Welding of nickel free high nitrogen stainless steel: Microstructure and mechanical properties

AbstractHigh nitrogen stainless steel (HNS) is a nickel free austenitic stainless steel that is used as a structural component in defence applications for manufacturing battle tanks as a replacement of the existing armour grade steel owing to its low cost, excellent mechanical properties and better corrosion resistance. Conventional fusion welding causes problems like nitrogen desorption, solidification cracking in weld zone, liquation cracking in heat affected zone, nitrogen induced porosity and poor mechanical properties. The above problems can be overcome by proper selection and procedure of joining process. In the present work, an attempt has been made to correlate the microstructural changes with mechanical properties of fusion and solid state welds of high nitrogen steel. Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), electron beam welding (EBW) and friction stir welding (FSW) processes were used in the present work. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction were used to characterize microstructural changes. Hardness, tensile and bend tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of welds. The results of the present investigation established that fully austenitic dendritic structure was found in welds of SMAW. Reverted austenite pools in the martensite matrix in weld zone and unmixed zones near the fusion boundary were observed in GTA welds. Discontinuous ferrite network in austenite matrix was observed in electron beam welds. Fine recrystallized austenite grain structure was observed in the nugget zone of friction stir welds. Improved mechanical properties are obtained in friction stir welds when compared to fusion welds. This is attributed to the refined microstructure consisting of equiaxed and homogenous austenite grains

Ballistic behavior of boron carbide reinforced AA7075 aluminium alloy using friction stir processing – An experimental study and analytical approach

AbstractHigh strength-to-weight ratio of non-ferrous alloys, such as aluminium, magnesium and titanium alloys, are considered to be possible replacement of widely accepted steels in transportation and automobile sectors. Among these alloys, magnesium is self explosive and titanium is costlier, and aluminium is most likely to replace steels. Application of aluminium or its alloys is also thought of as an appropriate replacement in defence field, especially to enhance the easiness in mobility of combat vehicles while maintaining the same standard as that of conventional armour grade steels. Hence most of the investigations have been confined to aluminium or its alloys as base material and open an era of developing the newer composite materials to address the major limitation, i.e. tribological properties. The surface composites can be fabricated by incorporating the ceramic carbides like silicon carbide, carbides of transition metals and oxides of aluminium using surface modification techniques, such as high energy laser melt treatment, high energy electron beam irradiation and thermal spray process which are based on fusion route. These techniques yield the fusion related problems, such as interfacial reaction, pin holes, shrinkage cavities or voids and other casting related defects, and pave the way to need of an efficient technique which must be based on solid state. Recently developed friction stir processing technique was used in the present investigation for surface modification of AA7075 aluminum alloy, which is an alternative to steels. In the present investigation, 160 μm sized boron carbide powder was procured and was reduced to 60 μm and 30 μm using high energy ball mill. Subsequently these powders were used to fabricate the surface composites using friction stir processing.Ballistic performance testing as per the military standard (JIS.0108.01) was carried out. In the present work, an analytical method of predicting the ballistic behavior of surface composites was developed. This method was based on energy balance, i.e., the initial energy of impact is same as that of energy absorbed by multi layers. An attempt also has been made to validate the analytical results with the experimental findings. Variation between the analytical and experimental results may be accounted due to the assumptions considering such as isotropic behavior of target and shearing area of contact as cylindrical instead of conical interface As the analytical model yields the ballistic performance in the closer proximity of experimentally obtained, it can be considered to be an approximation to evaluate the ballistic performance of targets

Proteomic Insights into the Hidden World of Phloem Sap Feeding

The physical interface between a phloem-feeding insect and its host plant is a single cell buried deep within the plant tissue. As such, the molecular interactions between these notorious agricultural pests and the crop plants upon which they feed are diffi cult to study. ‘Omic’ technologies have proved crucial in revealing some of the fascinating detail of the molecular interplay between these partners. Here we review the role of proteomics in identifying putative components of the secreted saliva of phloem-feeding insects, particularly aphids, and discuss the limited knowledge concerning the function of these proteins

Family-led rehabilitation after stroke in India (ATTEND): a randomised controlled trial

