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An Approach to Maximize Weld Penetration During TIG Welding of P91 Steel Plates by Utilizing Image Processing and Taguchi Orthogonal Array

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Abstract

P-91 is modified 9Cr–1Mo steel. Fabricated structures and components of P-91 has a lot of application in power and chemical industry owing to its excellent properties like high temperature stress corrosion resistance, less susceptibility to thermal fatigue at high operating temperatures. The weld quality and surface finish of fabricated structure of P91 is very good when welded by Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG). However, the process has its limitation regarding weld penetration. The success of a welding process lies in fabricating with such a combination of parameters that gives maximum weld penetration and minimum weld width. To carry out an investigation on the effect of the autogenous TIG welding parameters on weld penetration and weld width, bead-on-plate welds were carried on P91 plates of thickness 6 mm in accordance to a Taguchi L9 design. Welding current, welding speed and gas flow rate were the three control variables in the investigation. After autogenous (TIG) welding, the dimension of the weld width, weld penetration and weld area were successfully measured by an image analysis technique developed for the study. The maximum error for the measured dimensions of the weld width, penetration and area with the developed image analysis technique was only 2 % compared to the measurements of Leica-Q-Win-V3 software installed in optical microscope. The measurements with the developed software, unlike the measurements under a microscope, required least human intervention. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) confirms the significance of the selected parameters. Thereafter, Taguchi’s method was successfully used to trade-off between maximum penetration and minimum weld width while keeping the weld area at a minimum.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial assistance provided by TEQIP phase II at National Institute of Technology Agartala India.

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  1. National Institute of Technology Agartala, Agartala, 799046, Tripura (w), India

    Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Tapas Debnath, Vidyut Dey & Ram Naresh Rai

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Correspondence to Akhilesh Kumar Singh.

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Singh, A.K., Debnath, T., Dey, V. et al. An Approach to Maximize Weld Penetration During TIG Welding of P91 Steel Plates by Utilizing Image Processing and Taguchi Orthogonal Array. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. C 98, 541–551 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40032-016-0268-3

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