Effect of Auxiliary Preheating of the Filler Wire on Quality of Gas Metal Arc Stainless Steel Claddings

Weld cladding is a process for producing surfaces with good corrosion resistant properties by means of depositing/laying of stainless steels on low-carbon steel components with an objective of achieving maximum economy and enhanced life. The aim of the work presented here was to investigate the effect of auxiliary preheating of the solid filler wire in mechanized gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process (by using a specially designed torch to preheat the filler wire independently, before its emergence from the torch) on the quality of the as-welded single layer stainless steel overlays. External preheating of the filler wire resulted in greater contribution of arc energy by resistive heating due to which significant drop in the main welding current values and hence low dilution levels were observed. Metallurgical aspects of the as welded overlays such as chemistry, ferrite content, and modes of solidification were studied to evaluate their suitability for service and it was found that claddings obtained through the preheating arrangement, besides higher ferrite content, possessed higher content of chromium, nickel, and molybdenum and lower content of carbon as compared to conventional GMAW claddings, thereby giving overlays with superior mechanical and corrosion resistance properties. The findings of this study not only establish the technical superiority of the new process, but also, owing to its productivity-enhanced features, justify its use for low-cost surfacing applications.