Background Most people with stroke in India have no access to organised rehabilitation services. The effectiveness of training family members to provide stroke rehabilitation is uncertain. Our primary objective was to determine whether family-led stroke rehabilitation, initiated in hospital and continued at home, would be superior to usual care in a low-resource setting. Methods The Family-led Rehabilitation after Stroke in India (ATTEND) trial was a prospectively randomised open trial with blinded endpoint done across 14 hospitals in India. Patients aged 18 years or older who had had a stroke within the past month, had residual disability and reasonable expectation of survival, and who had an informal family-nominated caregiver were randomly assigned to intervention or usual care by site coordinators using a secure web-based system with minimisation by site and stroke severity. The family members of participants in the intervention group received additional structured rehabilitation training—including information provision, joint goal setting, carer training, and task-specific training—that was started in hospital and continued at home for up to 2 months. The primary outcome was death or dependency at 6 months, defined by scores 3–6 on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) as assessed by masked observers. Analyses were by intention to treat. This trial is registered with Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI/2013/04/003557), Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12613000078752), and Universal Trial Number (U1111-1138-6707). Findings Between Jan 13, 2014, and Feb 12, 2016, 1250 patients were randomly assigned to intervention (n=623) or control (n=627) groups. 33 patients were lost to follow-up (14 intervention, 19 control) and five patients withdrew (two intervention, three control). At 6 months, 285 (47%) of 607 patients in the intervention group and 287 (47%) of 605 controls were dead or dependent (odds ratio 0·98, 95% CI 0·78–1·23, p=0·87). 72 (12%) patients in the intervention group and 86 (14%) in the control group died (p=0·27), and we observed no difference in rehospitalisation (89 [14%]patients in the intervention group vs 82 [13%] in the control group; p=0·56). We also found no difference in total non-fatal events (112 events in 82 [13%] intervention patients vs 110 events in 79 [13%] control patients; p=0·80). Interpretation Although task shifting is an attractive solution for health-care sustainability, our results do not support investment in new stroke rehabilitation services that shift tasks to family caregivers, unless new evidence emerges. A future avenue of research should be to investigate the effects of task shifting to health-care assistants or team-based community care

Microstructure and corrosion behaviour of gas tungsten arc welds of maraging steel

Superior properties of maraging steels make them suitable for the fabrication of components used for military applications like missile covering, rocket motor casing and ship hulls. Welding is the main process for fabrication of these components, while the maraging steels can be fusion welded using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. All these fabricated components require longer storage life and a major problem in welds is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). The present study is aimed at studying the SCC behaviour of MDN 250 (18% Ni) steel and its welds with respect to microstructural changes. In the present study, 5.2 mm thick sheets made of MDN 250 steel in the solution annealed condition was welded using GTAW process. Post-weld heat treatments of direct ageing (480 °C for 3 h), solutionizing (815 °C for 1 h) followed by ageing and homogenizing (1150 °C for 1 h) followed by ageing were carried out. A mixture of martensite and austenite was observed in the microstructure of the fusion zone of solutionized and direct aged welds and only martensite in as-welded condition. Homogenization and ageing treatment have eliminated reverted austenite and elemental segregation. Homogenized welds also exhibited a marginal improvement in the corrosion resistance compared to those in the as-welded, solutionized and aged condition. Constant load SCC test data clearly revealed that the failure time of homogenized weld is much longer compared to other post weld treatments, and the homogenization treatment is recommended to improve the SCC life of GTA welds of MDN 250 Maraging steel

Influence of tool pin profile on microstructure and corrosion behaviour of AA2219 Al–Cu alloy friction stir weld nuggets

To overcome the problems of fusion welding of aluminium alloys, the friction stir welding (FSW) is recognized as an alternative joining method to improve the mechanical and corrosion properties. Tool profile is one of the important variables which affect the performance of the FS weld. In the present work, the effect of tool profile on the weld nugget microstructure and pitting corrosion of AA2219 aluminium–copper alloy was studied. FSW of AA2219 alloy was carried out using five profiles, namely conical, square, triangle, pentagon and hexagon. The temperature measurements were made in the region adjacent to the rotating pin. It was observed that the peak temperature is more in hexagonal tool pin compared to the welds produced with other tool pin profiles. It is observed that the extensive deformation experienced at the nugget zone and the evolved microstructure strongly influences the hardness and corrosion properties of the joint during FSW. It was found that the microstructure changes like grain size, misorientation and precipitate dissolution during FSW influence the hardness and corrosion behaviour. Pitting corrosion resistance of friction stir welds of AA2219 was found to be better for hexagon profile tool compared to other profiles, which was attributed to material flow and strengthening precipitate morphology in nugget zone. Higher amount of heat generation in FS welds made with hexagonal profile tool may be the reason for greater dissolution of strengthening precipitates in nugget zone

Microstructure and pitting corrosion resistance of AA2219 Al–Cu alloy friction stir welds – Effect of tool profile

