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Numerous industrial applications, particularly those in the transport industry, require the joining of dissimilar materials which offers considerable benefits in terms of low cost, design flexibility, and weight reduction for overall structures. The problems associated with conventional fusion welding processes have stimulated researchers in recent years to develop new joining methods for dissimilar materials which are particularly difficult to join. Friction stir welding (FSW) originally developed for joining difficult-to-weld Al-alloys and FSSW (a variant of FSW for spot welding) have exhibited great potential for obtaining sound joints in various dissimilar alloy systems in different configurations namely butt-, lap- and spot-welding, particularly in dissimilar Al-alloys systems with different properties, which are very difficult to weld using conventional fusion welding techniques. A major difficulty in joining dissimilar Al-alloys by FSW/FSSW lies in the discontinuity in mechanical and technological properties (such as high-temperature strength, plastic deformation capacity, viscosity, etc.) of the materials to be welded across the abutting surfaces. This discontinuity as well as inherent asymmetry in heat generation and material flow of FWS/FSSW processes causes a higher asymmetry in materials flow behavior in dissimilar welding. However, it is relatively easier to implement the FSW/FSSW process to dissimilar Al-alloys in contrast to FSW of dissimilar materials combinations with very differing properties, such as Al-alloy to Mg-alloy or Al-alloy to steel.

Arc welding is a widely applied process in the fabrication of stainless steel structures. Various difficulties may arise in joining of these steels, particularly if high heat input is used. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of heat input on microstructure of the joint region and thus on the mechanical behavior of gas metal arc welded AISI 304 L austenitic plates. To this end, AISI 304 L plates with a thickness of 5 mm were butt-welded by employing two different heat input values. Detailed microstructural and mechanical characterization were carried out. In addition, the influence of heat input on the microstructure and joint performance values was also determined. The higher heat input resulted in a complete recrystallization at the heat affected zone whereas the base metal microstructure was maintained in the lower heat input joint. Both joints displayed strength matching within the weld region, thus exhibited slightly higher tensile strength than that of the base plate (102 %).

Austenitic stainless steels exhibit excellent properties such as outstanding formability even at cryogenic temperatures, high mechanical properties and good corrosion performance. This makes them attractive for use in various industries ranging from petro-chemical industries, food industry, medical-dental equipments, and pressure vessels to LNG tanks and welding is often required in most of these applications. Especially with the increase in energy crisis in recent years, the production of LNG tanks using conventional arc welding processes is important. In this study, the weldability of 10 mm thick 316 L stainless steel plates used in the production of LNG tanks by gas tungsten arc welding was investigated. The effect of multi-pass welding on the microstructural evolution and thus on mechanical behavior of the joint produced was studied. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy were employed to investigate the microstructural evolution in the weld region of the joint fabricated. In addition, microhardness measurements and tensile testing were conducted to mechanical characterization. As a result of the study, a slight hardness increase was observed within the weld region of the joint compared to that of the base material. The welded joint exhibited higher yield and tensile strength values, namely 329 and 630 MPa respectively, than the base plate which displayed a yield strength of 308 MPa and a tensile strength of 603 MPa.

Low alloy steel plates containing 9% Ni are generally preferred in the production of LNG storage tanks, due to their outstanding combination of properties such as excellent toughness, high ductility and crack re-sistance at very low temperatures. Welding is an indispensable manufacturing method in the production of LNG storage tanks. Thus, there is a need for reliable welding procedures which do not diminish low tem-perature properties of this steel grade. This study introduces the result of microstructural evolution in the weld region and the mechanical properties of the gas tungsten arc welded 10 mm thick 9 Ni steel joint produced by using a Ni-based filler wire, which is widely used in LNG storage tanks. The microstructures evolved in the weld region were examined by extensive optical microscopy and SEM investigations. Mechanical properties and joint performance values of the welded joints were determined by detailed microhardness measurements and transverse tensile tests. Moreover, fracture toughness of the joint fab-ricated was also determined at - 196 degrees C by Charpy V-notch test. (c) 2021 CIRP.

The demand for dissimilar joining of steel grades, namely austenitic stainless steels to low-alloy steels, may increase in near future owing to the fact that the storing of LNG is currently becoming a necessity, particularly in Europe, due to the shortage of supply or interruptions in the supply. Therefore, successful dissimilar joining of steel grades using traditional fusion welding techniques in such applications is required. In this study, butt-welded joints of AISI 316L austenitic steel and low-alloy steel plates (containing 9% Ni) of 10 mm thickness were fabricated by gas tungsten arc welding employing a Ni-based filler wire. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the weldment were examined by detailed optical microscopy, extensive micro-hardness measurements, and tensile tests. Further, fracture toughness of the joint at cryogenic temperatures (- 196 degrees C) was also determined by Charpy impact test. The dissimilar joint exhibited a high tensile strength of 633 MPa, which is higher than that of the lower-strength AISI 316L base plate (about 600 MPa), while its elongation (21%) was much lower due to confined plasticity. The lowest impact energy was displayed by HAZ-F notched specimens, namely about 62.6 J (0.83 J/mm(2)). However, it is still reasonably above the minimum impact energy specified for the LNG storage tanks, i.e., 0.75 J/mm(2).

The unique combination of very large strains, high temperatures and high strain rates inherent to friction stir welding (FSW) and friction stir processing (FSP) and their dependency on the processing parameters provides an opportunity to tailor the microstructure, and hence the performance of welds and surfaces to an extent not possible with fusion processes. While a great deal of attention has previously been focused on the FSW parameters and their effect on weld quality and joint performance, here the focus is on developing a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of the microstructural evolution during FSW/P. Through a consideration of the mechanisms underlying the development of grain structures and textures, phases, phase transformations and precipitation, microstructural control across a very wide range of similar and dissimilar material joints is examined. In particular, when considering the joining of dissimilar metals and alloys, special attention is focused on the control and dispersion of deleterious intermetallic compounds. Similarly, we consider how FSP can be used to locally refine the microstructure as well as provide an opportunity to form metal matrix composites (MMCs) for near surface reinforcement. Finally, the current gaps in our knowledge are considered in the context of the future outlook for FSW/P.

Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for the use of joining dissimilar metals in various industrial applications owing to the economic benefits and better joint performance. Ferritic stainless steel grades is a good alternative for austenitic ones in several applications as they display higher ductility and strength as well as better corrosion resistance in chloride environments. However, the poor ductility and low impact toughness of ferritic stainless-steel welded joints limit their wide-spread application. Thus, the demand for joining dissimilar ferritic and austenitic stainless steels is ever increasing in several engineering applications in various industries such as nuclear power plants, coal fired boilers, automobile manufacturing industry, chemistry and petro-chemistry industries, etc. Therefore, successful joining of these two different types of stainless steel grades using conventional fusion welding methods is rather important. In this study, the weldability of AISI 430 ferritic and AISI 304 austenitic steel plates using gas metal arc welding and the effect of heat input on microstructure and the mechanical properties were investigated. For this purpose, AISI 430 and AISI 304 plates with a thickness of 5 mm were joined using different heat input values. The microstructures evolved in the weld region of the joints and their mechanical properties were determined by detailed optical microscopy investigations, micro-hardness measurements and tensile tests. Thus, the influence of the heat input on the weldability of these two different stainless-steel plates using gas metal arc welding was also studied.