Thermal Insulation of Wet Shielded Metal Arc Welds
Abstract
Computational and experimental studies were performed to determine the effect of static thermal insulation on the quality of wet shielded metal arc welds (SMAW). A commercially available heat flow and fluid dynamics spectral- element computer program was used to model a wet SMAW and to determine the potential effect on the weld cooling rate of placing thermal insulation adjacent to the weld line. Experimental manual welds were made on a low carbon equivalent (0.285) mild steel and on a higher carbon equivalent (0.410) high tensile strength steel, using woven fabrics of alumina-boria-silica fibers to insulate the surface of the plate being welded. The effect of the insulation on weld quality was evaluated through the use of post-weld Rockwell Scale hardness measurements on the surface of the weld heat affected zones (HAZs) and by visual inspection of sectioned welds at 10 X magnification. The computational simulation demonstrated a 150% increase in surface HAZ peak temperature and a significant decrease in weld cooling rate with respect to uninsulated welds, for welds in which ideal insulation had been placed on the base plate surface adjacent to the weld line. Experimental mild steel welds showed a reduction in surface HAZ hardness attributable to insulation at a 77% significance level. A visual comparison of the cross-sections of two welds made in 0.410 carbon equivalent steel-with approximately equivalent heat input-revealed underbead cracking in the uninsulated weld but not in the insulated weld.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA268697
Entities
People
- Patrick J. Keenan
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology