Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of AISI 304 Austenitic Stainless Steels

Abstract

The aim of this present experimental work is to evaluate the effect of welding when similar metals of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel are joined. Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was employed to join the plates. GTAW is an electric arc welding process, which produces an arc between a non-consumable tungsten electrode and the work to be welded in an inert gas atmosphere mainly to avoid atmospheric contamination. Plates of 6mm thickness were joined using a double v-groove in the presence of filler material. The mechanical properties including tensile properties and hardness were analyzed. This experimental study reveals that the ultimate tensile strength of the weld zone is marginally decreased as compared to base metal and the ductility of the base metal is predominantly higher as compared to weld bead. All the properties were correlated with their microstructural analysis.