Pre heating Preheating can assist the welding penetration on materials with high thermal conductivity such as thick

aluminum sections or even some steels. This reduces the heat sink affect (rapid cooling) of the deposited weld by the surrounding cold metal. Preheating also significantly reduces the rapid cooldown of the item post welding. Contrary to many beliefs, it is difficult if not impossible to overheat metals but many metals (such as carbon steels) can become brittle if cooled rapidly. They can also lock in post weld stresses that can compromise the engineering qualities expected. Preheating builds up heat in the metal and it takes longer for it to cool. In affect, preheating is also a portion of the postheating formula. In most welding code applications, carbon steels and some other metals require preheating prior to welding to be in compliance.

Effects of Alloying Elements in Steel

Steel is basically iron alloyed to carbon with certain additional elements to give the required properties to the finished melt. Listed below is a summary of the effects various alloying elements in steel.

Carbon Manganese Chromium Nickel Molybdenum Titanium Phosphorus Sulphur Selenium Niobium Nitrogen Silicon Cobalt Tantalum Copper

Carbon
The basic metal, iron, is alloyed with carbon to make steel and has the effect of increasing the hardness and strength by heat treatment but the addition of carbon enables a wide range of hardness and strength.

Manganese
Manganese is added to steel to improve hot working properties and increase strength, toughness and hardenability. Manganese, like nickel, is an austenite forming element and has been used as a substitute for nickel in the A.I.S.I 200 Series of Austenitic stainless steels (e.g. A.I.S.I 202 as a substitute for A.I.S.I 304)

Chromium
Chromium is added to the steel to increase resistance to oxidation. This resistance increases as more chromium is added. 'Stainless Steel' has approximately 11% chromium and a very marked degree of general corrosion resistance when compared with steels with a lower percentage of chromium. When added to low alloy steels, chromium can increase the response to heat treatment, thus improving hardenability and strength.

Nickel
Nickel is added in large amounts, over about 8%, to high chromium stainless steel to form the most important class of corrosion and heat resistant steels. These are the austenitic stainless steels, typified by 18-8, where the tendency of nickel to form austenite is responsible for a great toughness and high strength at both high and low temperatures. Nickel also improves resistance to oxidation and corrosion. It increases toughness at low temperatures when added in smaller amounts to alloy steels.

Molybdenum
Molybdenum, when added to chromium-nickel austenitic steels, improves resistance to pitting corrosion especially by chlorides and sulphur chemicals. When added to low alloy steels, molybdenum improves high temperature strengths and hardness. When added to chromium steels it greatly diminishes the tendency of steels to decay in service or in heat treatment.

Titanium
The main use of titanium as an alloying element in steel is for carbide stabilisation. It combines with carbon to for titanium carbides, which are quite stable and hard to dissolve in steel, this tends to minimise the occurrence of inter-granular corrosion, as with A.I.S.I 321, when adding approximately 0.25%/0.60% titanium, the carbon combines with the titanium in preference to chromium, preventing a tie-up of corrosion resisting chromium as inter-granular carbides and the accompanying loss of corrosion resistance at the grain boundaries.

Phosphorus
Phosphorus is usually added with sulphur to improve machinability in low alloy steels, phosphorus, in small amounts, aids strength and corrosion resistance. Experimental work shows that phosphorus present in austeniticstainless steels increases strength. Phosphorus additions are known to increase the tendency to cracking during welding.

Sulphur
When added in small amounts sulphur improves machinability but does not cause hot shortness. Hot shortness is reduced by the addition of manganese, which combines with the sulphur to form manganese sulphide. As manganese sulphide has a higher melting point than iron sulphide, which would form if manganese were not present, the weak spots at the grain boundaries are greatly reduced during hot working.

Selenium
Selenium is added to improve machinability.

Niobium (Columbium)
Niobium is added to steel in order to stabilise carbon, and as such performs in the same way as described for titanium. Niobium also has the effect of strengthening steels and alloys for high temperature service.

Nitrogen
Nitrogen has the effect of increasing the austenitic stability of stainless steels and is, as in the case of nickel, an austenite forming element. Yield strength is greatly improved when nitrogen is added to austenitic stainless steels.

Silicon
Silicon is used as a deoxidising (killing) agent in the melting of steel, as a result, most steels contain a small percentage of silicon. Silicon contributes to hardening of the ferritic phase in steels and for this reason silicon killed steels are somewhat harder and stiffer than aluminium killed steels.

