1

EXPERIMENTAL PROCESS AND INFLUENCE OF PROCESS PARAMETERS ON

MECHANICAL PROPERTY OF STAINLESS STEEL 430 PLATE IN TIG WELDING
PROCESS
VIKARM1, PANKAJ SHARMA2
1
RESEARCH SCHOLAR, 2ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
1,2
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
1,2
GURU JAMBHESHWAR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, HISAR

Keywords: TIG welding,

welding current, stainless
steel 430, tensile strength,
hardness, microstructure.
AB S T R AC T
This experimental study is carried out to analyses the effect of various
parameters, like welding current, voltage, speed, time, gas flow rate,
electrode diameters etc. on weld quality and property of TIG welded
stainless steel plates of SS430 grade. The main objective of industry
reveals with production and manufacture better quality product at low
cost and higher efficiency. The main aim of varying process variables is
to achieve maximum metal deposition rate. TIG welding is the most
commonly used technique because of its versatility and ease that can be
maintained in almost all type of conditions. TIG welding is an operation
which is used to join the similar and dissimilar metals and non-metals at
less time and cost. This type of welding mainly focuses on increasing
the depth of penetration and reduction in width of weld bead. Stainless
steel-430 is a non-hardenable steel containing chromium and belongs to
the ferritic group of steels. The fatigue properties of SS430 in the case
of welded condition are poor and it is not used where applied impact and
tensile loading will be experienced. In this present work, we used TIG
welding experimental process to study the effects of welding process
variables on metal deposition rate and also mechanical properties of
stainless steel 430 plate. Main input parameters- welding current,
voltage, gas flow rate, speed, electrode gap or length- were selected to
determine their effect on mechanical properties. The plates of 8mm
thickness have been used as base metal to prepare single pass butt joints.
From the experimental results it was found that tensile strength decrease
with increase in heat input rate and from SEM of tensile test fractured
surfaces exhibited brittle and ductile failure. From micro hardness data
value it was observed that hardness of materials increase with increase
in heat input in weld zone and decrease in HAZ. SEM shows that
smaller dendrite size and lesser inter-dendrite spacing were observed in
the weld zone at low heat input. From this investigation, it is found that
GTAW joints of stainless steel grade 430 should superior mechanical
properties compare with other welding joints. This is due to the
formation of very fine microstructure in the weld zone. The
microstructure observation show that microstructure reveals excessive
delta ferrite strength in the matrix of austenite
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1. INTRODUCTION Welding is a fabrication process that joins the

similar and non-similar metals and non-metals by
causing coalescence. In the welding process the
coalescence of materials is produced by heating
them to the recrystallization temperature with or
without the use of pressure and filler materials. The
process is done by melting the work-piece and
adding a filler material to form a weld pool that
cools to become a strong joint [1]. Welding is used
for permanent joints of metals and non-metals. A
welded joint is produced when two clean surfaces
come into contact with each other and pressure or
heat is applied to obtain a strong metallurgical bond.
Most of the products could not even be made
without the use of welding process, e.g. nuclear
power plant, aircraft, guided missiles, pressure
vessels, transport vehicle, chemical process
equipment and many others. In the welding process
many of the problems are inherent that can be
avoided by proper consideration of the
characteristics and requirements of the process
[2].TIG welding is a type of welding process and it
is widely used in modern industries for joining
similar and non-similar materials. It is also called
gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). The main
advantages of TIG welding process are that requires
low heat affected zone and absence of slag. The
quality and accuracy of joints mainly depends upon
welding speed, current, voltage, type of shielding
gas, power supply, gas flow rate etc. It is relatively a
high strength welding technique. TIG welding
process has been a most popular choice of welding
process when a considerable precision welding
operation or high level of weld quality is required.
Laser welding process easily automated and
produces area phase transformation area about ten
times smaller than TIG welding process, hardness in
the fusion zone is quite high for both processes, but
it was reduced to about 200 HV for the laser welded
steel and about 100 HV in TIG process after
tempering [3]. The main problem comes in the TIG
welding process is limited thickness of materials
which can be welded in single pass, poor tolerance
to some material composition and low productivity.
TIG welding uses a separate filler metal and a non-
consumable electrode with an inert shielding gas. It
is a manual welding process in which welder uses
both hands to weld, one hand is used for adding the
filer metal to the weld joints and other hands for
holding the torch that produce the arc. The setup of
TIG welding is consists of a cylinder of argon gas,
welding torch having connection of cable for current
supply, a suitable power supply, tubing for shielding
gas supply, and water tubing for cooling the torch.
The ferritic stainless steel joints fabricated by the
 3

