Welding

Joining vs. Assembling

What is the best way to form one entity from two components?

Joining techniques: Mechanical assembly techniques:

Welding Screw, bolts and nuts
Brazing Rivets
Soldering Stitching
Adhesive bonding Stapling
Molding inserts
Integral fasteners

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 Joining techniques

– Welding: Joining process where two or more parts are coalesced at their contacting
surfaces by a suitable application of heat and/or pressure. In some welding processes, a
filler material is added to facilitate the coalescence.

– Soldering: melting and flowing a filler metal in into the joint. Filler metal has a low
melting point (the base metal not melted during the process). Ex: roof flashing to prevent
against weather

– Brazing: similar to soldering but using filler metal with higher melting point (450-800°C,
Ag, Cu). Better strength than soldered joints but the need to go to a higher temperature
can cause problems.

– Adhesive bonding: the gap is filled with an adhesive (polymer) which forms a surface
bond with the metal

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 Assembling techniques

– Bolts and nuts: used a lot in structural work because easy to assemble on site.
Components can be dismantled for repair or modifications.
– Rivets: used for example on skin panels of aircrafts. Permanent connection.
– Stitching: Fastening operation in which a stitching machine is used to form a U-
shaped stitches one at a time from steel wire and immediately drive them through
the two parts to be joined.
– Stapling: Fastening operation in which preformed U-shaped staples are pinched
through the two parts to be attached.
– Molding inserts: this method involves the placement of a component into a mold prior
to plastic molding or metal casting, so that it becomes a permanent and integral
part of the molding or casting. For example: internally threaded nuts, externally
threaded bearings…
– Integral fasteners: this method involves the deformation of component parts so that
they interlock and create a mechanically fastened joint.

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How to Decide Which Technique to Use?

– Strength Ex: Bridge: joints in girders which will carry

– Ease of manufacture
– Cost
– Permanency
– Corrosion-resistance
– Appearance
the varying loads imposed by vehicles
Constraints: joints have to be made on
site. Time is not the most important
parameter in that case

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 Welding:
processes, advantages, drawbacks

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 Welding Processes

~ 50 different types of welding operations classified in two categories:

- Fusion welding
uses heat to melt the base metals
most of the time a filler metal is used
most welding processes are fusion welding
- Solid-state welding
pressure alone or combination of pressure and heat
if heat involves, below melting temperature of base metals.
no filler metal used

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 Fusion Welding

- Parent metal melted on each side of the joint line.

- The molten metal combines to form a liquid pool

between the two components (if necessary additional
material is added to build up the cross-section of the
weld).

- Solidification of the molten metal  creation of a

metal bridge between the two components: leak-tight
joint

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 Advantages of Welding as a joining process

– Permanent joint
– Welded joint can be stronger than the parent materials if a filler metal is
used that has strength properties superior to those of the parent metals and
if appropriate welding techniques are used.
– Welding is usually the most economical way to join components in terms of
material usage and fabrication costs.
– Welding is not restricted to the factory environment (can be on-site)

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 Welding limitations and drawbacks

– Most welding operations are performed manually and are expensive in

terms of labor costs (skilled trades)
– Most welding processes are dangerous because they involve the use of high
energy
– Permanent joint = no disassembly
– Defects can be created in the welds that are difficult to detect and can
cause lost of material properties.

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 How does welding affect metals?

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 Classification of Parts of Weld According to
Their Level of Exposure to Heat

– Fusion zone
– Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ)
– Unaffected Base Metal

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 Classification of Parts of Weld According to
Their Level of Exposure to Heat

– Fusion zone: mixture of filler material and base materials that have completely
melted. This zone is characterised by a high degree of inhomogeneity. During
solidification, a preferred grain growth orientation exists such as the grains formed
are columnar grains roughly perpendicular to the boundaries of the weld interface.
In that region we have coarse grains.

