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Experimental Study on Square-Butt Single-Pass Single-Side Submerged Arc

Welding of Low-Carbon Microalloyed Steel

Article  in  Journal of Ship Production and Design · April 2009

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Experimental Study on Square Butt Single Pass Single Side Submerged Arc
Welding of Low Carbon Micro-Alloyed Steel

Pankaj Biswas1, N.R. Mandal2, Saravanan M3, Velmurugan S3

1
Research Scholar, Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, IIT
Kharagpur, E-mail: panu012@yahoo.co.in
2
Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture, IIT Kharagpur, E-
mail: nrm@naval.iitkgp.ernet.in
3
Student, Master of Technology, Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval
Architecture, IIT Kharagpur.

Abstract
An attempt has been made to establish a submerged arc welding procedure, which will
enable to produce square butt welded joint for a range of thickness of low carbon micro -
alloyed steel plates with proper fusion and reinforcement geometry in a single pass
welding. In the present investigation a flux filled reusable backing bar has been used. In
this submerged arc welding flux in its powdered form has been used without application
of any external pressure and also without any additives. Experiments have been carried
out extensively on 3 mm, 5 mm and 12 mm thick low carbon micro alloyed steel plate
specimens which are widely used in ship building industry. The effect of heat input, root
gap and welding speed on weld bead profile, weld and HAZ microstructure, tensile
strength of welded joint, impact strength at -400C and hardness of fusion zone and HAZ
was rigorously studied.

The welding procedure developed in the study successfully produced with excellent
repeatability welded joints satisfying all the relevant quality standards.

Keywords: Square butt, Single side single pass welding, SAW, Low carbon micro
alloyed steel, Aluminum backing strip, microstructure, hardness.
1. Introduction

A major portion of welding activity in a shipyard comprises of butt welding of large flat
plates for fabrication of flat panels. The conventional method of welding of such panels
consists of several operations like welding from top, turning over of the panel, gouging of
root followed by final welding. Usually these panels have very large overall dimensions
making it difficult for such operations. Where turning over is physically not possible,
overhead welding becomes the only alternative. This results in an uneven weld bead and
a slower rate of production. The uneven bead shape calls for additional operation of
grinding resulting in further man-hour requirement. The beginning of this investigation is
based on the requirement of improving productivity by dropping the total welding time.
Implementation of single side welding will result in improvement in productivity and the
same will be further enhanced if the desired deposition can be achieved by single run.
However this has to be achieved with desired level of quality.

The main focus of the present investigation is to achieve sound welded joints having
desired mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics.

Drayton [1972], Doherty et al [1977] and Yang et al [1993] studied the influence of
process parameters and relationship between the process variables and bead geometry in
case of submerged arc welding. Joarder et al [1991] studied the effect on microstructure
of heat affected zone and submerged arc weld metal in case of plain carbon steel.
Miyazaki et al [1993] reported one side submerged arc welding using flux copper
backing. DuPont et al [1995] conducted a study on the arc and melting efficiency of
various welding processes and concluded that with higher arc efficiency higher travel
speeds are possible.

Gunaraj et al [2000] showed that penetration reduces as welding voltage increases, but
bead width and dilution increase considerably with increase in voltage. Sullivan [2000]
highlighted the effectiveness of single side welding in making ship production more
competitive. Malin [2001] discussed the effect of joint geometry and welding variables in

