant. The trajectory is generated during execution time as a function of melting rate and independent of the welding speed, given by the welding parameters. The proposed methodology uses a variable tool center point (TCP) model where the covered electrode is considered a prismatic joint, whose displacement is determined by the melting rate.

The proposed methodology was implemented in a KUKA robot. The electrode melting rate was determined by measuring the arc voltage and the electrode holder trajectory was determined during the weld, keeping the arc length and the welding speed constant. All the obtained weld beads have the same aspect, showing the process repeatability.

Owing to its low productivity, robotic SMAW is only suitable to certain applications.

With this methodology, the TCP will always be located at the tip of the electrode (melting front), allowing one to program the welding speed independently of the electrode diving speed. The diving movement is automatically performed by the robot during the welding.

Robotic SMAW allows dangerous applications such as underwater welding and hot tapping of pipes without human intervention during the weld.

Results – From a hardening test, we then tested with an impact tester charpy Treviolo H060. The results showed that the impact strength is escalated up to 29.09% post-hardening circle, which was observed using electrical microscope. The value of steel strength increased 2.12 J/mm² compared with earlier hardening process, which is, 1.57 J/mm². The results showed that the fracture in the welding process without the hardening process is a brittle fracture that is shown by the flat crystal structure; on the other hand, the hardening process before welding shows a form of coarse-looking structure indicating that the specimen has an impact towards which the toughness is higher.

Research Limitations/Implications – The effect influence of the hardening process to the impact strength of welded joints before and after the hardening process SMAW AISI 1050 steel hardening process. The mechanical properties test is done with the equipment impact charpy.

Practical Implications – The field we often encounter is erosion or wear out occurring in the construction, for example, many equipments such as agricultural equipment, bridges, ship construction, motor shaft, machining such as hand tools, small rings, and agricultural tools.

Originality/Value – This is the first reported research on impact strength using the hardening test.

The purpose of this paper is to predict and optimize the width of heat affected zone (HAZ) with better mechanical properties using suitable welding process and parameters for the fabrication of jet blast deflector (JBD) (high strength low alloy material of grade A588-B was used for fabrication) so that the JBD can sustain high exhaust parameters, because there are different welding zones formed due to the rapid cooling of weld metals. Out of the various zones of welding, HAZ remains the weakest zone in the entire weldment.

The present work describes the modeling, simulation, Modeling of three-dimensional plate and mess generation process are carried out using ICEM CFD software. FLUENT 16.0 software is used for ANSYS simulation where various models are used for analysis and results are validated with the experimental outcomes. High strength low alloy plates are welded by using shielded metal arc welding and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes with two different electrodes. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used for metallurgical study. The mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile strength test, vickers microhardness test and impact test. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by performing the potentiodynamic polarization test.

The present study indicated for better mechanical properties and improved corrosion resistance for TIG welded joints with type 308 L filler.

In aeronautical, defense, space and research organizations.

It can be shown from the scanning electron microscope technique that sound weld joint is produced with very good mechanical properties and joint also showed better corrosion resistance.

This paper aims to study the effect of number of welding passes on microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of 409 M ferritic stainless steel. Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process is used to weld two metal sheets of 409 M having 3 mm thickness as bead-on-plate with single, double and triple passes. Microstructures were observed at transverse section with the help of optical microscope and with increasing number of passes grain growth, and the width of heat-affected zone (HAZ) increases. The results of tensile tests revealed that as number of passes increases, there is reduction in tensile strength and ductility. Double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DL-EPR) test revealed that as number of passes increases, the degree of sensitization increases. This is due to the deposition of chromium carbides at the grain boundaries and the associated depletion of chromium.

Three welded plates of single, double and triple pass were welded by SMAW process. From three welded plates (single, double and triple passes), samples for microstructural examination were cut in transverse direction (perpendicular to welding direction) with the help of wire-cut electrical discharge machine (EDM). The welded plates were sliced using wire-cut EDM along transverse direction for preparing optical microscopy, tensile testing, microhardness and DL-EPR testing specimens.

From the microstructure, it was observed that the large grain growth, which is dendritic, and the structure become finer to increase in number of welding passes. As number of passes increases, the width of HAZ increases because of the higher temperature at the welded zone. The tensile strength decreases to increase the number of welding passes because of grain coarsening and chromium carbide precipitation in sensitized zone and wider HAZ. The maximum microhardness value was observed for single-pass weld as compared to double- and triple-pass welds because of the fast cooling rate. The degree of sensitization increases to increase the number of passes because of chromium carbide deposition at the grain boundaries.

