Experimental investigations on the SiO2

flux-assisted GTA welding of superaustenitic stainless steels

K.Devendranath Ramkumar, Jelli
Lakshmi Narasimha Varma, Gangineni
Chaitanya, S.Logesh, Madhav Krishnan,
N.Arivazhagan, et al.
The International Journal of
Advanced Manufacturing Technology
ISSN 0268-3768
Int J Adv Manuf Technol
DOI 10.1007/s00170-015-7876-6

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Int J Adv Manuf Technol
DOI 10.1007/s00170-015-7876-6

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Experimental investigations on the SiO2 flux-assisted

GTA welding of super-austenitic stainless steels
K. Devendranath Ramkumar 1 & Jelli Lakshmi Narasimha Varma 1 &
Gangineni Chaitanya 1 & S. Logesh 1 & Madhav Krishnan 1 & N. Arivazhagan 1 &
N. Siva Shanmugam 2

Received: 1 June 2015 / Accepted: 21 September 2015

# Springer-Verlag London 2015

Abstract This study addressed the use of activated flux SiO2 for
the gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding of super-austenitic stainless
steel plates of 5 mm thickness. Trials were carried out to investigate the effect of flux and the welding current to determine the
depth of penetration. Bead-on-plate trials were carried out on the
AISI 904L with and without flux. It was inferred from the macrostructure studies that with a welding current of 180 A, complete
penetration could be achieved using flux-assisted GTA welding.
The optimal process parameters were validated by conducting the
experimental investigations to ascertain the structureproperty relationships of flux-assisted GTA weldment. Experimental results
corroborated that the average tensile strength and impact toughness of SiO2 flux-assisted GTA weldments of AISI 904L were
observed as 553 MPa and 49.3 J. It was inferred from the studies
that defect-free welds of super-austenitic stainless steel could be
obtained on employing flux-assisted GTA welding process.
Keywords Flux-assisted gas tungsten arc welding .
Super-austenitic stainless steel . Microstructure . Mechanical
property

1 Introduction
Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is one of the versatile and
reliable arc welding processes widely adopted in ship
* K. Devendranath Ramkumar
deva@vit.ac.in
1

School of Mechanical & Building Sciences, VIT University,

Vellore 632014, India

Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT,

Tiruchirappalli 620002, India

building, petroleum, nuclear, aerospace and power generation

industries for joining different metals and alloys. Tseng et al.
[1] reported that the autogenous GTA welding without the use
of filler wire could be applied for thin sections; however, the
low deposition rate and shallow joint penetration result in
lower productivity. Higher thickness workpieces could be successfully joined using GTA welding process with the use of
filler material. Also, the selection of filler metal should be
made carefully in order to obtain enhanced properties. Several
researchers reported that the improper selection of filler results
in several negative metallurgical and mechanical effects in the
weldments. Joint preparation is required for welding plates of
thickness >3 mm, and multi-pass welding was usually preferred. It was evident from the various studies that multipass welding significantly increases the heat input that causes
the formation of secondary phases and grain coarsening effect
at the heat-affected zone (HAZ). Further, the formation of
inter-metallics and/or non-uniform distribution of elements
were noticed in the fusion zone during multi-pass welding.
Activated flux tungsten inert gas (A-TIG) or flux-assisted
GTA welding receives major attention nowadays due to the
improvement in depth and consistency of the welds. This
welding process involves the use of a thin layer of refractory
oxide (activated flux) applied in the form of thin paste to the
workpiece surface prior to welding. The heat developed during the process melts and vaporizes part of the flux as arc
passes over the flux which results in deeper penetration.
Tseng et al. [2] and Berthier et al. [3] investigated that the
welding pool shape could be changed by the presence of microelements, such as oxygen and sulphur. Similarly Tsann-Shyi
Chern et al. [4] reported that the use of SiO2, MoO3 and
Cr2O3 fluxes not only significantly increased the penetration
capability but also improved the mechanical strength of the
stainless steel welds compared with conventional TIG welds.
Shyu et al. [5] investigated the performance of 304 SS obtained

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from activated flux TIG welding employing Al2O3, Cr2O3,

