S. P. Tewari et. al.

/ International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology

Vol. 2(4), 2010, 512-516

EFFECT OF WELDING PARAMETERS ON

THE WELDABILITY OF MATERIAL
S. P. Tewari* , Ankur Gupta**,Jyoti Prakash***
Mechanical Engineering Department, Institute Of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi-221005, U.P., INDIA

ABSTRACT
In this study, the effect of various welding parameters on the weldability of Mild Steel specimens having
dimensions 50mm× 40mm× 6 mm welded by metal arc welding were investigated. The welding current, arc
voltage, welding speed, heat input rate are chosen as welding parameters. The depth of penetrations were
measured for each specimen after the welding operation on closed butt joint and the effects of welding speed
and heat input rate parameters on depth of penetration were investigated.
Keywords: Mild Steel (MS), metal arc welding, welding current, arc voltage and welding speed.
1. INTRODUCTION
Welding technology has obtained access virtually to every branch of manufacturing; to name a few, ships, rail
road equipments, building construction, boilers, launch vehicles, pipelines, nuclear power plants, aircrafts,
automobiles, pipelines. Welding technology needs constant upgrading and with the widespread applications of
welding, [1]. To consistently produce high quality of welds, arc welding requires experienced welding
personnel. One reason for this is the need to properly select welding parameters for a given task to provide a
good weld quality which identified by its micro-structure and the amount of spatter, and relied on the correct
bead geometry size. Therefore, the use of the control system in arc welding can eliminate much of the “guess
work” often employed by welders to specify welding parameters for a given task [2]. Investigation into the
relationship between the welding process parameters and bead geometry began in the mid 1900s and regression
analysis was applied to welding geometry research by Lee and Raveendra [3, 4]. Many efforts have been carried
out for the development of various algorithms in the modeling of arc welding process [5, 6]. In the early days,
arc welding was carried out manually so that the weld quality can be totally controlled by the welder ability.
McGlone and Chadwick [7] have reported a mathematical analysis correlating process variables and bead
geometry for the submerged arc welding of square edge close butts. Similar mathematical relationship between
welding variables and fillet weld geometry for gas metal arc (GMA) welding using flux cored wires have also
been reported [8]. Chandel [9] first applied this technique to the GMA welding process and investigated
relationship between process variables and bead geometry. These results showed that arc current has the greatest
influence on bead geometry, and that mathematical models derived from experimental results can be used to
predict bead geometry accurately..Nearly 90% of welding in world is carried out by one or the other arc welding
process; therefore it is imperative to discuss the effects of welding parameters on the weldability of the materials
during the arc welding.
Mild steel is the most common form of steel because its price is relatively low while it provides material
properties that are acceptable for many applications. The variables affecting weld quality in arc welding are
classified into the following groups:
1.1 Welding current
Welding current is the most influential variable in arc welding process which controls the electrode
burn off rate, the depth of fusion and geometry of the weldments.
1.2 Welding voltage
This is the electrical potential difference between the tip of the welding wire and the surface of the
molten weld pool. It determines the shape of the fusion zone and weld reinforcement. High welding voltage
produces wider, flatter and less deeply penetrating welds than low welding voltages. Depth of penetration is
maximum at optimum arc voltage.
1.3 Welding speed
Speed of welding is defined as the rate of travel of the electrode along the seam or the rate of the travel of the
work under the electrode along the seam. Some general statements can be made regarding speed of travel.
Increasing the speed of travel and maintaining constant arc voltage and current will reduce the width of bead

ISSN: 0975-5462 512

 S. P. Tewari et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 512-516

and also increase penetration until an optimum speed is reached at which penetration will be maximum.
Increasing the speed beyond this optimum will result in decreasing penetration. [10]
In the arc welding process increase in welding speed causes:
 Decrease in the heat input per unit length of the weld.
 Decrease in the electrode burn off rate.
 Decrease in the weld reinforcement.
If the welding speed decreases beyond a certain point, the penetration also will decrease due to the
pressure of the large amount of weld pool beneath the electrode, which will cushion the arc penetrating force.
[11]
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this analysis, metal arc welding is used. It is a process which yields coalescence of metals by heating
with a welding arc between a continuous filler metal electrode and the work piece. Firstly, 18 specimens of
dimensions 50mm× 40mm× 6 mm are prepared, then closed butt joint are made by these specimens.

Fig. 3-D Model of closed butt joint.

Before welding, edges of the work pieces are suitably prepared. The edges and the area adjoining them is
cleared of dust using wire brush.
Afterwards, the work pieces to be welded were positioned with respect to each other and welding process was
performed under constant voltage and current in flat (down hand) position.
During the welding process, following data are chosen:
M.S. (Mild Steel) electrode (E 6011) of 2.5 mm diameter was used.
Current = 105 Amp
Terminal voltage = 24 V
Only arc time was varied during the welding of 18 specimens. Welding speed was calculated for each welded
specimen. Having finished the welding processes, in order to measure the depth of penetration, welds were cut
perpendicular to the direction of welding on power hacksaw. Then with the help of measuring instrument, depth
of penetration of welded specimens was measured.
3. CALCULATIONS
Speed of welding is defined as the rate of travel of the electrode along the seam or the rate of travel of the work
under the electrode along the seam.
Speed of welding = Travel of electrode/ arc time mm/min.
Heat input rate or arc energy = V×I×60 /v joules per mm
Where, V is arc voltage in volts,
I is welding current in ampere,
v is speed of welding in mm/min. [12]

