The effect of pulse current changes in PCGTAW on microstructural evolution, drastic improvement in mechanical properties, and fracture mode of dissimilar welded joint of AISI 316L-AISI 310S stainless steels

In this paper, the effect of pulse current changes in the Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (PCGTAW) on the various properties of dissimilar welding of AISI 316L-AISI 310S stainless steels was investigated. 10 mm thickness steel sheets were joined by the PCGTAW process with the background current (Ib) of 55, 70 and 85A, as well as the peak current (Ip) of 110, 130 and 150A. Then, optical microscopy (OM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) techniques were used to study the microstructural evolution in different areas of the welded joints. Also, tensile, Charpy impact and Vickers microhardness tests were used to evaluate the effect of the pulsed current changes on mechanical properties. Finally, the fracture surfaces of Charpy impact and tensile tests samples were studied by FE-SEM. The weld metal (WM) microstructure consisted of austenite dendrites together with a low amount of delta ferrite in the grain-boundaries. Results also showed that by increasing Ib and decreasing Ip, the microstructure of the WM was changed from columnar dendritic to coaxial, and a very fine, dendritic one. This condition led to the reduction of the size of the dendrites and the amount of delta ferrite ingrain boundaries of the WM, as well as a reduction in the width of Unmixed Zone (UMZ) area. Moreover, all the welded joints were fractured from the AISI 316L stainless steels side. However, the results of the Charpy impact and microhardness tests showed that with the above variation in the welding parameters, hardness value and fracture energy of the WM increased significantly. Fractography of the surfaces showed a completely ductile fracture for both tensile and Charpy impact tests samples.