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root weld formation using modified refractory flux one-sided two electrode
singlepass/multipass welding. Basu et al [2002] used submerged arc welding on high
strength structural steels. He studied the variations of bead morphology and
microstructure under iso-heat input conditions. Mandal and Maiti [2004] discussed the
effects of plate thickness and various process variables on fusion depth, weld deposition,
hardness and microstructure of single sided welded joints of mid steel plates. Shome.M
[2006] studied the effect of heat affected zones of single –pass butt welded joints in
HSLA steel plates. M.M. Mahapatra, G.L. Datta, B. Pradhan and N.R. Mandal [2006]
studied the angular distortions in single-pass submerged arc welded (SAW) butt joints.
Keshav Prasad and D.K.Dwivedi [2006] investigated on microstructure and mechanical
properties of submerged arc welded HSLA steel joints. Malakondaiah [2007] developed
speciality of low alloy steel for Indian Navy Vessels. In all these previous studies, mostly
conventional welding process of SAW, GMAW, and SMAW have been studied. At the
same time, few literatures dealing with single side single pass welding process. In the
present study, the objective was to establish a single side single pass welding procedure
for producing mechanically sound welded square butt joints of low carbon micro-alloy
steel plate’s thickness of 3 mm, 5mm, & 12mm.A reusable flux filled backing bar has
been studied in the present investigation. From the results, study the feasibility of
implementation of the proposed welding process in shipbuilding industries.

2. Process Variables & Experimental Procedure

Various combinations of process variables were used for carrying out welding. To obtain
adequate weld penetration with proper top and bottom reinforcement, an optimum
combination of the variables is to be selected. Extensive experiments were carried out to
evaluate the combined effect of these process variables on these aspects of the welded
joint. In each case the welding voltage, current, speed, length of stickout, and electrode
polarity were observed. These parameters are detailed in Table 1.

3
 Table 1 Process variables used in the single side single pass welding
Plate thickness
Process Variables
(3 mm) (5 mm) (12 mm)
Welding current (A) 250 - 350 500-550 675-700
Arc voltage (V) 22-24 22-24 30-34
Welding speed (mm/s) 11-12 9-10 5-6
Electrode diameter (mm) 4 (fixed) 4 (fixed) 4 (fixed)
Length of stick out (mm) 20 (fixed) 25 (fixed) 30 (fixed)
Root gap (mm) 0 – 0.5 1-2 3.5-4.25
Electrode polarity +ve (fixed) +ve (fixed) +ve (fixed)

Submerged arc welding was carried out using a constant potential 1200 A DC power
source. Test samples of sizes 400mm ×150mm and 300mm×100mm were prepared and
experiments carried out according to the Table 1. Arc voltage was measured between the
welding torch and work piece. The measured voltage thus represented the sum of voltage
drop across the electrode stick out and the arc. Submerged arc welds were produced on
low carbon micro-alloyed steel plates of 3mm, 5mm and 12mm thickness. Tack welds
were used to maintain a uniform root gap along the length. The consumables used in the
experiments were commercial 4 mm diameter OK Autrod 13.27 Electrodes and OK Flux
10.62 suitable for joining low carbon micro-alloyed steels. Aluminum backing bar with
groove geometry as shown in Fig.1 was used. The groove in the backing bar was filled
with flux which supported the molten metal and helped formation of bottom
reinforcement. Various combinations of process variables were used to study the effect
on welded joint. Chemical composition of the parent metal is given in Table 2.

Fig.1 Joint geometry with flux filled aluminum backing bar

4
 Table 2 Chemical composition of steel plate

C - 0.08 - 0.11 P - 0.020 (max) V - 0.01 - 0.05

Mn - 1.15 - 1.65 S - 0.012 (max) Ti - 0.01 - 0.06
Si - 0.15 - 0.40 Cu - 0.30 (max) Mo - 0.05 (max)
Cr - 0.30 (max) Al - 0.01 - 0.05 Ca - 50 ppm (max)
Ni - 0.65 - 1.05; Nb - 0.05 (max) Pb+Sn+As - 0.025 (max)

3. Results and discussion

Effects of process variables on fusion pattern, microstructures and mechanical properties
are discussed in this section.

Root Gap:
Root gap plays an important role in achieving adequate root fusion and bottom
reinforcement. The root gap was varied from 0 mm to 4.25 mm, which was maintained
by tack welds at both ends of the test samples. It was found that narrow root gap led to
incomplete penetration. Where as in case of wider root gap full penetration occurred but
with excessive reinforcement at bottom. The ranges of root gap from 0 to 0.5 mm, 1 to 2
mm & 3.5 to 4.25 mm were found to be optimum for welding of 3mm, 5mm & 12mm
thick low carbon micro-alloyed steel plates respectively.

