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Effect of Welding Consumables on the Ballistic Performance of Shielded Metal Arc Welded Dissimilar Armor Steel Joints

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Abstract

The welding of dissimilar armor-grade steels is always challenging due to their carbon equivalent (CE) differences. In this investigation, dissimilar armor-grade steels (rolled homogenous armor (RHA) steels and ultra-high hard armor (UHA) steel) are welded using three electrodes, namely low hydrogen ferritic (LHF), austenitic stainless steel (ASS), and duplex stainless steel (DSS) by shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process. All the three joints were tested against the 7.62 × 54 mm armor-piercing (AP) projectile. The projectile was wholly stopped at the Weld Metal (WM). Three modes of failures were observed in WM (1) wear debris (WD), (2) wear debris + continuous cracks (WDCC), and (3) fine wear debris + microcracks (FWDMC). The joint fabricated using ASS electrode with the level of failure of WDCC performs better than other joints with the lowest area density of 70 kg/m2 due to the high energy absorption capability of the austenite phase and higher strain hardening properties. At the interface, the martensitic band (MB) increases the hardness and has a vital role in determining ballistic resistance. The impact toughness and ductility of the weld metal play a significant role in deciding the ballistic performance more than hardness and strength properties.

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Abbreviations

UHA:

Ultra-high hard armor

RHA:

Rolled homogenous armor

Q&T:

Quenched and tempered

BM:

Base metal

WM:

Weld metal

SMAW:

Shielded metal arc welding

GMAW:

Gas metal arc welding

CE:

Carbon equivalent

AFVs:

Armor fighting vehicles

MBTs:

Main battle tanks

ASS:

Austenitic stainless steel

DSS:

Duplex stainless steel

LHF:

Low hydrogen ferritic

SURA:

Joints made by SMAW process using ASS electrodes

SURD:

Joints made by SMAW process using DSS electrodes

SURF:

Joints made by SMAW process using LHF electrodes

UMZ:

Unmixed zone

MB:

Martensitic band

AP:

Armor piercing

FCC:

Face centered cubic

BCT:

Body centered tetragonal

BCC:

Body centered cubic

ISO:

International Organization for Standardization

K-TIG:

Keyhole-tungsten inert gas

HIC:

Hydrogen-induced cracking

HAZ:

Heat-affected zone

WPS:

Welding procedure specification

AWS:

American welding society

WPQR:

Welding procedure qualification record

ASME:

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

DAQ:

Data acquisition system

RT:

Radiography testing

PAUT:

Phased array ultrasonic testing

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

DoP:

Depth of penetration

WoP:

Width of penetration

ASTM:

American Society for Testing and Materials

NSR:

Notch strength ratio

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

DF:

Delta ferrite

A:

Austenite

M:

Martensite

B:

Bainite

FGHAZ:

Fine grain heat-affected zone

CGHAZ:

Coarse grain heat-affected zone

OES:

Optical emission spectrometer

FN:

Ferrite number

M s :

Martensitic start

B s :

Bainitic start

WD:

Wear debris

WDCC:

Wear debris + continuous cracks

FWDMC:

Fine wear debris + microcracks

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to record sincere thanks to the Directorate of Extramural Research & Intellectual Property Rights (ERIPR), Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, Government of India, New Delhi, and Research Innovation Centre (RIC), DRDO, Chennai, for the financial support rendered through an R&D project No: EPIR/EP/RIC/2016/1/M/01/1630. The authors are grateful to the Director, Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE), DRDO, Avadi, Chennai, for providing base materials to carry out this investigation. The authors wish to thank the Director, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), DRDO, Hyderabad, for granting permission to conduct the ballistic test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Centre for Materials Joining and Research (CEMAJOR), Annamalai University, Annamalainagar – (P.O), Chidambaram, Tamilnadu (State), 608002, India

    S. Naveen Kumar, V. Balasubramanian & S. Malarvizhi

  2. Main Battle Tank Division (MBT), Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE), DRDO, Avadi, Chennai, 600054, India

    A. Hafeezur Rahman & V. Balaguru

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  1. S. Naveen Kumar
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  3. S. Malarvizhi
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  4. A. Hafeezur Rahman
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  5. V. Balaguru
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Correspondence to S. Naveen Kumar.

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Naveen Kumar, S., Balasubramanian, V., Malarvizhi, S. et al. Effect of Welding Consumables on the Ballistic Performance of Shielded Metal Arc Welded Dissimilar Armor Steel Joints. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 31, 162–179 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-06219-9

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