TWI main site Technical C apabilities Industrial Membership Training and Examinations Accessibility Text Only Site Map

Only Site Map Global websites

Register | Member Portal

Search
Advanced search

What We Do Capabilities Industries Membership Technical Knowledge News and Events About Us Contact Us

Technical Know ledge > Technical Know ledge > Job Know ledge > W elding consumables - part 5 Share:

Job Know ledge

Welding consumables Part 5 - MIG/MAG and cored carbon
steel wires
Job Knowledge 86
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
To ensure that there is a consistency in composition and properties
betw een w ires from a variety of manufacturers, specifications have
been produced that enable a w ire to be easily and uniquely identified
by assigning the consumable a 'classification', a unique identification
that is universally recognised.
The tw o schemes that are dealt w ith in this article are the EN/ISO
method and the AW S scheme. There are such a large number of
specifications covering the w hole range of ferrous and non-ferrous filler metals, both solid w ire and cored, that it
w ill not be possible to describe all of these here. This article therefore review s just the carbon steel
specifications.
The identification of the solid w ires is relatively simple, as the chemical composition is the major variable
although both the EN/ISO and the AW S specifications detail the strength that may be expected from an all-w eld
deposit carried out using parameters given in the specification. It should be remembered, how ever, that most
w elds w ill contain some parent metal and that the w elding parameters to be used in production may be
different from those used in the test. The result is that the mechanical properties of a w eld can be significantly
different from those quoted by the w ire supplier, hence the need to alw ays perform a procedure qualification
test w hen strength is important. In addition, the mechanical properties specified in the full designation include
the yield strength. (In the EN/ISO specifications, the classification may indicate either yield or ultimate tensile
strength).
W hen selecting a w ire remember that the yield and ultimate tensile strengths are very close together in w eld
metal but can be w idely separated in parent metal. A filler metal that is selected because its yield strength
matches that of the parent metal may not, therefore, match the parent metal on ultimate tensile strength. This
may cause the cross joint tensile specimens to fail during procedure qualification testing or perhaps in service.
The EN/ISO specification for non-alloyed steel solid w ires is BS EN ISO 14341. This specification classifies w ire
electrodes in the as-w elded condition and in the post w eld heat-treated condition, based on classification
system, strength, Charpy-V impact strength, shielding gas and composition. The classification utilises tw o
systems based either on the yield strength (System A) or the tensile strength (System B):

System A - based on the yield strength and average impact energy of 47J of all-w eld metal.
System B - based on the tensile strength and the average impact energy of 27J of all-w eld metal.

In most cases, a given commercial product can be classified to both systems. Then either or both classification
designations can be used for the product.
The symbolisation for mechanical properties is summarised in Table 1A for classification system A and Table 1B
for classification system B. For classification system B, the 'X' can be either 'A' or 'P', w here 'A' indicates testing in
the as-w elded condition and 'P' indicates testing in the post w eld heat-treated condition. The symbol for
chemical composition is summarised in Table 3A and 3B of BS EN ISO 14341 based on each classification system.
For classification system A, the standard lists eleven compositions, too many to describe completely here. Six of
the w ires are carbon steel w ith varying amounts of deoxidants, tw o w ires contain approximately 1% or 2.5%
nickel and an additional tw o w ires contain around 0.5% molybdenum. The designation of these w ires is for
example G3Si1, 'G' identifying it as a solid w ire, '3' as containing some 1.5% manganese and Si1 as containing
around 0.8% silicon; G3Ni1 is a w ire w ith approximately 1.5% manganese and 1% nickel.
Table 1A Symbols for mechanical properties based on classification system A

Min Y ield Strength UTS

Min Elongation
Symbol Symbol Charpy-V Test 47 J at Temp C
N/mm2 N/mm 2
%
35 355 440 to 570 22 Z No requirements
38 380 470 to 600 20 A +20
42 420 500 to 640 20 0 0
46 460 530 to 680 20 2 -20
50 500 560 to 720 18 3 -30
4 -40
5 -50
6 -60
7 -70
8 -80
9 -90

converted by W eb2PDFConvert.com
 9 -90
10 -100
Table 1B Symbols for mechanical properties based on classification system B

Min Y ield Strength UTS

Symbol Min Elongation Symbol Charpy-V Test 27 J at Temp C
N/mm 2 %
N/mm 2
43X 330 430 to 600 20 Z No requirements
49X 390 490 to 670 18 Y +20
55x 460 550 to 740 17 0 0
57x 490 570 to 770 17 2 -20
3 -30
4 -40
5 -50
6 -60
7 -70
8 -80
9 -90
10 -100
A full designation could therefore be ISO 14341-A-G 46 5 M G3Si1 w here the '-A' designates the classification
system A, the '-G' designates solid w ire electrode/or deposits, and the 'M' designates a mixed gas. An example
of a System B designation could be ISO 14341-B-G 49A 6 M G3, w here 'A' indicates testing in the as-w elded
condition.
The AW S specification AW S A5.18 covers both solid, composite stranded and cored w ires comprising six carbon
steel filler metals for MAG, TIG and plasma w elding in both US and metric units.
The classification commences w ith the letters 'E' or 'ER'. 'E' designates an electrode. 'ER' indicates that the filler
metal may be used either as an electrode or a rod. The next tw o digits designates the tensile strength in either
1000s of psi.(ksi) or N/mm2 eg ER70 (70ksi UTS) or ER48 (480N/mm2 UTS). How ever, note that there is only one
strength level in the specification.
The next tw o characters identify the composition, essentially small variations in carbon, manganese and silicon
contents, the w ire type (solid w ire (S) or metal cored or composite w ire (C)) and the Charpy-V impact values.
W ith one exception, the solid w ires are tested using 100% CO 2 , the cored w ires w ith argon/CO 2 or as agreed
betw een customer and supplier, in w hich case there is a final letter 'C' designating CO 2 or 'M', a mixed gas.