ISSN: 0975-5462 513

 S. P. Tewari et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 512-516
TABLE:
Table for The depth of penetration of welded specimens:

S. No. Welding Welding Arc Welding speed( Heat input Penetration

voltage(V) current(A) time(sec) mm/min) rate(J/mm ) (mm)
1 24 105 25.40 94.48 1600.30 4.3

2 24 105 23.60 101.43 1490.68 5.1

3 24 105 21.90 109.58 1379.81 5.3

4 24 105 21.74 110.39 1369.68 5.41

5 24 105 19.70 121.82 1241.17 3.7

6 24 105 18.47 129.94 1163.61 3.5

7 24 105 15.76 152.28 992.90 3.3

8 24 105 14.60 164.38 919.82 3.19

9 24 105 13.50 177.77 850.53 3.10

4.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter deals with the results and discussions of the experimental findings of welded joints prepared at
different current, voltage, electrode size and welding technique (Down hand welding). The specimens prepared
under different current, electrode size, heat input rates and welding speeds are having different effects.
1. The effect of welding speed on depth of penetration:
Readings of depth of penetration obtained through measuring instrument after cutting all the welded specimens
perpendicular to the direction of welding are shown in the table and variations in the penetration are analyzed
with the help of graph which is plotted between welding speed and penetration. Voltage (24v) and current
(105A) are taken constant and arc time is varied during the welding of specimens. The depth of penetration
increases with increasing welding speed up to 110.39 mm/min which was optimum value to obtain maximum
penetration, because it begins to decrease linearly after this point. Increasing the speed of travel and maintaining
constant arc voltage and current increases penetration until an optimum speed is reached at which penetration is
maximum. Increasing the speed beyond this optimum results in decreased penetration.
So it can be concluded from experimental analysis that for the mild steel specimen having dimension 50mm×
40mm× 6 mm, optimum weldability can be achieved by considering the welding parameters as welding
speed,110.39 mm/min with current 105 Amp, arc voltage 24 V and electrode(E 6011) diameter2.5mm.

ISSN: 0975-5462 514

 S. P. Tewari et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 512-516

Graph no.1: Depth of penetration Vs welding speed

2 The effect of heat input on depth of penetration

From above analysis, it is evident that there occurs maximum depth of penetration occurs at heat input rate of
1369.68 J/mm. Greater the depth of penetration, better is the weldability. So, Optimum weld ability can be
obtained with heat input rate as 1369.68 J/mm.

Graph no. 2: Depth of penetration Vs heat input rate

ISSN: 0975-5462 515

 S. P. Tewari et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 2(4), 2010, 512-516

5. CONCLUSIONS

Optimum parameters for the weldability of Mild steel specimen of dimension 50mm× 40mm× 6 mm , when
current is 105 amp, arc voltage is 24 V and electrode chosen is E6011, diameter 2.5mm come out to be:
1. When the welding speed was taken as a variable parameter, the deepest penetration i.e. 5.41mm was obtained
in 110.39 mm/min.
2. Maximum depth of penetration was obtained when heat input rate was 1369.68 J/mm.
Hence it can be concluded that increasing the speed of travel and maintaining constant arc voltage and current
will increase penetration until an optimum speed is reached at which penetration will be maximum. Increasing
the speed beyond this optimum value will result in decreasing penetration.
REFERENCES
[1] OP Khanna, A text book of welding technology, Dhanpat Rai Publications Ltd., 2006,P3.
[2] Kim IS et al. An investigation into an intelligent system for predicting bead geometry in GMA welding process. J Mater Process
Technol 2005.
[3] Lee JI, Um KW. A prediction of welding process parameters by prediction of back-bead geometry. J Mater Process Technol, 2000.
[4] Raveendra J, Parmar RS. Mathematical models to predict weld bead geometry for flux cored arc welding. Met Construct, 1987.
[5] Modenesi PJ, Avelar RC. The influence of small variations of wire characteristics on gas metal arc welding process stability. J Mater
Process Technol, 1999.
[6] Modenesi PJ, Avelar RC. The influence of small variations of wire characteristics on gas metal arc welding process stability. J Mater
Process Technol, 1999.
[7] McGlone JC, Chadwick DB. The submerged arc butt welding of mild steel. Part 2. The prediction of weld bead geometry from the
procedure parameters. Welding Institute Report, 80/1978/PE; 1978.
[8] Doherty J et al. The relationships between arc welding parameters and fillet weld geometry for MIG welding with flux cored wires.
Welding Institute Report, 82/1978/PE; 1978.
[9] Chandel RS. Mathematical modeling of gas metal arc weld features. In: Proceedings of the forth international conference on modeling
of casting and welding processes, Palm Coast (FL); 17– 22 April, 1988. pp. 109–120.
[10] Md. Ibrahim khan, Welding science and technology, new age international publishers, Edition 2007,pp.170.
[11] Welding handbook (4th edition) section 2, “Gas, arc and resistance welding processes”, published by Americal welding society.
[12] OP khanna, A text book of welding technology, Dhanpat Rai Publications Ltd., 2006,pp.351.

ISSN: 0975-5462 516