3/21/2017 CRAWeldOverlayInfluenceofweldingprocessandparametersondilutionandcorrosionresistance

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CRAWeldOverlayInfluenceofweldingprocessandparameters
ondilutionandcorrosionresistance
PaperpresentedatStainlessSteelWorldAmerica2010,Houston,Texas,USA,57October2010.

VKumar,CLee,GVerhaeghe,SRaghunathan,
TWILimited,GrantaPark,GreatAbington,CambridgeCB216AL,UnitedKingdom

Abstract
Corrosionresistantweldoverlaysareusedtoimprovetheservicelifeofcomponentsmadewithanotherwisecorrosionprone
material.Oneofthemajorconcernsinarcweldingbasedoverlaysisdilution.CodesandStandardsforqualificationof
proceduresforweldoverlay,suchasASMESectionIX(2010),statethattheheatinputforthefirstweldlayerisanessential
variable,andachangeinheatinputover110%ofthatqualified,requiresrequalification.Thesameheatinputcanbeachieved
byproportionallyvaryingtheweldingcurrentandtheweldingspeed,butwithanentirelydifferenteffectondilution.Hencethe
abovestipulationdoesnotseemtobeadequateinensuringthe'chemistry'oftheweldoverlayanditsintegrity.Dueto
uncertaintiesinvolvedinthequalityoftheweldoverlay,aconservativeapproachisoftentakenwhilespecifyingthepermissible
dilution,resultinginsubstantialproductivitylosses,increaseincost,andassociatedissuessuchasdistortionofcomponents.
Improvedprocesscontrolhasbeenachievedwithnewgenerationarcweldingequipmentthroughdigitalcontrol,givingthe
benefitsofreducedheatinput,improvedarcstabilityandspatterfreewelding,hencebetterconsistencyinquality.This
investigationtriedtounderstandtheeffectofweldingprocessandmajorweldingparametersondilutionanditseffecton
corrosionresistance,bymanufacturingandtestingAlloy625weldoverlaywithdifferentdegreesofdilution,onaCMnsteel
substratematerial.Theextentofdilutionwasmeasuredintermsoftheamountofiron(Fe)intheweldmetalusingsemi
quantitiesenergydispersiveXray(EDX)analysisandthecorrosionresistancewasevaluatedusing'dropletcellcorrosiontesting'
techniqueinaselectedtestenvironment.Thisinvestigationhasshownthat,inarcweldedoverlays,forthesameheatinputthe
dilutioncanvaryoverawiderangedependingontheweldingprocessandtheweldingparameters,andtherewasnoapparent
reductionincorrosionresistanceforanironcontentuptoacertainlevel,andbeyondthisthecorrosionresistancedecreased
drastically.

Introduction
Corrosionresistantweldoverlaysareoftenusedtoimprovetheservicelifeofcomponentsmadewithanotherwisecorrosion
pronematerial.Amajorconcerninanarcweldingbasedoverlayisdilutionortheextentofchangeinthechemistryofthe
depositedmetalbythemixingofbasemetal.Eventhoughsomegenericinformationisavailableontheextentofdilution
associatedwithcommonarcweldingprocesses,theactualdilutionwithaparticularprocessitselfcanvaryoverawiderange,
basedontheweldingparametersemployed.Inmostcasesofoverlaying,itisnecessarytocontrolthedilutionwithincloselimits
asanunevenchemistrycanreducetheservicelife.Thereareanumberofvariableswhichaffectdilutionsuchasthewelding
current,thearcvoltage,currentpolarity,electrodediameter,electrodeextension,weldbeadseparation,weldingspeed,
electrodegrindingangle,weldingposition,shieldinggascomposition,etc.Itisnecessarytocontroleachofthesevariables
withinlimitstogetthedesiredpropertiesontheoverlay,forwhichitisnecessarytohaveaclearunderstandingoftheinfluence
ofeachofthesevariablesondilution.CodesandstandardssuchasASMESectionIXforqualificationofweldingprocedures
statesthatheatinputforthefirstweldlayerisanessentialvariable,i.e.,achangeinheatinputover110%ofthatqualified
requiresrequalification.Thesameheatinputcanbeachievedbyproportionallyvaryingtheweldingcurrentandthewelding
speed.Formanyprocessesitwillhaveanentirelydifferenteffectonthepenetrationdepthandhencethedilution.Theextentof
overlapbetweenadjacentweldbeadsalsoisakeyvariableinfluencingthedilution,inmanycasesmorethantheheatinput.

