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Welding Parameters for Inconel 625 Overlay on Carbon Steel using GMAW

Article  in  Indian Journal of Science and Technology · November 2015

DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2015/v8i1/84309

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 ISSN (Print) : 0974-6846
Indian Journal of Science and Technology, Vol 8(31), DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2015/v8i31/84309, November 2015 ISSN (Online) : 0974-5645

Welding Parameters for Inconel 625 Overlay

on Carbon Steel using GMAW
P. Elango1* and S. Balaguru2
M-Tech-Machine Design, Bharath University, Chennai – 600073, Tamil Nadu, India;
1

Elango.mperiasamy@gmail.com
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bharath University, Chennai – 600073, Tamil Nadu, India;
balaguru.mech@bharathuniv.ac.in

Abstract
Nickel chromium molybdenum alloys are well known for its creep properties along with high corrosion resistance
which finds a very large application in Oil and Petro chemical industries. However due to its prohibitive cost a cheaper
alternative of cladding Ni alloys on carbon steel base material is widely used. The Ni alloy may be applied by different
methods such as roll bonding, explosive cladding or by weld overlaying. As the weld overlay process is simple and
requires a small set up, this is being widely used to improve the corrosion properties of various equipments used in
Oil and Petro chemical industries. While the process is simple and easier to apply, enough care need to be applied in
controlling the weld chemistry. The most critical element to control is the Fe content in the weld overlay. It is observed
that the corrosion properties are not affected when the Fe content is restricted to below 5%. Effort is made in this study
to apply the weld overlay using Gas metal arc welding process using soild Inconel 625 wire. Various properties such as
chemical composition, cracking tendencies, hardness across the weld overlay area etc were also studied in this work.

Keywords: Bend Test, GMAW(Gas Metal Arc Welding), Hardness Survey, Inconel625, Macro Analysis

1. Introduction below 5%. Effort is made in this study to apply the weld
overlay using Gas metal arc welding process using solid
Nickel chromium molybdenum alloys are well known for Inconel 625 wire. Various properties such as chemical
its creep properties along with high corrosion resistance composition, cracking tendencies, hardness across the
which finds a very large application in Oil and Petro weld overlay area etc were also studied in this work.
chemical industries. However due to its prohibitive cost
a cheaper alternative of cladding Ni alloys on carbon steel
base material is widely used. The Ni alloy may be applied
by different methods such as roll bonding, explosive
cladding or by weld overlaying. As the weld overlay
process is simple and requires a small set up, this is being
widely used to improve the corrosion properties of various
equipments used in oil and petro chemical industries.
While the process is simple and easier to apply, enough
care need to be applied in controlling the weld chemistry.
The most critical element to control is the Fe content in the
weld overlay. It is observed that the corrosion properties
are not affected when the Fe content is restricted to
Figure 1. Inconel cladding on the Valve body.

* Author for correspondence

 Welding Parameters for Inconel 625 Overlay on Carbon Steel using GMAW

Fusion welding generally involves joining of metals 2. Experimental Setup

by application of heat for melting of metals to be joined.
Almost all the arc welding processes offer high heat input, 2.1 Process
which in turn leads to various problems such as burn Experiments are conducted using the GMAW process.
through, distortion, porosity, buckling warping, and grain Industrial pure and commercial grade argon gases with
coarsening. Application of appropriate welding process Helium gas (Mixture) used for shielding, Inconel 625
parameters, procedure and technique is essential to avoid welding electrode diameter 1.2 mm used and while
the above problems. Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) is welding the inter pass temperature maintained at 300
a good process for weld overlay or cladding, it costs less degree Celsius and it is stress relieved using PWHT (Post
compared to the plasma arc welding machine. Volume of Weld Heat treatment)3,4. The effect of weld quality is
weld overlay is much higher than plasma welding and Gas studied with reference to input parameters like Voltage,
tungsten welding and also it is more flexible than plasma Current, and Height of the torch tip to the base metal.
welding in terms of set up such as mounting the torch. Welding was carried out considering the following input
Uses a consumable bare metal wire as electrode with parameters. The values of weld input parameters are
shielding by flooding arc with a gas. The wire is fed arrived after conducting number of trial experiments.
continuously and automatically from a spool through the The tested parameters and their values are described
welding gun, Shielding used is Argon or Argon + Helium in the Table 17,8.
for Inconel welding, and CO2 for steel welding, Bare
electrode wire plus shielding gases eliminate slag on weld Table 1.
bead (Figure 2). Parameter Value
Power Source 400 Amp- IGBT machine
Type and Polarity DC RP(EP)
Mode of operation Manual
Filler wire Diameter mm 1.2
Shielding gas% Argon+Helium(80%+20%)
Shielding gas flow rate litre/ 18-22
minute (LPM)
Operation type Semi Automatic
Thickness of base material mm 25
weld metal Thickness 5-6 mm As welded(Machine
to 3mm)
Mode of Metal spray Spray
Amperes A 240
Voltage V 26
Travel speed mm /Min 230
Contact Tube to work distance 15
mm
Figure 2. GMAW model. Bead weaving mm Weave- 15
Overlap between passes 1/3 rd
It has one disadvantage of having higher dilution level
Number of layers 2
in the parent material than plasma arc welding process.
For this GMAW process there are few major parameters
to control the process such as voltage, current, welding Plate size: 150mm X 150 mm x 25mm
speed, arc length, oscillation and gas flow rate. In this Chemical composition for Inconel 625 Filler wire as
process the shielding gas used is Argon with helium for per ASME Sec.IX AWs SFA 5.14 – Table 2.
better shielding to avoid the oxidation and defects.