– HAZ: the metal in this zone has experienced temperatures that are below the melting
temperature of the metal, yet high enough to create microstructural changes in the
solid metal and therefore changes in the mechanical properties of the metal. How
much? Depends on welding parameters such as heat input, peak temperature,
distance from fusion zone...

– Unaffected base metal: this area is the remaining original structure that has not seen
enough heat to change its properties but there can be high residual stresses due to
expansion and shrinkage in the fusion zone.

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 What is the Nature of Weld Heat Seen by Metals?

Very rapid heating followed by slow cooling

- Peak temperature decreases as distance from weld increases.
- Time to reach peak temperature increases with distance from the weld
- Heating and cooling rates decrease with distance from weld

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 What are the negative aspects of welding on metals?

– Warping and distortion from high residual stresses caused by localised and
uneven heating
– Cracking from loss of ductility and increasing hardness in the HAZ
– Reducing joint toughness, particularly at HAZ
– Destroying favourable effects of heat treatment and work hardening done to
the metal before welding

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 Weld-Induced Distortions

Why Does it Happen?

Non-uniform heating of the weld and base

metal

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 Factors Affecting Distortion and Residual Stresses

– Coefficient of thermal expansion

– Melting point
– Phase changes
– Difference of thermal expansion between two metals
– Energy input
– Heat treatment history
– External restraints during welding

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 How to Reduce Residual Stresses?

– Peening: but it can induce itself distortion and it is difficult to control

– Heat treatment: controllable and more effective than peening but each
metal will need a proper heat treatment

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 Welding of steels

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 Weldability of steels

Weldability: Capacity of a
material to be welded under
imposed fabrication conditions into
a specific suitably designed
structure and to perform
satisfactorily in the intended
service.

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 Peak temperature

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 Microstructure evolution during welding of steels

Many low-carbon steel weld easily.

Strength of the weld region can be
higher than base material because
of the formation of fine pearlite
during cooling step.

Welding of high- and medium-

carbon steels is more difficult
since martensite can form in the
HAZ rather easily, thereby
decreasing the toughness of the
material

A1: eutectoid temperature

A3: temperature at which ferrite starts to form
(composition dependent)

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 Carbon equivalent

– Carbon Equivalent (CE) formula

% Mn % Mo %Cr % Ni %Cu % P
CE (% ) = %C + + + + + +
6 5 5 15 15 3

If CE ≤ 0.4: no adjustment necessary, the alloy is weldable

If 0.4 < CE ≤ 0.6: need to use low-hydrogen electrodes
If CE > 0.6: need to use low-hydrogen electrodes, increase welding heat
input, pre-heat, post-heat or impose slower cooling rates (to prevent
formation of martensite and hydrogen embrittlement)

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 Question Time

The following table gives the composition of two steel alloys. Determine and explain
which of the two alloys will be easier to weld.

Alloys %C % Si % Mn %P %S % Cr % Mo
1010 0.13 0.35 0.60 0.04 0.04 - -
4130 0.33 0.35 0.70 0.04 0.04 1.20 0.25

For the less weldable alloy, give two measures that can be taken to improve its
weldability.

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 References

– M.P. Groover, “Fundamentals of Modern manufacturing – Materials, Processes and Systems”,

5th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013

– D.R. Askeland, W.J. Wright, “Essentials of materials science and engineering”, 3rd Edition,
Cengage Learning, 2014

– M.F. Ashby, D.R.H. Jones, “Engineering materials 2 – An introduction to Microstructures,

Processing and Design, 3rd Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006

– W.L.Galvery, F.M. Marlow, “Welding essentials: questions and answers”, 2nd edition, Industrial
Press Inc., 2007

– K. Weman, “Welding processes handbook”, Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, 2003

– L.M. Gourd, “Principles of welding technology”, Edward Arnold, 1980

– W.A. Bowditch, K.E. Bowditch, M.A. Bowditch, “Welding technology fundamentals”, The
Goodheart-Willcox Company, Inc., 2005

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