Heat Input:
The combined effect of welding current, voltage and welding speed on fusion depth
(weld penetration) and bead width for single side single pass SAW was studied for steel
plates of 3mm, 5mm and 12mm thickness. Figs 2(a) to 2(d) shows the effect of variation
of rate of heat input over the shape of bead profile in case of 12mm thick plates.
Therefore Studying the combined effect of welding current, voltage and speed, it was
observed that, for achieving full penetration in single side single pass submerged arc
welding, heat input can be kept within 500 to 600 J/mm for 3mm, 1100 to 1200 J/mm for
5mm & 3300 to 3500 J/mm for 12mm thick low carbon micro alloyed steel plates.

5
 3

Top reinforcement height (mm)

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
2900 3000 3100 3200 3300 3400 3500 3600
Heat input (J/mm)

Fig. 2(a) Variation of height of top reinforcement with rate of heat input

1.4
Bottom reinforcement

1.2
height (mm)

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
2900 3100 3300 3500 3700
Heat input (J/mm)

Fig.2(b) Variation of height of bottom reinforcement with rate of heat input

26
Top reinforcement width (mm)

24

22

20

18

16

14
2700 2900 3100 3300 3500 3700
Heat input (J/mm)

Fig.2 (c) Variation of top reinforcement width with rate of heat input

6
 14

Bottom reinforcement width

13
12
11

(mm)
10
9
8
7
6
2800 3000 3200 3400 3600
Heat input (J/mm)

Fig.2 (d) Variation of bottom reinforcement width with rate of heat input

Welding Speed:
The welding speed was varied from 5.83 to 11.67 mm/s. It was found that at relatively
higher speeds for 12mm thick plates, though full penetration could be achieved, it
resulted in inadequate top reinforcement. Where as, at lower speeds fairly good top and
bottom reinforcement were achieved along with full penetration as shown in Fig.3(a).
Hence a lower value of welding speed, 6 mm/s, is recommended for welding of 12mm
thick plates. Also it was found that at relatively lower welding speeds it resulted in
excessive bottom reinforcement for 5mm and 3mm thick steel plates. Where as at
relatively higher speeds fairly good top and bottom reinforcement were achieved along
with full penetration as shown in Fig.3(b) and Fig.3(c). Hence higher values of welding
speeds of 9mm/s &11mm/s are recommended for welding of 5mm & 3mm thick plates
respectively.

Fig. 3(a) Welding of 12mm plate

(V =33-34V, I =675-700A, ws = 5.83 mm/s)

7
 Fig. 3 (b) Welding of 5mm plate

(V =22-24V, I =500-550A, ws = 9.58 mm/s)

Fig. 3(c) Welding of 12mm plate

(V = 24, I = 250-350A, ws = 11.67 mm/s)

4. Microstructural Evaluation
Optical Micrographs were taken at sections of base metal, HAZ & Weld Zone, sample of
these are shown in Figs 4a, 4b and 4c. It was observed that approaching from base metal
to the fusion boundary the average grain size of various phases changes significantly.
Careful observation of HAZ revealed grain refinement close to the base metal and grain
coarsened region close to fusion boundary. Grain coarsening near the fusion boundary,
resulted in columnar grains in weld metal.

8
Fig.4 (a) Optical micrograph of Base metal

Fig.4(b) Optical micrograph of HAZ

9
 Fig.4(c) Optical micrograph of fused zone

In the refined grain region within HAZ micro structural observation indicates that the
peak temperature in this regime fell just above A3 temperature (Fig.4d). On cooling
austenite decomposed into finer grains yielding fine grains of pearlite (black) and ferrite
(white). It was observed that apart from the boundary of fused zone, fine grain structures
dominated over the HAZ.

