Metallurgical & Materials Engineering (Dec 2016)
Effect of molybdenum addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of plain carbon steel weld
Abstract
The present investigation has two main objectives; first is optimization of welding process parameters of submerged arc welding (SAW) using Taguchi philosophy and second is to improve the mechanical properties such as strength and microhardness of weld joint by alloying with varying amounts of molybdenum. For optimization of welding process, parameters Taguchi philosophy have been applied on a mild steel plate (AISI C- 1020) of 10 mm thickness with 60o groove angle with arc voltage and welding speed as variables and bead width as output variables. A mathematical relationship between bead width, arc voltage and welding speed has also been found using multiple regression analysis for the present base metal plate geometry. After optimizing welding parameters, molybdenum has been added individually to the welding area in varying percentages. The properties of alloyed and unalloyed weld metal bead are compared. The mechanical characterization of weld has been done in terms of microhardness, tensile strength, whereas microstructural characterization has been performed using optical microscopy, XRD and EDS. The presence of molybdenum resulted in bainite structure in weld bead having a refined grain structure, enhancement in tensile strength and microhardness. The XRD results showed the formation of molybdenum carbides justifying the increase in microhardness value.