The authors declare that the manuscript is original and not published elsewhere, and there is no conflict of interest to publish this manuscript.

Online spiral pipe manufacturing is one of the most common processes for producing water and gas transmission pipes. Weld quality and pipe circumstances are the most important qualitative characteristics of these pipes determining the overall cost of production. The purpose of this paper is describing how to implement Six Sigma on the production of spiral welded pipes with a real case study.

First, the capability of the pipe production process has been performed by using the defects per million opportunities to allow for comparison and analysis of the project effectiveness. Then, the variation pattern of this index, after an improvement project, has been investigated. Finally, Taguchi's loss functions are used to evaluate the effectiveness of these projects.

The results represent a significant improvement in the production process and a reduction in production costs regarding both weld quality and pipe circumstances. Due to the successful implementation of Six Sigma project in welding and pipe quality improvement, the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) method can be used effectively in defining weld and pipe quality.

In this proposed work, for the first time, research on the implementation of Six Sigma in the pipeline and welding industries on two online spiral production machines has been investigated. The DMAIC method has been used for the first time to improve the dimensional quality and weld quality of spiral pipes.

The purpose of this paper is to present a fault tree (FT)-based approach for quantitative risk analysis in the construction industry that can take into account both objective and subjective uncertainties.

In this research, the identified basic events (BEs) are first categorized based on the availability of historical data into probabilistic and possibilistic. The probabilistic and possibilistic events are represented by probability distributions and fuzzy numbers, respectively. Hybrid uncertainty analysis is then performed through a combination of Monte Carlo simulation and fuzzy set theory. The probability of occurrence of the top event is finally calculated using the proposed FT-based hybrid uncertainty analysis method.

The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated by implementing in a real steel structure project. A quantitative risk assessment is performed for weld cracks, taking into account of both types of uncertainties. An importance analysis is finally performed to evaluate the contribution of each BE to the probability of occurrence of weld cracks and adopt appropriate response strategies.

In this research, the impact of objective (aleatory) dependence between the occurrences of different BEs and subjective (epistemic) dependence between estimates of the epistemically uncertain probabilities of some BEs are not considered. Moreover, there exist limitations to the application of fuzzy set rules, which were used for aggregating experts’ opinions and ranking purposes of the BEs in the FT model. These limitations can be investigated through further research.

It is believed that the proposed hybrid uncertainty analysis method presents a robust and powerful tool for quantitative risk analysis, as both types of uncertainties are taken into account appropriately.

An experimental investigation for developing structure-property correlations of hot-rolled E410 steels with different carbon contents, i.e. 0.04wt.%C and 0.17wt.%C metal active gas (MAG) and cold metal transfer (CMT)-MAG weldments was undertaken.

Mechanical properties and microstructure of MAG and CMT-MAG weldments of two E410 steels with varying content of carbon were compared using standardized mechanical testing procedures, and conventional microscopy.

0.04wt.%C steel had strained ferritic and cementite sub-structures in blocky shape and large dislocation density, while 0.17wt.%C steel consisted of pearlite and polygonal ductile ferrite. This effected yield strength (YS), and microhardness being larger in 0.04wt.%C steel, %elongation being larger in 0.17wt.%C steel. Weldments of both E410 steels obtained with CMT-MAG performed better than MAG in terms of YS, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), %elongation, and toughness. It was due to low heat input of CMT-MAG that resulted in refinement of weld metal, and subzones of heat affected zone (HAZ).

A substantial improvement in YS (∼9%), %elongation (∼38%), and room temperature impact toughness (∼29%) of 0.04wt.%C E410 steel is achieved with CMT-MAG over MAG welding. Almost ∼10, ∼12.5, and ∼16% increment in YS, %elongation, and toughness of 0.17wt.%C E410 steel is observed with CMT-MAG. Relatively low heat input of CMT-MAG leads to development of fine Widmanstätten and acicular ferrite in weld metal and microstructural refinement in HAZ subzones with nearly similar characteristics of base metal.

