Molten Pool Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Pulsed Current Double-Sided Synchronization GTA Welded Fe-18Cr-17Mn-Ni-N

Double-sided synchronization vertical gas tungsten arc welding (DSSVW) procedure was used to weld high-nitrogen low-nickel stainless steel Fe-18Cr-17Mn-Ni-N without groove and filler wire. First, the molten pool behaviors and appearances of pulsed current DSSVW (PC-DSSVW) and constant current DSSVW (CC-DSSVW) were comparatively analyzed. The periodic variation occurs in the width of both the anode region of the arc and the molten pool tail during PC-DSSVW, while the contact angle first increases and then decreases, and both the width of the anode region and the length of arc plume increase progressively in CC-DSSVW. It is found that the weld appearance of PC-DSSVW is superior to that of CC-DSSVW. Second, the forces of the DSSVW molten pool were analyzed. The result indicates that the molten pool of the DSSVW procedure is in a state of unstable equilibrium, and it will easily lose balance after being disturbed, resulting in the asymmetrical weld or hump bead. Third, the PC-DSSVW experiments at various welding speeds were conducted to study the influence of welding speed on the weld profile, microstructure, tensile strength and impact toughness. Furthermore, the solidification mode of Fe-18Cr-17Mn-Ni-N was predicted to help determine the microstructure of the welded joint. Results indicate that the weld width, weld reinforcement and melting area all increase with decreasing welding speed, and Fe-18Cr-17Mn-Ni-N solidifies as A mode. The microstructure of the base metal (BM) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) is equiaxed austenite and that of the fusion zone (FZ) is austenite dendrite with some chromium carbides dispersed in the grain boundary; with decreasing welding speed, grains become coarse. The maximum tensile strength (UTS) and elongation of PC-DSSVW joint are 860 MPa and 8.1%, and the elongation decreases dramatically with decreasing welding speed. The impact toughness decreases substantially compared to the BM, achieving 48.2% of the BM.