TiO2, SiO2 and CaO fluxes. The authors observed the better
depth-to-width ratio, improved penetration and reduced angular
distortion while employing the A-TIG welding process.
Morisada et al. [6] reported that the depth/width ratio was
affected by the shielding gas flow rate during the A-TIG
welding of SUS 304 stainless steel. Kuo et al. [7] investigated
the joining of dissimilar metals involving G3131 mild steel and
SUS 316L stainless steel using activated flux TIG welding
process using different fluxes such as CaO, Fe2O3, Cr2O3 and
SiO2. The authors concluded that welding with SiO2 powder
resulted in an increase of weld depth-to-width ratio and a higher
degree of energy concentration. Li et al. [8] reported that the arc
shrinkage is the main aspect to increase the weld penetration on
using SiO2 flux compared to TiO2 flux. Similarly Tseng et al.
[1] compared the TiO2 and SiO2 flux-assisted TIG welding
processes for joining AISI 316L and concluded that the energy
density of SiO2 flux-assisted TIG welding is higher than that of
TiO2-flux-assisted TIG welding. Sakthivel et al. [9] compared
the creep behaviour of multi-pass TIG and activated flux TIG
welding process of 316L (N) stainless steel. The authors observed lower hardness at the fusion zone of A-TIG weldments
compared to multi-pass TIG weldments owing to the presence
of columnar dendrites, whereas the equiaxed dendrites dominated in the A-TIG fusion zone.
AISI 904L is a super-austenitic stainless steel, widely used
in marine, petroleum and nuclear industries owing to their
combined mechanical properties such as strength and high
temperature corrosion resistance. Also, the presence of sufficient amount of Mo enhances the hot cracking resistance of
this stainless steel. It was reported that autogenous GTAW of
super-austenitic steel with shielding gases and arc lengths
yielding nitrogen content in excess of 0.2 %, resulted in porosity [10]. Zambon et al. [11] investigated the CO2 laser
welding of 3-mm-thick plates of super-austenitic stainless
steel. The authors observed an imperceptible HAZ which
allowed the retention of high toughness. One of the major
problems associated with welding of AISI 904L was Mo segregation. Banovic et al. [12] reported that during solidification
of the weld, Mo segregates preferentially to the liquid, owing
to the low solubility of Mo in the austenite phase (), and
leaves the first solid to form depleted in Mo. Further, the
low diffusion rate of Mo in austenite phase does not allow
for Mo to diffuse back towards the dendrite cores to eliminate
the concentration gradient and can lead to poor corrosion resistance of the weld metal. The researchers have addressed
Table 1

that Mo segregation could be reduced or controlled with the

use of Mo-rich filler wires. Also, they have recommended the
use of faster cooling rates for controlling the same.
It is evident from the open literature that the flux-assisted or
A-TIG welding has potential applications in the industries. Several researchers reported the viability of carrying out activated
flux TIG welding of stainless steels. However, no such detailed
study has been reported on the joining of super-austenitic stainless steel AISI 904L. This study addressed the effect of SiO2
flux and welding current on the weldability, microstructure and
mechanical properties of 5-mm-thick super-austenitic stainless
steels. The outcomes of the study will be beneficial to the industries employing this grade of stainless steel.

2 Experimental procedure
The chemical composition of the base metal, AISI 904L, is
ascertained using dry spectroscopic method and represented in
Table 1. The mechanical properties of the base metal inferred
as 647 MPa and 61 J as average tensile strength and impact
toughness.
Bead-on-plate welding was carried out with and without
flux using the various welding currents on the 5-mm-thick
plate of AISI 904L. Table 2 shows the data representing the
depth of penetration, bead width and heat input developed
during the autogenous GTA welding of super-austenitic stainless steel without the use of flux. The activated flux used in the
study is commercially pure SiO2 powder. Before carrying out
welding, the SiO2 flux powder was uniformly mixed with
methanol which is used as carrier solvent to form a paintlike consistency. This was manually applied using a paintbrush so as a sufficient layer thick to prevent visual observation of the base metal underneath. Bead on trials was carried
out on the plates that were coated with flux. A 15-mm-wide
flux coating was applied throughout the length of the plates,
with joint line at the centre. The flux quantity applied on the
plate was 4 to 5 mg/cm2 as the coating density has significant
impact on the depth of penetration. Further, the cross-section
macrostructure studies were carried out to infer the role
welding current and the flux in achieving the aforementioned
process parameters and are shown in Table 3. Ensued to the
results from Table 3, the A-TIG welding was carried out on
the plates of 170 mm55 mm5 mm which were obtained
from wire cut electrical discharge machining (WEDM)
process.

