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Improving the weld microstructure and material properties of K-TIG welded armour steel joint using filler material

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Abstract

Motivated by the undesired microstructure and unsatisfactory weld properties during keyhole tungsten inert gas (K-TIG) welding process, the use of filler materials was introduced for the first time in K-TIG to modify the weld microstructure and improve weld properties. Single pass full penetration was achieved on 6.2 mm armour steel plate at a welding speed of 350 mm/min. The metal transfer behaviour, microstructure and mechanical properties of weld joint were analysed in detail. The results showed that the introduction of filler material was very effective in modifying microstructure and improving joint properties. The wire feeding speed can reach up to 300 cm/min without compromising full penetration, providing a great scope for microstructure modification. The applied austenitic filler material can significantly change the weld microstructure with just 6.7% dilution, along with much increased weld metal hardness and joint efficiency, matching the welds produced by using conventional arc welding processes with V-joint preparation and matching filler metal. The introduction of filler material dramatically expands the capability of K-TIG process and also shows great potential to produce high performance armour steel joint with high productivity.

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Acknowledgements

This research has been conducted with the support of the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. The authors acknowledge the support of the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC), which was established and is supported by the Australian Government’s Defence Future Capability Technology Centre (DFCTC) initiative. The JEOL JSM-7001F FEG-SEM was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC)—Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) Grant LE0882613.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Northfield Avenue, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Zhenyu Fei, Zengxi Pan, Dominic Cuiuri, Huijun Li, Bintao Wu & Lihong Su

  2. Defence Materials Technology Centre, 24 Wakefield Street, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia

    Zhenyu Fei, Zengxi Pan, Dominic Cuiuri, Huijun Li & Lihong Su

Authors
  1. Zhenyu Fei
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  2. Zengxi Pan
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  3. Dominic Cuiuri
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  4. Huijun Li
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  5. Bintao Wu
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  6. Lihong Su
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Correspondence to Zengxi Pan.

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Fei, Z., Pan, Z., Cuiuri, D. et al. Improving the weld microstructure and material properties of K-TIG welded armour steel joint using filler material. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 100, 1931–1944 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2787-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2787-y

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