The permutations in these identifiers are too many and too complicated to be able to describe them all in
sufficient detail but as an illustration, a typical designation w ould be ER70S-3, a 70ksi filler metal, CO 2 gas
shielded and w ith minimum Charpy-V energy of 27J at -20C. E70C-3M identifies the w ire as a solid w ire 70ksi
UTS metal cored filler metal, 27J at -20C and tested w ith an argon/CO2 shielding gas.
The EN/ISO specification for non-alloy steel flux and metal cored w ires is BS EN ISO 17632. This covers gas
shielded as w ell as self-shielded w ires. The standard identifies electrode based on tw o systems in a similar w ay
as BS EN ISO 14341, indicating the tensile properties and the impact properties of the all-w eld metal obtained
w ith a given electrode. Although the specification claims that the w ires are all non-alloy, they can contain
molybdenum up to 0.6% and/or nickel up to 3.85%. The classification commences w ith the letter 'T', identifying
the consumable as a cored w ire.
The classification uses the same symbols for mechanical properties as show n in Table 1A&B and a somew hat
similar method to describe the composition as BS EN ISO 14341. Thus MnMo contains approximately 1.7%
manganese and 0.5% molybdenum; 1.5Ni contains 1% manganese and 1.5% nickel. In addition to the symbols
for properties and composition, there are symbols for electrode core composition. Table 2 summarises the
symbols for electrode core type and w elding position in accordance w ith classification system A. Classification
system B uses Usability Indicators as oppose to a one-letter symbol for electrode core type, w hich can be found
in Table 5B of BS EN ISO 17632.
Table 2 Symbols for electrode core type and position based on classification system A
Flux Core Welding Position
Symbol Flux Core Type Shielding Gas Symbol Welding position
R Rutile, slow freezing slag Required 1 All
P Rutile, fast freezing slag Required 2 All except V-dow n
B Basic Required 3 Flat butt, flat and HV fillet
M Metal pow der Required 4 Flat butt and fillet
V Rutile or basic/fluoride Not required 5 V-dow n and (3)
W Basic/fluoride, slow freezing slag Not required
Y Basic/fluoride, fast freezing slag Not required
Z Other types
In addition, there are symbols for gas type. These are 'M' for mixed gases, 'C' for 100% CO 2 and 'N' for self-
shielded w ires and 'H' for hydrogen controlled w ires. A full designation may therefore be ISO 17632-A -T46 3 1Ni
B M 1 H5 in accordance w ith classification system A. For classification system B, an example may be ISO 17632-B
-T55 4 T5-1MA-N2-UH5, w here 'T5' is the usability designator, 'A' indicates test in the as-w elded condition, 'N2' is
the chemical composition symbol, and 'U' is an optional designator.
The American W elding Society classification scheme for carbon steel flux cored w ires is detailed in the
specification AW S A5.36. This also contains information from A5.18, but does not officially supercede it. The full
designation is ten characters in length beginning 'E' for an electrode then designators for strength, w elding
position, cored w ire, usability, shielding gas, toughness, heat input limits and diffusible hydrogen, the last four
designators being optional.
There are tw o strength levels - E7 (70ksi UTS) and E6 (60ksi UTS) follow ed by a designator for w elding
position,'0' for flat and horizontal and '1' for all positions, including vertical-up and vertical-dow n.
The next symbol 'T' identifies the w ire as being flux cored and this is follow ed by either a number betw een 1 and
14 or the letter 'G' that identifies the usability. This number refers to the recommended polarity, requirements
for external shielding, and w hether the w ire can be used to deposit single or multi-pass w elds. 'G' means that
the operating characteristics are not specified. The sixth letter identifies the shielding gas used for the
classification, 'C' being 100% CO 2 , 'M' for argon/CO 2 , no letter indicating a self-shielded w ire.

converted by W eb2PDFConvert.com
 The non-compulsory part of the designation may include the letter 'J', confirming that the all-w eld metal test can
give Charpy-V values of 27J at -40C; the next designator may be either 'D' or 'Q'. These indicate that the w eld
metal w ill achieve supplementary mechanical properties at various heat inputs and cooling rates. The final tw o
designators identify the hydrogen potential of the w ire.
A full AW S A5.36 designation could therefore be E71T-2M-JQH5. This identifies the w ire as a cored, all positional
w ire to be used w ith argon/CO 2 shielding gas on electrode positive polarity. The w eld metal should achieve
70ksi tensile strength, 27J at -40C, 58 to 80ksi yield strength at high heat input, a maximum 90ksi at low heat
input, and a diffusible hydrogen content of less than 5ml of H2/100g of deposited w eld metal.
This article w as w ritten by Gene Mathers, review ed and modified by Runlin Zhou.

TWI Group websites

Training and Examinations Structural Integrity Research Careers at TW I
TW I Certification Foundation (SIRF) Find Us
TW I Softw are National Structural Integrity Procurement
Plant Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) Terms and Conditions
The Test House TW I-MTL LLC Privacy and Cookies
The W elding Institute

TW I Ltd, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6AL, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1223 899000
Copyright 2016 TW I Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do you have any comments or suggestions about our site? W e w ould like to hear you! Please click here to fill our feedback form.

converted by W eb2PDFConvert.com