Chemical composition of base metal, AISI 904L

Chemical composition (by wt%)

Base metal
AISI 904L

C
0.017

Cr
19.64

Ni
24.82

Mo
4.02

Fe
Rem.

Cu
1.27

Other elements
P0.018; S0.003; N0.037; Si0.374; Mn1.33

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Table 2

Geometric characteristics of autogenous GTA welding of AISI 904Lwithout flux

11.9
1.57

14.0
2.29

11.4
2.60

14.19
1.85

12.61
2.79

Square butt configuration was employed on the plates, and a

single-pass, flux-assisted autogenous GTA welding was carried
out along the centreline of test specimen to produce the weld. A

Current, 180 A
Depth of penetration, 1.57 mm
Bead width, 11.9 mm
Heat input, 0.481 kJ/mm

Current, 200 A
Depth of penetration, 2.29 mm
Bead width, 14.0 mm
Heat input, 0.563 kJ/mm

Current, 220 A
Depth of penetration, 2.60 mm
Bead width, 11.4 mm
Heat input, 0.457 kJ/mm

Current, 240 A
Depth of penetration, 1.85 mm
Bead width, 14.19 mm
Heat input, 0.434 kJ/mm

Current, 260 A
Depth of penetration, 2.79 mm
Bead width, 12.61 mm
Heat input, 0.554 kJ/mm

standard 2 % thoriated tungsten electrode was used for welding

trials using Kemppi MasterTIG welding machine. Argon of
99.99 % purity, at a constant flow rate of 18 lpm, was used as

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Table 3

Geometric characteristics of SiO2 flux-assisted GTA welding of AISI 904L

6.47

4.02

7.91

4.63

6.23

5.23

6.23
8.74

4.93

the shielding gas and a constant travel speed was maintained as

140 mm/min. The process parameters employed for complete
welding of 170-mm-long plate of AISI 904L plates using SiO2
flux-assisted GTA welding are shown in Table 4.
Non-destructive testing (NDT) analysis was carried out
using gamma ray radiography to determine for any flaws at
the surface or sub-surface of the weldments. Ensued to the
NDT results, the coupons were cut to different dimensions
according to the standards for establishing the metallurgical
and mechanical properties. Macro, microstructure studies and
hardness measurements were carried out on the crosssectioned coupons whose dimensions were 28 mm

Current, 140 A
Depth of penetration, 4.02 mm
Bead width, 6.47 mm
Heat input, 0.375 kJ/mm

Current, 160 A
Depth of penetration, 4.63 mm
Bead width, 7.91 mm
Heat input, 0.423 kJ/mm

Current, 180 A
Depth of penetration : full penetration (5 mm)
Bead width, 6.23 mm
Heat input, 0.465 kJ/mm

Current, 200 A
Depth of penetration, 4.93 mm
Bead width, 8.74 mm
Heat input, 0.553 kJ/mm

15 mm5 mm. Standard metallographic procedures were

adopted to reveal the microstructure of the weldments. Electrolytic etching (10 % oxalic acid, 6 V DC supply, current
density 1.6 A/cm2) was employed to reveal the grain structure
of the different zones of these weldments. Microstructure examination was carried out using optical microscopy (OM) and
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. SEM/
energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) point analysis and
line mapping analysis were also performed to understand the
movement of elements across the weldments. To ascertain the
mechanical properties, the weldments were subjected to different mechanical tests and were outlined.

