Effect of Mechanical Arc Oscillation on the Grain Structure of Mild Steel Weld Metal

The effect of mechanical arc oscillation on the weld metal grain structure in mild steel gas tungsten arc welds has been studied. For welds made without arc oscillation, columnar grains were observed in the weld metal; however, for the same welding parameters, the weld made with arc oscillation had smaller sized relatively equiaxed grains in the weld metal. The strengths for weld made with arc oscillation was higher than that for weld made without arc oscillation, with appreciable increase in ductility; this could be attributed to the reduction in grain size diameter due to arc oscillation. Lower weld metal hardness and increase in heat affected zone hardness was observed in weld made with arc oscillation; this could be attributed to increase in pro-eutectoid ferrite formation with absence of Widmanstatten ferrite structures in the weld metal and less coarsening of grains in the heat affected zone due to increased cooling rate

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Not AvailableSamba Mahsuri (BPT5204) is a medium slender grain indica rice variety that is very popular with farmers and consumers across India because of its high yield and excellent cooking quality. However, the variety is susceptible to several diseases and pests, including bacterial blight (BB). We have used PCR based molecular markers in a backcross-breeding program to introgress three major BB resistance genes (Xa21, xa13 and xa5) into Samba Mahsuri from a donor line (SS1113) in which all the three genes are present in a homozygous condition. At each backcross generation, markers closely linked to the three genes were used to select plants possessing these resistance genes (foreground selection) and microsatellite markers polymorphic between donor and recurrent parent were used to select plants that have maximum contribution from the recurrent parent genome (background selection). A selected BC4F1 plant was selfed to generate homozygous BC4F2 plants with different combinations of BB resistance genes. The three-gene pyramid and two-gene pyramid lines exhibited high levels of resistance against the BB pathogen. Under conditions of BB infection, the three-gene pyramid lines exhibited a significant yield advantage over Samba Mahsuri. Most importantly, these lines retain the excellent grain and cooking qualities of Samba Mahsuri without compromising the yield as determined in multi-location trials. This work demonstrates the successful application of marker-assisted selection for targeted introgression of multiple resistance genes into a premium quality rice variety.Not Availabl