The purpose of this study is on AISI 409 M ferritic stainless steel (FSS) which is developing a preferred choice for railway carriages, storage tanks and reactors in chemical plants. The intergranular corrosion behavior of welded SS 409 M has been studied in H₂SO₄ solution (0.5 M) with the addition of NH₄SCN (0.01 M) with different heat input. As this study is very important in context of various chemical and petrochemical industries.

The microstructure, mechanical properties and intergranular corrosion properties of AISI 409 M FSS using shielded metal arc welding were investigated. Shielded metal arc welding with different welding current values are used to change the heat input in the joints resulted in the microstructural variations. The microstructure of the welded steel was carefully inspected along the width of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the transverse-section of the thin plate.

The width of heat affected zone (3.1,4.2 and 5.8 mm) increases on increasing the welding heat input. Due to change in grain size (grain coarsening) as HAZ increased. From the microstructure, it was observed that the large grain growth which is dendritic and the structure become finer to increase in welding heat input. For lower heat input, the maximum microhardness value (388HV) was observed compared with medium (351 HV) and higher heat input (344 HV), which is caused by a rapid cooling rate and the depleted area of chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni). The increase in weld heat input decreases tensile strength, i.e. 465 MPa, 440 MPa and 418 MPa for low, medium and high heat input, respectively. This is because of grain coarsening and chromium carbide precipitation in sensitized zone and wider HAZ. The degree of sensitization increases (27.04%, 31.86% and 36.08%) to increase welding heat input because of chromium carbide deposition at the grain boundaries. The results revealed that the higher degree of sensitization and the difference in intergranular corrosion behavior under high heat input are related to the grain growth in the HAZ and the weld zone.

The study is based on intergranular corrosion behavior of welded SS 409 M in H2SO4 solution (0.5 M) with the addition of NH4SCN (0.01 M) with different heat input which is rarely found in literature.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate Cr-Mn ASS weld using different heat inputs for its microstructure, mechanical properties and electrochemical behavior. The microstructural examination used optical and scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that ferrite content decreases with increasing heat input. The length of dendrites, inter-dendritic space and volume of lathy ferrite increase with increasing heat input. The increasing heat input caused grain coarsening near the fusion boundary and produced wider heat-affected zone (HAZ). It also decreases hardness and tensile strength. This is attributed to formation of more δ ferrite in the weld. The electrochemical evaluation suggested that the δ ferrite helps in improving the pitting potential in 3.5 per cent NaCl solution saturated with CO₂. Whereas in 0.5-M H2SO4 + 0.003-M NaF solution, higher passivation current density was observed because of dissolution of dferrite. The interphase corrosion resistance decreased with increasing heat input.

The Cr-Mn austenitic stainless steel or low-nickel ASS was procured in form of 3-mm sheets in rolled condition. The tungsten inert gas welding was performed at three different heat inputs (100 A, 120 A and 140 A), argon as shielding gas with a flow rate of 15 L/min. Different welded regions were observed using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. Electrochemicals test were performed in solutions containing 3.5 per cent NaCl with saturated CO₂ solution and 0.5 M sulfuric acid + 0.003 M NaF at a scan rate of 0.1667 mV/s at room temperature (30 °C ± 1 °C) using a potentiostat.

The test steel Cr-Mn ASS is suitable with the selected electrode (308 L) and it produces no defects. Vermicular ferrite and lathy ferrite form in welds of various heat inputs. The increase in heat input reduces the formation of lathy ferrite. The width of HAZ and un-mixed zone increases with increase in heat input. The weld zone of low heat input (LHI) has the highest hardness and tensile strength because of higher δ ferrite content and small grain size in the weld zone. The hardness at high heat input (HHI) is found to be lowest because of grain coarsening in the weld. With increase in δ ferrite, the pitting resistance increases. In 0.5-M sulfuric acid + 0.003-M NaF, the increase in ferrite content reduces the passivation current density. Interphase corrosion resistance increases with increase in δ ferrite content as higher per cent degree of sensitization was observed in LHI welds as compared to medium heat input and HHI welds.

This work focuses on welding of ASS by tungsten inert gas welding at different heat inputs. Welding is a critical process for joining metals in most of the fabrication industries and proper heat input is required for getting desired microstructure in the weld metal. This would highly affect the strength and corrosion behavior of the alloy. This paper would give an understanding of how the change in heat input by tungsten inert gas welding affects the microstructural and corrosion behavior in the weld metal.