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Table 4 Process parameters employed for flux-assisted GTA welding
of AISI 904L plates
Process parameter

Unit

Value

Current

180

Voltage

9.911.7

Travel speed
Shielding gas

mm/min

140
Argon

Shielding gas flow rate

lpm

18

Heat input

kJ/mm

0.511

Hardness measurements were carried out on the crosssectioned coupon of the weldment vis--vis top, middle and
bottom locations using Vickers micro-harness tester. A standard
load of 500 gf was applied for a dwell time of 10 s, and the
readings were measured at regular intervals of 0.25 mm. Further,
the tensile studies were performed on the coupons fabricated as
per the ASTM: E8/8M standard. Tensile test was carried out
using Instron Universal Testing Machine employing a constant
cross-head velocity of 2 mm/min to induce a strain rate of 3.3
104 s1. Charpy V-notch studies were carried out on the coupons prepared as per ASTM: E23-12c standard to conjecture the
response of the A-TIG weldments towards impact loading.

the same. The cross-section macrographs of GTA weldments

without flux addition shown in Table 2 revealed that the maximum penetration achieved was 2.79 mm for the current of
260 A. It was also inferred that the width of the bead was widened in all the welding trials.
Followed by this, the bead on plate GTA welding trials were
performed on the AISI 904L plates with the addition of SiO2 flux
by varying the welding current from 140 to 200 A. The crosssectional macrographs of flux-assisted GTA welding of AISI
904L plates are represented in Table 3. It is vividly seen that
the depth of penetration increases with an increase in welding
current for 140, 160 and 180 A. The penetration depth was
slightly lowered on increasing the current value to 200 A. Penetration depths are also inversely proportional to travel speed of
the torch at a particular weld current. Similar observations were
also reported by [1, 2]. The results showed that a complete penetration could be achieved for the current of 180 A.
The macrographs of the flux-assisted GTA welding showed
that the weld beads were deeper and narrower for all the current
values except for the weld bead obtained from 200 A, offered a
wider and broader bead profile. Based on the trial studies, it is
opined that the SiO2 flux-assisted GTA welding resulted in
higher penetration depth for a current of 180 A. Further, the
flux-assisted GTA welding was carried out on the AISI 904L
plates based on the primitive studies, and the process parameters
employed are represented in Table 4.

3 Results
3.1 Pre-study on the penetration depth of autogenous GTA
welding with and without flux
Bead-on-plate trials were carried out using GTA welding technique by keeping constant welding speed employing with and
without flux in order to establish the welding current for achieving the maximum depth of penetration. The trials were conducted by maintaining the welding current of 140 and 160 A without
flux addition. Since the depth of penetration was very lower, the
current values were varied to 180, 200, 220, 240 and 260 A for
Fig. 1 ae Macrostructure of
SiO2 flux-assisted GTA-welded
AISI 904L showing the complete
fusion on employing current of
180 A

(a)

(a)

(b)

3.2 Metallurgical characterization of flux-assisted GTA

weldment of AISI 904L
Macrostructure of the butt-welded AISI 904L plates obtained
from flux-assisted GTA welding process is shown in Fig. 1.
The microstructure at the different locations of the weldment is
also represented in Fig. 1ae. Interface microstructure shown in
Fig. 2 revealed the absence of heat-affected zone or the presence
of any secondary phases. Weld microstructures at top, middle
and bottom are shown in Fig. 3ac. Both cellular and columnar
dendritic growth was observed at the top and middle regions of

(b)

(c)

(d)

(c)

(e)

(d)

(e)

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was noticed from the SEM/EDAX point analysis that the weight
percentage of Si was slightly higher in the fusion zone than the
parent metal (Fig. 5d).
AISI 904L

3.3 Mechanical characterization of flux-assisted GTA

weldment of AISI 904L

Fusion zone

Fig. 2 Interface microstructure of the SiO2 flux-assisted GTA weldments

of AISI 904L

the fusion zone, whereas the fine, equi-axed cellular growth was
revealed at the bottom region of the fusion zone. Line mapping
analysis shown in Fig. 4 indicated clearly that there was no much
elemental movement across the weldment. SEM/EDAX point
analysis at the fusion zone of the flux-assisted GTA-welded AISI
904L is shown in Fig. 5ac. The line spectra (Fig. 5a) indicated
the presence of elements such as Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu and Mo at the
grain body of the fusion zone. The weight percentage of the
elements in the grain body was observed to be almost closer to
the base metals composition. However, the presence of tiny
secondary phases observed at the dendritic arms of the fusion
zone (Fig. 5b, c) which are enriched with Mo, Cr, Ni and Fe. It
Fig. 3 Fusion zone
microstructure of the SiO2 fluxassisted GTA weldments of AISI
904L showing a top, b middle
and c bottom regions