Weldoverlaycanbeproducedwithanumberofarcweldingprocesses.Manualmetalarc(MMA)welding,submergedarcwelding
(SAW)bothwithwireandstrip,metalinert/activegas(MIG/MAG)welding,andtungsteninertgas(TIG)welding(hotwireand
coldwire)processesarecommonlyemployed.ImprovedprocesscontrolhasbeenachievedinnewgenerationMIGwelding
equipmentsthroughdigitalcontrolgivingthebenefitsofreducedheatinput,stablearc,uniformweldprofileandaspatterfree
welding.ThereareelectronicallycontrolledshortcircuitMIGweldingprocessvariantsaswellashighdepositionTIGwelding
variantsgivingthebenefitsofhighdepositionrateandgoodcontrolondilution.

InconventionalTIGwelding,thearcprovidestheentireenergyrequiredforheatingandmeltingthefillerwire,hencethemetal
depositionrateislimitedbytherateatwhichtheheatingandmeltingprocesscantakeplace.Theenergyconsumptionfromthe
arccanbereducedifthewirecanbefedintothearcregionatahighertemperature.Thatmeansthearcenergycanbeused
elsewhere,forexampleforincreasingtheparentmetalmelting,orahigherquantityoffillermaterialmaybemeltedusingthe
samearcenergyascomparedtoconventionalTIGwelding.ThisprincipleisusedinhotwireTIGweldingprocesswhichemploys
preheatingthewirebeforeitentersinthearcregion.Thisheatingisaccomplishedbyresistiveheatingofthewirebetweenthe
feedernozzleandthemoltenpool.Sincethewirealwaysneedtobeincontactwiththeweldpool,foragivenwirefeedrate
thereisalimitonthemaximumpreheatingthatcanbeapplied.

TIGweldingvariantknownasTOPTIGweldingisaprocesspatentedbyAirLiquide.UnlikeconventionalTIGwelding,inTOPTIG
thefillerwirefeedingnozzleisintegralwiththeweldingtorchsothatthewirecouldbeintroducedinthehottestregionofthe
arc,enhancingthemeltingefficiency.Ithasbeenclaimedthatonsteelsheetsofupto3mmthick,aweldingspeedcomparable
withthatofMIGweldingcouldbeachievedbythisprocess,stillmaintainingthequalityoftheTIGprocess.Theadvantages
claimedforthisprocessincludecomparableproductivitytoMIGwelding,lowerheatinput,lesserdistortion,lesssensitivitytothe
orientationofthewirefeedingwithrespecttotheweldingdirection,andgreaterflexibilitywithrespecttoheatinputand
deposition.

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InMIGweldingthearcisformedinaninertatmospherebetweenacontinuouslyfedconsumablewireelectrodeandworkpiece.
UnlikeTIGwelding,thecurrentanddepositionratecannotbecontrolledindependently.TheheatinputinMIGweldingdepends
onthemetaltransfermode,whichcanbeclassifiedintoshortcircuittransfer,globulartransfer,spraytransferandpulsetransfer.
Theoperatingparameterssuchasthearcvoltage,current,shieldinggas,andelectrodewirefeedratecontrolthetransfermode.

ShortcircuittransfermodeprovidesthelowestheatinputinMIGwelding.However,amajorproblemwithconventionalshort
circuittransferisexcessivespatter.Thedigitallycontrolledpowersourcesallowagreaterdegreeofcontroloverthevoltageand
currentwaveformsonarealtimebasisthanthatpossiblewiththetraditionalonesemployinganaloguecontrollers.Digital
technologyhasbeenusedinsystemssuchastheLincolnElectricSTTTM(surfacetensiontransfer)technology,Daihen
CorporationCBT(controlledbridgetransfer)technology,EWMcoldArctechnology,etc,toachieveashortcircuittransfer
conditionwithoutexcessivespatter.Thedigitisationofthecontrollersalsoimprovedthedynamicresponseofthepowersources,
resultinginthegenerationofselftuningpowersourcessuchastheESABQSet.