AA2219 Al–Cu alloy is widely used in defence and aerospace applications due to required combination of high strength-to-weight ratio and toughness. Fabrication of components used for defence always involves welding. Even though the mechanical properties of the base metal are better, but the alloy suffers from poor mechanical and corrosion properties during fusion welding. To overcome the problems of fusion welding, friction stir welding (FSW) is recognized as an alternative solid state joining method aimed to improve the mechanical and corrosion properties. Tool profile is one of the important variables which affect the performance of the friction stir weld. In the present work the effect of tool profile on the microstructure and pitting corrosion of AA2219 aluminium–copper alloy was studied. Electron backscattered diffraction results established that the grain size and orientation of weld nugget of triangle profile is finer than that of conical profile. Differential scanning calorimetric results show the evidence of precipitate dissolution during FSW. It was found that the microstructure changes, such as grain size and its orientation precipitate dissolution during FSW influence the hardness and corrosion behaviour. Pitting corrosion resistance of friction stir welds of AA2219 was found to be better for triangle profile tool compared to conical profile which is attributed to material flow and strengthening precipitate morphology in various zones. Higher amount of heat generation during FSW made using triangle profile tool may be the reason for greater dissolution of strengthening precipitates in nugget zone and coarsening in thermo mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ)

Microstructure and pitting corrosion of shielded metal arc welded high nitrogen stainless steel

The present work is aimed at studying the microstructure and pitting corrosion behaviour of shielded metal arc welded high nitrogen steel made of Cromang-N electrode. Basis for selecting this electrode is to increase the solubility of nitrogen in weld metal due to high chromium and manganese content. Microscopic studies were carried out using optical microscopy (OM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Energy back scattered diffraction (EBSD) method was used to determine the phase analysis, grain size and orientation image mapping. Potentio-dynamic polarization testing was carried out to study the pitting corrosion resistance in aerated 3.5% NaCl environment using a GillAC electrochemical system. The investigation results showed that the selected Cr–Mn–N type electrode resulted in a maximum reduction in delta-ferrite and improvement in pitting corrosion resistance of the weld zone was attributed to the coarse austenite grains owing to the reduction in active sites of the austenite/delta ferrite interface and the decrease in galvanic interaction between austenite and delta-ferrite

Friction stir surfacing of cast A356 aluminium–silicon alloy with boron carbide and molybdenum disulphide powders

Good castability and high strength properties of Al–Si alloys are useful in defence applications like torpedoes, manufacture of Missile bodies, and parts of automobile such as engine cylinders and pistons. Poor wear resistance of the alloys is major limitation for their use. Friction stir processing (FSP) is a recognized surfacing technique as it overcomes the problems of fusion route surface modification methods. Keeping in view of the requirement of improving wear resistance of cast aluminium–silicon alloy, friction stir processing was attempted for surface modification with boron carbide (B4C) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) powders. Metallography, micro compositional analysis, hardness and pin-on-disc wear testing were used for characterizing the surface composite coating. Microscopic study revealed breaking of coarse silicon needles and uniformly distributed carbides in the A356 alloy matrix after FSP. Improvement and uniformity in hardness was obtained in surface composite layer. Higher wear resistance was achieved in friction stir processed coating with carbide powders. Addition of solid lubricant MoS2 powder was found to improve wear resistance of the base metal significantly

Microstructure and pitting corrosion of armor grade AA7075 aluminum alloy friction stir weld nugget zone – Effect of post weld heat treatment and addition of boron carbide

Friction stir welding (FSW) of high strength aluminum alloys has been emerged as an alternative joining technique to avoid the problems during fusion welding. In recent times FSW is being used for armor grade AA7075 aluminum alloy in defense, aerospace and marine applications where it has to serve in non uniform loading and corrosive environments. Even though friction stir welds of AA7075 alloy possess better mechanical properties but suffer from poor corrosion resistance. The present work involves use of retrogression and reaging (RRA) post weld heat treatment to improve the corrosion resistance of welded joints of aluminum alloys. An attempt also has been made to change the chemical composition of the weld nugget by adding B4C nano particles with the aid of the FSW on a specially prepared base metal plate in butt position. The effects of peak aged condition (T6), RRA and addition of B4C nano particles on microstructure, hardness and pitting corrosion of nugget zone of the friction stir welds of AA7075 alloy have been studied. Even though RRA improved the pitting corrosion resistance, its hardness was slightly lost. Significant improvement in pitting corrosion resistance was achieved with addition of boron carbide powder and post weld heat treatment of RRA