Mass Transfer of Nickel-Base Alloy Covered Electrode During Shielded Metal Arc Welding

The mass transfer in shielded metal arc welding of a group of nickel-base alloy covered electrodes according to AWS specification A5.11-A5.11M was investigated by directly measuring their deposited metal compositions. The results indicate that the chromium mass-transfer coefficient is in the range of 86 to 94 pct, iron in the range of 82 to 89 pct, manganese in the range of 60 to 73 pct, niobium in the range of 44 to 56 pct, and silicon in the range of 41 to 47 pct. The metal mass-transfer coefficient from the core wire is markedly higher than that from the coating. The basicity of slag, the metal contents in the flux coating, and the welding current together affect the mass transfer. As the basicity of slag increases, the mass-transfer coefficients of Mn, Fe, and Cr slightly increase, but those of Nb and Si decrease significantly. As the niobium and manganese contents increase in the coating, their mass-transfer coefficients also increase. However, iron is different. The content of iron in the coating in the range of 8 to 20 wt pct results in the optimal effective mass transfer. The lower, or higher, iron content leads to lower mass-transfer coefficient. As the welding current increases, the mass-transfer coefficients of niobium and manganese decrease, but chromium and silicon increase. Iron has the lowest mass-transfer coefficient when welded under the operating current of 100 A.