Thisinvestigationtriedtoidentifytheeffectofweldingprocessandmajorweldingparametersondilution,andtheeffectofan
increaseddilutiononcorrosionresistanceforaselectedenvironment,bymanufacturingandtestingAlloy625weldoverlayswith
differentdegreesofdilutiononacarbonsteelsubstratematerial.

Objectives
Theobjectiveofthisinvestigationwastohaveagreaterunderstandingontheinfluenceofmajorweldingparametersnamelythe
heatinput,theweldingcurrent,andtheweldingspeedondilutionandcorrosionresistance,forMIGandTIGweldingprocess
andtheirvariants.

Experimentaldetails
Thefollowingweldingprocesseshavebeeninvestigatedinthisproject:

ConventionalTIGwelding
HotwireTIGwelding
TIGweldingvariantknownasTOPTIG
MIGweldingwithglobulartransfer,pulsetransfer,andspraytransfer
MIGweldingwithelectronicallycontrolledshortcircuittransfer(STT)

BSEN100252004355J2+Ngradecarbonsteelplatesofsize200x100x15mmwereusedasthesubstratematerialforweld
overlayexperiments.Theplateswereclampedonarigidfixtureandmechanised/automatedweldingexperimentswerecarried
outinthedownhand(PAposition)bymovingeithertheweldingtorchortheworkpiecerelativetotheother.Theweldingtorch
washeldat90tothesubstratesurface.Pureargonwasusedastheshieldinggas.Alloy625fillerwiresofdiameter1.1mmand
1.2mmmeetingAWSA5.14ERNiCrMo3wereusedinallexperiments.Theweldingcurrentandthevoltageweremeasuredata
samplingfrequencyof4kHz,andrecordedatanintervalof15sdependingupontheweldingspeed,usinganAMVweldcheck
arcmonitor.Theweldingspeedwascalculatedseparatelyfromthereadingsoftheweldlengthandtheweldingduration.The
heatinputwascalculatedastheproductoftheaveragevaluesofarcvoltage,current,andarcefficiencyfactor(0.6forTIG
weldingand0.8forMIGwelding)dividedbytheweldingspeed.Singleweldbeadandmultipleweldbeadexperimentswere
carriedout,andtransverseweldsectionswerepreparedfromthestableportionofeachweldbead.Thetransverseweldsections
weregroundandpolishedtoaonemicrondiamondfinishandetchedin2%Nitalforopticalexaminationandphotography.

WeldmetalcompositionwasanalysedusingsemiquantitativeEDXanalysistodeterminethefractionofironintheweld.The
analysiswascarriedoutatlocationscorrespondingtothecentralregionofthedeposit.Differentprocesseswerecomparedon
thebasisofweldmetaldilutionandheatinput.Finallytheeffectofdilutiononcorrosionresistancewasevaluatedforselected
numberofoverlaysusing'dropletcellcorrosiontesting'techniqueina10w/v%NaClatpH3environment.Sampleswerepolished
toa6mdiamondfinishpriortotesting.AnodicpotentiodynamicpolarisationtestswereperformedusingaUniscanInstruments
ScanningElectrochemicalWorkstationModel370withscanningdropletcellattachment.Asilver/silverchloridereference
electrodeandplatinumwireauxiliaryelectrodeformedathreeelectrodecell,withthesampleastheworkingelectrode.The
electrolytewasacontinuouslyrefreshed10%w/vNaClsolutionacidifiedtopH3.Anodicpolarisationtestswereperformedafter
astabilizationperiodof10minutes,commencing300mVcathodicfromtheopencircuitpotential(OCP)andscanningto1.2V
anodicwithrespecttothereferenceelectrode.Areversescanwasthenperformedfromthispotentialbackto300mVcathodic
withrespecttoOCP.Ascanrateof20mV/minwasusedthroughout.

Results
Photomacrographsoftypicaltransverseweldsectionsofsingleweldbeadsobtainedbyvaryingtheweldingcurrent,welding
speedareshowninFigure1and2.