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 P. Elango and S. Balaguru

Table 2. below is < 5% to maintain the good corrosion resistance.

Elements % max
Table 3.
c 0.1
Mn 0.5 Elements % max
Fe 5 c 0.048
P 0.02 Mn 0.18
S 0.015 Fe 2.22
Si 5 P 0.007
Cu 5 S 0.05
Ni 58Min
Si 0.08
Al 0.4
Cu <0.01
Ti 0.4
Cr 20-23 Ni Rem
Nb+Ta 2.15-4.15 Al <0.01
Mo 08-10 Ti <0.01
Cr 21.52
Welding Overlay Drawing and Plate bending layout Nb+Ta 3.3
shown in Figure 3. Mo 8.26

2.2.2 Hardness Survey Result

Vickers’s hardness testing machine was used to measure
the hardness of the weld metal with a 10 Kg load. Hardness
survey conducted on overlay Top, Overlay surface (Mid
cross section), Base and Heat affected Zone (HAZ-.5mm
from the fusion line) with 3 points at each location as per
the Figure 4 and as per NACE MR0175/15156-23. The
results are presented in Table 4.
Table 4.
Position Indent Hardness Hardness Hardness Avg.
No. As value value value HV
above A-A1 B-B1 C-C1
Overlay Top 4,8,12 216 210, 215 212 218, 221, 215
221 209 215
Overlay 3,7,11 207 210, 213 210 215, 210, 210
surface(Mid 206 Lo- 207 210
cross section) cation
Figure 3.
Base 1,5,9 172 169, 170712 171, 173, 171
175 168 168
2.2 M
 easurement of Output from the HAZ(0.5 mm 2,6,10 181, 179, 180 178 183, 186, 182
Analysis from fusion 183 185 181
zone)
2.2.1 Chemical Analysis
The average value obtained on Overlay Top is 215HV,
Table 3 shows the Chemical analysis carried out on the weld Overlay surface 210 HV, Base 171 HV and HAZ 182 HV.
metal after machining to 3mm from the base metal and the Figure 5.
obtained results5,6. It is noteworthy that the % Fe obtained

Vol 8 (31) | November 2015 | www.indjst.org Indian Journal of Science and Technology 3
 Welding Parameters for Inconel 625 Overlay on Carbon Steel using GMAW

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

From Figure 5 it is clear that the hardness values of to bend the specimen is 40mm and the angle of bend is
the weld Top is better than parent metal, which indicates 180 degree. As per the Table 5 with specification1.
higher strength of the weld overlay. No cracks were found and results were satisfactory
and acceptable.
Table 5.
Thickness 10mm
2.2.4 Macro Structure Examination
Width 25 mm
Dia 40mm Macro examination conducted on the specimen by using
Angle 180 Deg 10 x magnifications refers the Figure 6. It shows the good
fusion between parent material and weld overlay and also
it is free from abnormal indication.
2.2.3 Transverse side Bens Test
The four number of specimen is taken from the test
2.2.5 Liquid Penetration Examination
material as per the Figure 3. The specimen thickness is
reduced to 10 mm and width 25 mm. The diameter used Liquid penetration examination conducted on the

4 Vol 8 (31) | November 2015 | www.indjst.org Indian Journal of Science and Technology

specimen as per the following steps as per specifications2.
First the surface area was cleaned and penetrant was
applied with the dwell time of 10 min. After that it was
cleaned using the cleaner with cloth followed by the
application of the developer. This result shows that there
is no indication and it was accepted.
Figure 6.
3. Conclusion
Various properties of Inconel 625 weld overlay on carbon
steel using the GMAW process are studied. The study
reveals that the good overlay is obtained below 5% Fe
and with appropriate values of process variables that
includes Ampere, Voltage, Travel speed, Shield gas flow
rate, arc distance. It shows that the corrosion properties
are not affected and it gives the requirement of corrosion
resistance. The hardness values of the weld top are
better than the parent metal zone which indicates better
strength of the weld overlay and resistance to corrosion.
The macrostructure of the weld joint indicates that there
is good fusion between parent material and weld overlay
and it is free from abnormal indication.
4. Acknowledgement
I express my sincere thanks to Shri. M. R. Sampathkumar,
Vol 8 (31) | November 2015 | www.indjst.org
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P. Elango and S. Balaguru
Managing Director, M/s RSL alloy Coating (p) Ltd.,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, for their support to carry out
experimentation.
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