Effects of process parameters of GMAW on bead geometry, tensile strength, hardness, microstructure and thermo-mechanical simulation of AISI 202 steel

Abstract

This paper presents a study on welding of AISI 202 steel using AISI 308L filler wire using gas metal arc welding process. The experiments are conducted using central composite design matrix by varying four input process parameters, viz., welding speed, welding voltage, wire feed rate and gas flow rate. The output parameters like bead height, bead width, bead penetrations and mechanical properties like hardness and tensile strength are measured. Also, microstructure at base metal zone, heat affected zone and weld zone of the weldments are observed. The mathematical models for output parameters are developed using response surface methodology and effects of process parameters on response parameters and microstructure are found out. Furthermore, thermo-mechanical simulation using ANSYS software is carried out to predict the thermally induced residual stresses distribution in the weldment. This work helps the manufacturer in selecting the process parameters to achieve desirable results and improve the weld quality.