Figure1.Photomacrographsoftransversesectionsofsingleweldbeadproducedbyincreasingthecurrentfrom
140300Ainstepsof40A.Notethedifferentmagnificationsinthephotographs.

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Figure2.Photomacrographsoftransversesectionsofsingleweldbeadproducedbyincreasingtheweldingspeed
from40,60,100,120,and140mm/min.Notethedifferentmagnificationsinthephotographs.

ThevariationsofweldbeadsizewithincreaseinweldingcurrentareshowninFigure3.Thewidthoftheweldbeadincreased
almostlinearlywiththeweldingcurrentforconstantvaluesoftheotherweldingparameters.Thedepthofpenetrationalso
showedanincrease,whilsttheweldheightslightlydecreasedwithincreasingweldingcurrent.Therateofincreaseinbeadwidth
wassignificantlygreaterthantherateofincreaseordecreaseinthepenetrationdepthortheweldheight.

Figure3.Variationofweldbeaddimensionswithweldingcurrentwhilstotherparametersremainingconstant.
SingleweldbeadmadewithconventionalTIGweldingat80mm/minweldingspeedandatawirefeedingspeedof
910mm/min.

ThevariationsinweldsizewithweldingspeedareshowninFigure4.Theweldwidthdecreasedwithincreasingweldingspeed.
Thepenetrationdepthremainedthesame,almostindependentoftheweldingspeed.Theweldheightshowedadecreasewith
increasingweldingspeed.

Figure4.Variationofweldbeaddimensionswithweldingspeedwhilstotherparametersremainingconstant.
SingleweldbeadmadewithconventionalTIGweldingat220Aweldingcurrentandat910mm/minwirefeeding
rate.

ThedilutionintermsofironcontentoftheweldmetalwithachangeinweldingcurrentisshowninFigure3.Dilutionsofthefirst
andthirdbeadswerecompared.Thedilutioninthefirstbeadwassubstantiallygreaterthanthesubsequentbeads.Dilutionless
than15%wasobtainedatcurrentlevelslowerthan150A,whereasthedilutionwasinexcessof50%forweldingcurrentin
excessof230AshowingtheuncertaintieswithwelddilutionforTIGweldingprocess.

ThevariationsindilutionwithweldingspeedsforTIGweldingareshowninFigure4.Thedilutionincreasedwithincreasing
weldingspeed.Howevertherateofincreasewassignificantlylowerthanthatwithvaryingweldingcurrent.Towardsthehigher
endoftheweldingspeeds,thedilutionshowedastabilisingtendencywithincreasingweldingspeed.

ThevariationsindilutionwithchangeinheatinputforTIGweldingareshowninFigure5.Thetwosetsofgraphscorrespondto
thevariationsintheheatinputobtainedthroughvaryingtheweldingcurrentatconstantweldingspeedorthroughvaryingthe
weldingspeedatconstantweldingcurrent.Thedilutionincreasedwithincreasingheatinputwhentheincreaseinheatinputwas
achievedthroughanincreaseinweldingcurrentatconstantweldingspeed.Howeverthedilutiondecreasedwithincreasingheat
inputwhentheincreaseinheatinputwasachievedthroughareductioninweldingspeedatconstantweldingcurrent.Therewas
significantdifferenceindilution,forthesameheatinputdependingonwhethertheheatinputwasachievedthroughcontrolof
theweldingcurrentortheweldingspeed.Forexampleataheatinputof750J/mmm,dilutionintherange1525%wasachieved
bycontrollingtheweldingcurrentwhilst5060%dilutionwasobtainedbycontrollingtheweldingspeed.

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Figure5.Variationsinthedilutionofthe1stand3rdbeadwithheatinputobtainedbyvaryingtheweldingcurrent
denotedby'I'andweldingspeeddenotedby's'inthelegend,withotherweldingparametersremainingconstant.

Figure6.Variationsinthedilutionofthe1stand3rdbeadwithheatinputobtainedbyvaryingtheweldingcurrent
denotedby'I'andweldingspeeddenotedby's'inthelegend,withotherweldingparametersremainingconstant.
(MIGwelding)

VariationsindilutionwithheatinputforMIGweldingareshowninFigure6.ThevariationsweresimilartothoseobservedinTIG
welding.Thedilutionincreasedwithincreasingheatinputwhentheincreaseinheatinputwasachievedthroughanincreasein
weldingcurrentatconstantweldingspeed.Howeverthedilutiontendtodecreasewithincreasingheatinputwhentheincrease
inheatinputisachievedthroughareductioninweldingspeedatconstantweldingcurrent.