addition of 2 g Al in post-weld annealed condition 2. MATERIALS SELECTION

resulted in better tensile properties compared to all Base metal: Stainless steel 430 grade.
other joints, there is a marginal improvement in the Many stainless steels are consider to have good
ductility of ferritic stainless steel weldments by the weld ability. Stainless steel may be welded by many
addition of 2 g Cu in post-weld annealed condition welding techniques including the TIG, MIG, laser
compared to all other joints and base metal, the FSS and electron beam, resistance welding etc.in the
welds made by the addition of 3 g Cu in as-weld welding of stainless steel joint surface and filler
condition resulted in increased hardness [4]. The metal must be clean. The coefficient of thermal
transverse shrinkage generated in GTAW weld joint expansion for the ferritic types is less than the
is comparatively lower than GMAW weld joint and carbon steel and this must be assumed to minimize
the tensile strength of GTAW weld joint is higher distortion. Stainless steel 430 grade is a non-
than that of the GMAW weld joint [5].The weld hardenable types of steel and containing the more
penetration is increased while the weld metal width quantity of straight chromium (16-18%) and belong
decreased, among the fluxes SiO2 flux had a to ferritic group of steels. This type of steel used in
significant effect on enhancing the weld penetration many chemical application because of its resistance
in A-TIG, and TIG welding can increase ultimate to nitric acid. It is an iron based alloy which contain
tensile strength of weldment because of increasing chromium and a thin layer of chromium oxide film
the retained delta ferrite content of stainless steel which surface of a stainless steel provides good
weld [6]. The behavior of the welded joints at the corrosion resistance and prevent further oxidation.
optimum condition of process parameters is
attributed to the higher dilution of the base metal Table 1 Property of stainless steel 430
into the weld, resulting in an increased amount of S.N PROPERTY VALUE
Mg2Si precipitates that are formed in the aluminum O.
matrix, the metallographic analysis reveals a fine
1 Density in kg/m3 7750
grain structure at the weld center, which results in
higher mechanical properties [7]. The depth of 2 Elastic modulus in 200
penetration of weld bead decreases with increase in MPa
bevel height of V butt joint and tensile strength is 3 Thermal conductivity 26.1
higher with lower weld speed, the lower range of in w/Kgk
weld speed is suitable for achieving maximum 4 Specific heat in j/Kgk 460
tensile strength [8]. In the TIG welding process 5 Tensile strength in 483
mainly three things are require, the first things is MPa
heat which is produced by electricity passing 6 Yield strength in MPa 310
through the tungsten electrode by creating an arc to 7 Elongation in 22
the metal. the second things is shielding gas comes
percentage
from a cylinder of gas flow to the weld area to
8 Hardness (Rockwell) B 85
protect from air and the last things is filler metal is a
metal wire or rod that is added by hand into the arc
and melted. Table 2 Chemical composition
Grad C M Si P S Cr
e n

SS Min - - - - - 16
430 . -
0.1 1 1 0.0 0.03
Max 2 4 0 18
.

3. PROCESS PARAMETERS

In TIG welding process variables play an important

role in the quality, bead geometry and weld
penetration. Knowledge of process variables is
important and necessary to produce weld of
satisfactory quality. The process variables are
4

