Effect of SMAW parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of AISI 1018 low carbon steel joints: An experimental approach

Welding technologies are the fundamental application in industrial field especially for engineering, manufacturing and even medical implants. Since welding process involved in form of heat energy, it creates a property change in welded location, thus adequate control of welding parameters is essential as it determined the characteristics of welded joint. In present work, the investigation on effect of SMAW process parameters on metallographic studies and mechanical properties of AISI 1018 low carbon joints is studied throughout series of well controlled welding parameters. Steel plates with dimension of 400mm∗200mm∗6mm are arc welded through different set of welding currents (55A to 90A) using SMAW machine with low hydrogen stick electrode. After completion of welding process, the characteristic of welded samples were evaluated by the mean of non-destructive (NT) and destructive test (DT) in accordance to standard specifications and requirements as specified in ASTM standard and AWS D1.1 respectively. DT such as tensile, bend, impact, micro-hardness and metallographic analysis subjected to effect of thermal arc energy are interpreted and compared. Lastly, an approved welding procedure specification (WPS) supported by laboratory test results is developed. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.