Figure7showsthedilutionversusheatinputforthefirstweldbeadfordifferentweldingprocesses.BothconventionalTIGand
hotwireTIGproducedlargestscatterinheatinputanddilution.Electronicallycontrolledshortcircuittransferprocessconsistently
producedadilutionlessthan20%(firstbead).Atsimilarlevelsofheatinput,thedilutioninTopTIGprocessdependedonthe
heatinputcontrolmethod.Forhighervaluesofcurrentandweldingspeed,thedilutionwassignificantlygreater(~50%)than
those(<15%)producedatlowervaluesofcurrentandweldingspeed,keepingtheheatinputsame.Dilutionlevelswithhotwire
TIGwassimilartothatproducedinconventionalTIGweldingprocess.

Figure7.Dilutionversusheatinputforthefirstweldbeadfordifferentweldingprocesses.

Figures8and9showthebreakdownpotentialsplottedagainstthedegreeofdilutionrepresentedbythe%Feinthecomposition,
andagainstthepittingresistanceequivalentnumber(PREN).ThePRENisanindexoftherelativecorrosionresistanceofthe
materialascalculatedbythefollowingformula:

PREN=%Cr+3.3%Mo+16%N

Figure8showstherewasamarkedreductioninthebreakdownpotentialbetween36and42%Fewhichcorrespondstoa
reductionofPRENfrom33to29,inFigure9.

Figure8.Relationshipbetweenthebreakdownpotentialanddilution(%Fe)inweldmetal

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Figure9.BreakdownpotentialplottedagainstPREN.ThePRENofcommonlyusedwroughtgradesofcorrosion
resistantalloys(CRAs)arealsoshownforcomparison(horizontalbarrepresentsthealloycompositionrangeand
showstypicalcompositions).

Discussion
Dilutionisdefinedasthechangeincompositionoftheweldmetalcausedbythemixingofthebasemetalorthepreviously
depositedweldmetal.InthisinvestigationtheeffectofweldingparametersondilutionwasstudiedbytakingconventionalTIG
andMIGweldingprocesses.Thedilutionwasmeasuredatlocationscorrespondingtothecentralregionoftheweldmetalofeach
weldingpassconsideringthefactthattheagitationoftheweldmetalduringweldingwouldmakethecompositionapproximately
uniformthroughouttheweldmetalexceptforregionswhichareveryneartothefusionboundary.

Significantdifferencesindilutionwereobservedbetweenthefirstweldbeadandthesubsequentbeads.Thiswasbecause,inthe
firstbead,thearcdirectlystrikesonthevirginbasemetalresultinginsignificantlyhighermeltingoftheparentmetal.In
subsequentoverlappingweldpasses,apartoftheinitialweldbeadwouldbemeltedreducingtheextentofparentmetal
melting,andasteadystatewouldbereachedaftercertainnumberofpasses.InitialTIGweldingexperimentsshowedthatthe
dilutionreachedapproximatelysteadystateconditionsonthethirdbead,henceforthesubsequentweldingexperimentsthe
dilutionsofthefirstandthirdweldbeadswerecompared.

ResultsofinitialTIGweldingexperimentsbyvaryingtheweldingcurrentandbykeepingtheotherweldingparametersconstant
showedthattheweldwidthanddepthincreasedwithincreasingtheweldingcurrent.Acorrespondingdecreaseintheweld
heightwasalsoobserved.Theseresultssuggestanincreasedsubstratemeltinghenceahigherdilution.MIGweldingalso
showedasimilartrend.

Theheatinputperunitlengthincreaseswithanincreaseinweldingcurrent,anddecreaseswithincreaseinweldingspeed.That
meansthesameheatinputcanbeobtainedeitherbyusingalowweldingspeedandalowweldingcurrentorusingahigh
weldingspeedandahighweldingcurrent.Forproductivitybenefits,themanufacturerstendtogoforthelatter.Forthesame
heatinputthehighercurrentandhigherweldingspeedproducedsubstantiallyhigherwelddilutionthanalowercurrentanda
lowerweldingspeed.Forexample,148Aat80mm/minweldingspeedand208Aat120mm/minweldingspeedresultsin
approximatelythesameheatinput.Howeverthedilutionat148Aweldingcurrentwasonlyabout20%comparedto5060%
measuredat208Aweldingcurrent.ResultsofMIGweldingexperimentsalsoshowedsimilartendencyeventhoughinthiscasea
higherweldingcurrentwasassociatedwithahigherdepositionrate.Theseresultsquestiontheverypurposeofspecifyingonly
theheatinputasthemostcriticalvariablebycodesandstandardsinweldoverlayingprocedures.

Ofthevariousweldingprocessesstudiedinthisinvestigation,controlledshortcircuittransferweldingprocessproducedthe
lowestlevelofwelddilutionforagivenheatinput.However,thepeculiarweldshapewithlargeheightandhighcontactangle
increasedthechanceofproducinglackoffusiontypedefectsattheweldtoewhensubsequentweldbeadsweredeposited.So
thepositioningofthetorchwasextremelycriticalwiththisprocess.TopTIGweldingprocessalsoprovidesverylowdilutionat
lowvaluesofweldingcurrentandweldingspeed.TIGweldingproducedthelargestscatterinwelddilution.

Currentqualificationproceduresforweldoverlaycladdinginvolvemeasurementofbulkdilutionandensuringthatitisbelowa
maximumlevelandalsopassingastandardgenericcorrosiontestsuchasASTMG48.Therearetwodrawbackstothis
approach:firstly,thechemicalanalysisresultsgivesabulkaverageofthesample,locally,ahigherorlowerdilutionlevelsmay
existsecondly,theASTMG48testisaggressiveandnotrepresentativeofmostserviceenvironments.Thus,itprovideslimited
understandingoftheeffectsofvariationsinweldingprocedureonactualserviceperformanceofthecladding.

Adropletcelltechniquewasselectedforuseinthisprojectinordertomeasurethecorrosionresistanceoflocalregions.This
techniqueusesasmalldropletofsolutionplacedonthetestsurface,andbycarryingelectrochemicalanodicpolarizationwithin
thisdroplet,itisabletodeterminecorrosionresistanceofthematerialinasmallregion.Thisovercametheproblemsof
measuringthecorrosionresistanceofalargesurfaceareawherethedilutionlevelsmayvarysignificantly.

TheresultsfromthedropletcelltestsshowedthecorrosionresistanceofAlloy625weldoverlaydoesnotdecreaseuntildilutions
levelsgreaterthan36%Feisreachedinselectedtestenvironment.Thisindicatesthatdilutionslevelsupto36%Femaybe
toleratediftheserviceenvironmentwhichislessaggressivethanorsimilartothetestenvironment.Belowthesedilutionlevels,
nopittingwasobserved.

Furthermoretheresultsshowaclearstepchangeandnotagradualchangeincorrosionresistanceinrelationtodilution.It
wouldbeinterestingtorepeatthesetestsinamoreaggressiveenvironment,andtodetermineifthesamestepchangewerestill
observedbutshiftedtolowerdilutionlevelsorifthechangeweremoregradual.Previouswork,exposing'bulk'weldoverlay
samplestoanaggressiveenvironment,showedthatcorrosionresistancedecreasedwithincreasingdilutionupto30%Fe[Gittos
andGooch,1996].However,thesedataalsoshowedsignificantscatterwhichmaybeanindicationoftherangeoflocaldilutionsin
theareassampled.
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Althoughadilutionlevelisoftenspecifiedforqualificationprocedures,corrosionresistanceofCRAsistheoftenexpressedas
pittingresistanceequivalentnumber(PREN)whichtakesintoaccountallmajoralloyingelementswhichaffectcorrosion
resistance.TheresultsshowthatthedropincorrosionresistanceoccursataPRENof<33,Figure9.Thiscorrespondstothe
lowerendofalloy904LandwithinthecompositionrangeofAlloy825.However,itshouldbenotedthattheresultsarefromthe
dropletcelltestconductedonweldmetal,essentiallyanascastalloy,butnevertheless,itshowsthattheAlloy625weld
overlaysneedtoreachdilutionequivalenttothoseoftheAlloy825compositionrangebeforeasignificantdropincorrosion
resistanceisobservedinthisenvironment.