Fig.4(d) Grain refined region: pearlite (black) and ferrite (white)

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5. Mechanical Properties
5.1 Tensile strength
Tensile tests were carried out on several test specimens taken from various single side
welded test samples as shown in Fig.5. It was observed in all cases that the tensile failure
took place much away from the welded as well as the heat affected zone (Fig.5). This
endorses the fact that the welded joints produced were of superior strength compared to
that of the parent metal. The tensile properties achieved are given in Table 3.

Table 3 Tensile properties of the welded samples at room temperature

Yield stress Ultimate stress

Elongation to failure (%)
(MPa) (MPa)
313 to 369 464 to 548 16 to 35

Fig. 5 Tensile test samples

5.2 Impact strength

Charpy V-notch impact tests were carried out on test samples taken from parent metal,
HAZ and fusion zone with the V-notch along the plate thickness as schematically shown
in Fig.6. The samples were tested at -40 0C. The test results are shown in Table 4. It can
be observed from the test results that the impact test values obtained for the samples from
fusion zone are higher than those obtained from parent metal. In all cases, excepting one

11
the impact test results were found to be well above the classification society requirement
of 134 J at -40 0C.
fusion zone

(A)

(b)

(c)

Fig.6 V-notch impact test samples at

(a) fusion zone, (b) HAZ, (c) parent metal

Table 4 Impact test results

Sl. No. Zone Test Temp Impact energy

(oC) (J)
1 Weld Zone -40 290
2 Weld Zone -40 290
3 Weld Zone -40 234
4 Weld Zone -40 190
5 Base Metal -40 256
6 Base Meta -40 180
7 Base Metal -40 140
8 Base Metal -40 250
9 HAZ -40 224
10 HAZ -40 132
11 HAZ -40 146
12 HAZ -40 168

5.3 Hardness
From the Figs 7 to 9, one can observe that the base metal hardness was within 210 HV,
whereas in HAZ, the hardness increased to about 215 HV, which crossed 225 in Fusion
Zone. However the hardness levels in all zones remained well below 350 HV as is the
requirement of the classification society IRS. Maximum hardness was observed in weld

12
zone in all the weld joints. This is because, presence of higher carbon content in filler
material (0.45%C). The hardness varied from about 220 to 230 HV.

Fig.7 Variations of the Hardness at various regions for 12 mm plates

Fig.8 Variations of the Hardness at various regions for 3 mm plates

13
 Fig.9 Variations of the Hardness at various regions for 5 mm plates.

Fig.10 shows top and bottom reinforcements of a welded sample of 12 mm plate.

Fig.10 Top and bottom reinforcement of a 12mm thick plate with square butt

6. Conclusion
The following conclusions can be drawn from the extensive experimental study
conducted on single side single pass submerged arc welding of low carbon micro-alloyed
steel plates of different thickness.

14
i) Lower values of welding speeds around 6 mm/s are recommended for welding of
plates of thickness 12 mm in a single run. Whereas welding speeds of 11mm/s and
9mm/s are recommended for welding of 3mm and 5mm plates respectively.
ii) Root gap of 0 to 0.5 mm, 1 to 2 mm & 3.5 to 4.25 mm are optimum for welding of
3mm, 5mm & 12mm thick low carbon micro-alloyed steel plates respectively.
iii) For achieving full penetration in single side single pass submerged arc welding, heat
input can be kept within 500 to 600 J/mm for 3mm,1100 to 1200 J/mm for 5mm
&3300 to 3500 J/mm for 12mm thick steel plates.
iv) Peak hardness was observed in the weld zone. This was because of higher carbon
content in the filler material (0.453%C).
v) The hardness levels in all zones were found to be well below 350 HV as is the
requirement of the classification society IRS.
vi) The impact strengths achieved in both weld zone and HAZ was well above the
classification society requirement of 134 J at -40 0C.
vii) In all cases tensile failure took place much away from the welded as well as the heat
affected zone. This endorses the fact that the welded joints produced were of
superior strength compared to that of the parent metal. This corroborates
metallographic observations as well.
viii) The groove dimensions of the aluminum backing bars are so chosen that, unless
there is a case of burn through, they are never damaged by the arc action and thereby
can be virtually infinitely reused.

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