Investigation of Submerged Arc Welding with Improved MIL-100S Wires (LC-100)
Abstract
The Navy is conducting a program to develop and certify an improved MIL-100S wire for welding HSLA and HY steels. The goal of the effort is to produce a welding wire with better hydrogen cracking resistance than the current MIL-100S wire, enabling HSLA-80 and HSLA-100 steels to be fabricated without preheat (60 deg F minimum) for plate thicknesses up to two inches. A Navy, industry, and academic development effort produced and evaluated a number of experimental low-carbon welding consumables. Gas metal arc weldments produced with these wires demonstrated increased hydrogen cracking resistance compared to current MIL-100S wires, while maintaining acceptable weld metal strength and toughness over a wide range of weld metal cooling rate conditions. In the present study, limited submerged arc welding characterization of these wires was conducted to determine if any flux or wire modifications would be required to permit their use in submerged arc welding applications. Weldments were produced with one commercial flux and the three 0.045-inch-diameter experimental wires, as well as 0.045-inch-diameter and 0.093-inch-diameter sizes of one current heat of MIL-100S wire. Three other commercial fluxes were used to produce additional weldments with the 0.093-inch-diameter MIL-100S wire. All weldments were produced in one-inch-thick HSLA-100 steel at a calculated cooling rate of approximately 350 F/s. Weld metal properties were tested to determine adequacy of the experimental wires for submerged arc welding, for comparison to current MIL-100S wires in SAW, and performance variations due to wire size and flux composition variations. The results indicated that the experimental wires exhibited acceptable strength and toughness, wire size scale up should not adversely affect properties, and use of other commercial fluxes with these wires should not generally be a problem. Based on these results no modifications to the wire or the fluxes were deemed necessary.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA400647
Entities
People
- G. L. Franke
Organizations
- Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division