Conclusions
EffectofweldingparametersondilutionwasstudiedbyusingTIGandMIGweldingprocesses,andtheperformanceofsomeof
theprocessvariantswerecomparedbyconductingweldoverlayexperimentson15mmthickcarbonsteelmaterialusing1.1mm
diameterAlloy625fillerwire.Followingconclusionscanbemadeonthebasisofthisexperimentalinvestigation.

TIGandMIGweldingprocessesproduceweldoverlaywithawiderangeofdilution.TIGweldsproducethehighestscatterin
dilutiondependingontheprocessparametersthedilutioncanbeaslowas<10%orashighas70%.InMIGweldthe
dilutionwasgenerallylessthan40%.

Inarcwelding,thedilutiongenerallyincreasedwithincreaseinweldingcurrentandweldingspeed.

Anincreaseinheatinputwithincreaseincurrentincreasedthedilutionwhilstanincreaseinheatinputduetodecreasein
weldingspeedreducedthedilution.

Foragivenheatinputelectronicallycontrolledshortcircuittransferprocessprovidethelowestdilution(<5%).TIGwelding
variantalsocouldproduceweldoverlaywithverylowdilution(<10%)withsinglelayer.

Thecorrosionresistanceofalloy625weldoverlayexhibitedamarkeddropincorrosionresistanceatdilutionlevels>36%Fe,
intheselectedtestenvironmentof10w/v%NaClatpH3.

ThedilutionlevelsofthemarkeddropincorrosionresistancewereequivalenttothePRENofwroughtofalloy825,inthe
selectedtestenvironmentof10w/v%NaClatpH3.

Theaboveresultssuggestthatrestrictingtheheatinputalonemaynotnecessarilyensurethecorrosionresistanceandthere
appearstobeopportunitiesforrelaxingthepresentspecifiedlimitondilution.

Furtherwork
ThereareanumberofdigitallycontrolledMIGweldingvariant,andhighdepositionTIGweldingvariantsavailabletoimprovethe
depositioncapabilities.Also,thevariablepolaritysubarcweldingprovidesthecapabilitytoachievedifferentdepositionratesand
penetrationdepthswithoutchangingthevoltageorcurrent.Hencetherequireddilutionlimitsordepositheightmaybeachieved
withafewerlayersthanthatispossiblewithconventionalprocesses.Also,thereappearstobeopportunitiesforrelaxingthe
presentpermissiblelimitfor%Feintheweldoverlayahigherlimitondilutioncanimprovetheeconomicsassociatedwithweld
overlayingsignificantly.

Inordertoaddresssomeoftheseissues,TWIwillbelaunchingajointindustryproject(JIP)inautumn2010.Theprojectwill
addresstheseissuesthroughareviewofcurrentmanufacturingpractices,investigatingimprovedmanufacturingprocessand
procedures,investigatingalternativeconsumables,evaluatingthelocalandbulkcorrosionresistance,anddevelopingreliable
inspectionprocedures.Itwillalsoaddresstheeffectofarelaxeddilutionlimitoncorrosionfatigueperformanceoftheweld
overlay.Forfurtherinformationonthisproject,pleasecontact:Vinod.kumar@twi.co.uk

Acknowledgement
ThisworkwasfundedbytheIndustrialMembersofTWI,asapartofthecoreResearchProgramme.Theauthorsacknowledge
thesupportofChrisHardy,HarryFroment,incarryingouttheweldingtrials,andSheilaStevenandAshleySpencerfortheir
supportinpreparingandanalysinglargenumberofsamples.TheauthorsarealsogratefultoDrOliverDLewisofSheffield
HallamUniversityforhissupportincarryingoutthe'dropletcellcorrosion'tests.

References
ASMEBoilerandPressureVesselCode,ASME,2010.

GittosMF,GoochTG,1996:'EffectsofirondilutiononcorrosionresistanceofNiCrMoalloycladding'.BritishCorrosionJournal,
Vol31,No.4,pp309.

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