changing from one range to other to produce a ER310. In this experiment process ER430 used as
desired results and that are not completely filler rod.
independent. Polarity
The following parameters affect the quality of the Mainly two types of polarity is used in welding
weld: process:
Welding current 1. DCSP (direct current straight polarity)
2. DCRP (direct current reverse polarity)
When the current is high, TIG welding leads to
In DCSP type polarity TIG welding used torch
splatter and work piece gets damaged. When the negative and the work piece positive. This type of
current is low, TIG welding leads to sticking of the polarity is also called DCEN (direct current
filler wire. Fixed current mode is used to the voltage electrode negative). The negative torch helps to
to maintain a constant arc current. Larger heat avoid overheating the tungsten electrode. It is
affected zone (HAZ) can be found for lower mostly used in DC type current and rate of
welding current. penetration is good.
Welding voltage
Welding voltage may be fixed or adjusted. It In DCRP the torch or tungsten electrode is
depends upon the TIG welding equipment. A high connected to the positive terminal and work piece
initial voltage allows for easy arc initiation. Too negative. This type of connection is not commonly
used because in this case tungsten can easily
high voltage, can lead to a large variable in welding
quality.
Shielding gases
The selection of shielding gas depends on base
metal and affects the welding temperature, welding
speed, electrode life etc. Ar or He may be used for
TIG welding applications. For very thin materials,
pure argon is used. Helium is used for aluminium
and copper. Argon helium and hydrogen mixture is
used for welding of steels and nickel alloys.
Welding speed
When the welding speed is increased, heat input per
unit length of weld decreases and penetration of
weld decreases. Welding speed controls the bead Fig. 2 TIG welding specimen
size and penetration of weld. It does not depend on overheat and burn away. It is produce a wide profile.
current. Excessive high welding speed causes the Only one third of the heat used on the work piece
uneven bead shapes, increase the tendency to and remaining two third on the tungsten electrode.
porosity.
Gas flow rate
Gas flow rate is important factor which is affected
the results and output. Flow rate range generally be
6-7 litre/min. In TIG uses a lot of shielding gas so it
pays to set up the gas flow accuracy for obtain
proper results.
Electrode and filler rod
Electrode used in TIG welding is made of tungsten
metal because it is melting point and temperature of
tungsten is very high that is 3422 0c. As a result the
electrode is not melt and consumed during the
welding process. Electrode used in the process have
been clean finish that means chemically free,
uniform size and polished surface. This is helps to
better heat transfer. The diameter of electrode can
varies between the range 5-6.4 mm and length in
75-610 mm.
The selection of filler rod is depend upon the type of
metal is used e.g. if we use grade SS430 as base
metal then the filler rod is used ER430, ER309 and
 5

1 EXPERIMENTAL WORK

Experimental set-up

The experimental setup used in the TIG welding

process include the welding machine, shielding gas
cylinder with gas regulator and pressure gauge,
welding torch and a motor which carries and guide
the welding gun and travel with the desired constant
speeds along the plate to be welded.

Fig. 1 GTAW setup Fig. 3 Filler rod ER 430

Sample preparation
SS 430 plates with the dimensions of 100508
mm were cut into the required dimension using
lathe and cutting machine. TIG welding was carried
out using a TIG AC/DC 3000 watt welding
machine. Single v butt joint was selected to prepare
the joints and plates are tapered at 60 0. The selected
welding parameters for this study were: current,
voltage, gas flow rate, speed, time, electrode gap,
filler rod, electrode diameter. Stainless steel grade
430 plates of thickness 8mm was selected as
materials for TIG welding process. SS430 plates
with the dimensions of 100x50 mm (LxB) were cut
into the required dimension using lathe and cutting
machine and grinding machine is used to smooth the
joining surfaces of plates. After that emery paper is
used to remove the external materials on the
surfaces of plates.
6

Table 3 Process parameters

Sr. no. Current Voltage Gas Gas flow Speed Time Electrode gap
ampere volt pressure rate mm/sec. second mm
bar lit/min.
1 145 18 0.5 10 49.23 1.5 2
2 150 18 0.5 10 49.23 1.5 2
3 150 20 1 12 44.50 1.7 2
4 160 23 1 15 44.50 1.12 2

4. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS

Metal deposition rate

It is defined by the ratio of weight of metal before

welding minus weight of plate after welding to the
welding time.

Heat input calculation

V I 60
Heat input rate=
S 1000
Sample Heat input rate value
number Kg/mm
1 2.385
2 2.468
3 3.030
4 3.721
Where
V = voltage in volts
I = current in ampere
= arc efficiency (taking 0.75)
S = speed in mm

weight of plate after weldingweight of plate before welding

MDR=
weldingtime

6.446.43
MDR=
1.05
= 0.006945mm/s

Tensile test
The ultimate tensile strength of the specimen after
welding is measure in a universal testing machine
(UTM) which has capacity of 400 KN. This test is
carried out a welding to the ASTM standard. Test is
conducted at room temperature and prepared
 7

specimen dimension for tensile test shown in figure.