Cobalt
Cobalt becomes highly radioactive when exposed to the intense radiation of nuclear reactors, and as a result, any stainless steel that is in nuclear service will have a cobalt restriction, usually aproximately 0.2% maximum. This problem is emphasised because there is residual cobalt content in the nickel used in producing these steels.

Tantalum
Chemically similar to niobium and has similar effects.

Copper
Copper is normally present in stainless steels as a residual element. However it is added to a few alloys to produce precipitation hardening properties.

Effects of Common Alloying Elements in Steel

By definition, steel is a combination of iron and carbon. Steel is alloyed with various elements to improve physical properties and to produce special properties such as resistance to corrosion or heat. Specific effects of the addition of such elements are outlined below:

Carbon (C)
The most important constituent of steel. It raises tensile strength, hardness, and resistance to wear and abrasion. It lowers ductility, toughness and machinability.

Chromium (CR)
Increases tensile strength, hardness, hardenability, toughness, resistance to wear and abrasion, resistance to corrosion, and scaling at elevated temperatures.

Cobalt (CO)
Increases strength and hardness and permits higher quenching temperatures and increases the red hardness of high speed steel. It also intensifies the individual effects of other major elements in more complex steels.

Columbium (CB)
Used as stabilizing elements in stainless steels. Each has a high affinity for carbon and forms carbides, which are uniformly dispersed throughout the steel. Thus, localized precipitation of carbides at grain boundaries is prevented.

Copper (CU)
In significant amounts is detrimental to hot-working steels. Copper negatively affects forge welding, but does not seriously affect arc or oxyacetylene welding. Copper can be detrimental to surface quality. Copper is beneficial to atmospheric corrosion resistance when present in amounts exceeding 0.20%. Weathering steels are sold having greater than 0.20% Copper.

Manganese (MN)
A deoxidizer and degasifier and reacts with sulfur to improve forgeability. It increases tensile strength, hardness, hardenability and resistance to wear. It decreases tendency toward scaling and distortion. It increases the rate of carbon-penetration in carburizing.

Molybdenum (MO)
Increases strength, hardness, hardenability, and toughness, as well as creep resistance and strength at elevated temperatures. It improves machinability and resistance to corrosion and it intensifies the effects of other alloying elements. In hot-work steels and high speed steels, it increases red-hardness properties.

Nickel (NI)
Increases strength and hardness without sacrificing ductility and toughness. It also increases resistance to corrosion and scaling at elevated temperatures when introduced in suitable quantities in high-chromium (stainless) steels.

Phosphorus (P)
Increases strength and hardness and improves machinability. However, it adds marked brittleness or cold-shortness to steel.

Silicon (SI)
A deoxidizer and degasifier. It increases tensile and yield strength, hardness, forgeability and magnetic permeability.

Sulfur (S)
Improves machinability in free-cutting steels, but without sufficient manganese it produces brittleness at red heat. It decreases weldability, impact toughness and ductility.

Tantalum (TA)
Used as stabilizing elements in stainless steels. Each has a high affinity for carbon and forms carbides, which are uniformly dispersed throughout the steel. Thus, localized precipitation of carbides at grain boundaries is prevented.

Titanium (TI)
Used as stabilizing elements in stainless steels. Each has a high affinity for carbon and forms carbides, which are uniformly dispersed throughout the steel. Thus, localized precipitation of carbides at grain boundaries is prevented.

Tungsten (W)
Increases strength, wear resistance, hardness and toughness. Tungsten steels have superior hot-working and greater cutting efficiency at elevated temperatures.

Vanadium (V)
Increases strength, hardness, wear resistance and resistance to shock impact. It retards grain growth, permitting higher quenching temperatures. It also enhances the red-hardness properties of high-speed metal cutting tools

Recommended Airgas Shielding Gases Small Machines - Mild Steel Applications Argon 75% - CO2 25% - Available in various cylinder sizes Mid-Size Machines - Mild Steel Applications Argon 75% - - CO2 25% - Available in various size cylinders - Will allow short circuit transfer only Airgas Gold Gas SteelMIX - Will allow short circuit and spray transfer - Available in various size cylinders Mid-Size Machines - Stainless Steel Applications Airgas Gold Gas StainMIX 3 - Will allow short circuit spray and pulse transfer - 300 cf size cylinders only

 Airgas Gold Gas StainMIX Mid-Size Machines - Aluminum Applications Argon - For all thickness below 1/4 inch - Available in various cylinder sizes
Airgas Gold Gas AluMIX - For all thickness above 1/4 inch - Available in 300 cf size cylinders