The influence of automatic arc welding modes on the geometric parameters of the seam of butt joints made of low-carbon steel, made using experimental flux

Introduction. The metallurgical industry in the territory of the Russian Federation has accumulated a significant amount of slags obtained during the smelting of steels and cast iron. The presence of slag dumps adversely affects the ecology of regions with metallurgical enterprises. When reducing iron from slags, the by-product becomes an oxide agglomerate, which can be considered as a flux composition for arc welding/surfacing under a layer of flux, fillers of powder wires, coatings of welding stick electrodes. The purpose of the work is to establish the possibility of arc welding using the flux obtained by the authors and to determine the optimal welding modes with the condition of achieving the geometric parameters of the seam according to GOST 8713-79 and the quality of the welded joint (absence of internal defects). In this paper, butt welded joints of sheet steel VSt3sp with a thickness of 5 mm obtained by automatic welding under a layer of flux at direct current with forced formation of a root roller on ceramic linings using flux from recycled metallurgical slag of an electric steelmaking enterprise are investigated. Automatic welding of flat specimens was carried out on a tractor-type ADF-1250 machine with a wire with a diameter of 3 mm, at a constant welding speed of 54 cm/min with varying current and arc voltage within 400–600 A and 27–37 V. The methods of investigation: Visual measuring and radiographic control, determination of deformation of specimens by laser scanning and computer processing of 3D models were used to evaluate the quality of welded joints. Statistical modeling in the form of a two-factor experiment was also used in the work, with obtaining adequate regression equations of the influence of welding modes on the geometric parameters of the seam: the height of reinforcement and the width of the seam on the front and back of the joint. Results and discussion. The possibility of obtaining welding fluxes from metallurgical slags of an electric steelmaking enterprise and its use for creating welded joints is shown. Optimal modes of arc welding of thin-walled sheet parts made of low-carbon steel with forced formation of a root roller on ceramic linings is established, ensuring the absence of internal defects in the form of pores, cracks and lacks of penetration, a minimum of residual deformations and compliance of the weld size with the requirements of the existing standard. The nominal values of the geometric parameters of the seam according to GOST 8713-79-C4 correspond to welding mode: welding speed 54 cm/min, welding current 550 A, arc voltage 30 V. The results of the work can be applied in metallurgical electric steelmaking enterprises producing low-carbon steel in the development of technologies for the use of welding materials from slag.