The weld sample has exhibited lower tensile
strength as compared to base metal strength. In the the filler metal. The hardness values of all specimen
table indicate the welding parameters and shown in table for both the sample at HAZ, BM and
corresponding tensile property of the welded joint of WZ. The HAZ and WZ were observed by
stainless steel 430. When the welding current is too microstructure study having fine grains with
small, the root of the welded joint can be unweld dendrite type. This is show that wide variation in the
and this lead to the low tensile strength and hardness measurement in the weld zone. When the
elongation of the welded joint. When the welding heat input rate is higher hardness value is also high
current is too high defect like undercutting and shown in the case of sample no.3.
collapse appear in the layer. With the increment of
welding current, the tensile strength, yield strength
and elongation of the welded joints all go up first
and then fall down.
Hardness
TIG welded sample were examined for the
Rockwell hardness measurement across the weld
zone with 100kgf load. The experimental study
shows that higher hardness at base metal as
compared to WZ and HAZ. The main reason of
increase or decrease hardness in the weld zone
hardness was attribute to the repeated thermal
process experienced during the multipass procedure
with melting and solidification of

Table 5 TIG welding mechanical results

Sample number Tensile strength Elongation yield strength
Table 6 Hardness value at different zone
Sample number MPaBase metal Heat
% effected zone MPa Weld zone
1 B88 B87 B82
1 2 389 B86 23 B84 327 B82
2 3 385 B93 23.58 B91 332 B86

3 377 24.2 338

4 370 25.03 342

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
500
400
300
STRENGTH MPa 200
100
0
145 150 150 160

CURRENT A

tensile strength yield strength elongation

8

HARDNESS CHART
95
90
85
HARDNESS VALUE IN B SCALE 80
75

CURRENT

5. MICROSTRUCTURE

Microstructure to enable a visualization of the total

weld area of the specimen. It is allow to the detail of
the fusion zone and heat effected zone. TIG process,
it can be seen in dark colour region. In the TIG
welding, there is a slight bending of the plate and
the separation between heat effected and welding
zone. In the figure show the difference of the grain
size at the

fusion zone. This difference is caused by the

different cooling times in the TIG welding process.
TIG cooling is faster because this process has more
precise energy and fast speed, so the grain do not
have the possibility of growing. In the MIG process,
on the other hand has a slower cooling speed,
generating a large HAZ and several different grain
Fig. 4 Microstructure
sizeview of also
which baseappear
metal and
largeweld zone
in the figure show that
both welding process structure.
In the below figure shown that the microstructure
reveals excessive delta ferrite stringers in the matrix
of austenite and protocol is ASM handbook
vol.9:2007 is used. The magnification value is 100X

and etchant is 3% is used. Full penetration joints
were produced by TIG welding it can be seen that in
figure crack and porosities cannot be found. Both
welding the width and fusion area are different with
each other. In the figure shows the morphology of
welding joints under the current of 145, 150 and 160
Magnification: 100%
Fig 5 Microstructure of weld zone
A respectively. The amount of heat is high under
high current and small at low current. When the
current is small the width of the weld pool are small
and the root of welding joint is probably unwelded.
The increase of welding current bring about the rise
of width and depth of the weld pool. When the value
of current is large, the amount of heat input is
overlarge and even much more melt metal
penetrates the back face of the layer, which leads to
the collapse of the front face of layer and to the
uplift of its back face. This situation caused the
degradation of welding joint and stress
concentration.
6. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSIONS
In the above TIG welding process study following
conclusion found out
In the study found that the process
parameters had varying effect on the tensile
strength, voltage having the higher effects.
9
Current is also affects the deposition rate
very significantly.
Hardness is weaker on weld zone
When the weld speed is lower than the
tensile strength is high.
Strength is increased with decreasing the
Etchant: 3X
heat input rate.
High penetration no any defect produced by
the TIG welding.
In tensile test, all the specimens failed in the weld
region which means that the weld region is weaker
as compared to other regions. The tensile properties
of the weld joints presented in table indicate that
GTAW exhibits superior properties that of GMAW.
The grain size of the weld region is affected by the
heat input supplied during the welding process. Due
to high arc temperature, the cooling rate is slow and
leads to wide spacing in fusion zone.
Alternating current (AC) polarity is used in GTAW
process. So, polarity changes continuously. When
electrode is positive, high heat is generated and
when electrode is negative, minimum heat is
generated. Polarity also changes on work piece. So,
work piece also attains maximum and minimum
heat. That is why, heat input in GTAW is lower than
others. Due to this lower heat, arc temperature is
also low and cooling rate is high. So, the tensile
strength of GTAW joints are higher than that of
others joints. Hence, future works will be carried
10
out from experimental point of view to better
understand how the welding parameters effect weld
pool characteristics and shape in TIG welding
process. We can also improve the various properties
like hardness, tensile strength, elongation etc. by
using proper and actual parameters.
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