Hardness measurement was carried out on the cross-sectioned

coupon of the AISI 904L weldment at top, middle and bottom
regions. Figure 6 shows the hardness profile of the flux-assisted
GTA weldment of AISI 904L. The average hardness at the top,
middle and bottom regions of the fusion zone was observed as
151, 155 and 153 HV, respectively. It was inferred that the hardness trend was uniform across the weldment. However, there
were some variations in the hardness values noticed at the fusion
zone and parent metal.
Tensile studies carried out on the flux-assisted AISI 904L
GTA weldments clearly showed that the fracture was experienced at the fusion zone for all the trials. Table 5 shows the
average tensile properties of the flux-assisted GTA weldments
of AISI 904L. It was observed from the visual examination
(Fig. 7a) that the weldments experienced higher amount of plastic deformation before rupture. The average tensile strength and
0.2 % offset yield strength were observed as 553 and
274.56 MPa, respectively. The average percentage elongation
at the break point was inferred to be 36.01 % for the fluxassisted GTA-welded 904L plates (Table 6). SEM fractograph
of the tensile tested sample showed the presence of macro/micro-

Top

(a)

Middle

(b)
Equiaxed

Equiaxed
Columnar dendritic

Bottom

(c)

Equiaxed

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AISI 904L
Weld zone

Ni

Cr

Fe

Mn

Mo

Fig. 4 Line mapping analysis at the interface of SiO2 flux-assisted GTA-welded AISI 904L

voids with the ridge pattern. Also, the secondary phases were
embedded in the few of the void spaces (Fig. 7b).
Charpy V-notch studies demonstrated the deformation occurred at the notch zone without undergoing complete rupture
upon impact loading (Fig. 8a). The average impact toughness of
the flux-assisted GTA weldments was 49.3 J (Table 7). SEM
analysis on the impact tested sample revealed the presence of
scarce voids and the rock sand appearance as the topographic
features.

4 Discussion
This study inferred clearly that the successful welds of AISI
904L could be obtained by SiO2 flux-assisted GTA welding
technique. It can be inferred from Table 2 that the bead width
was also higher. Similarly the trials were carried out to establish
the optimal weld current in achieving maximum depth of penetration during SiO2 flux-assisted GTA welding. The results
showed that the depth of penetration increases with an increase
in the welding current. As reported by Tseng [13], the penetration depth is inversely proportional to welding speed at a particular weld current. Further, the author reported that beyond the
optimal coating density, the penetration depth remains approximately constant before decreasing. The reduction in the penetration depth could be attributed to the higher arc heat energy consumption required to melt the thick flux barrier. It was observed
that the weld bead width was reduced by almost half for the same
welding current with the use of activated flux which shall be
attributed to arc constriction effect. Similar observations were

reported by Vasantharaja et al. [14]. The effect of surface tension

also plays a main role in enhancing the depth of penetration of
the welds. According to Huang et al. [15], the surface tension
would be higher near the centre region of the weld pool, and the
fluid flow would be inwards along the surface of the weld pool
towards the centre and then down, thereby increasing the weld
penetration in case of flux-assisted welding.
The primitive studies showed that a current of 180 A could
suffice to produce full penetration of 5.23 mm, and hence, this
current value was set for joining AISI 904L plates using SiO2
flux. The macrostructure of butt-welded AISI 904L plates using
flux-assisted GTA welding showed that complete fusion occurred in single pass exhibiting shallow bead profile (Fig. 1).
This clearly elucidated that a lower arc heat would be sufficient
for obtaining successful joints of super-austenitic stainless with
the aid of SiO2 flux. As SiO2 increases the fluidity of the material, a complete fusion with the nominal bead width has resulted.
Similar observations were reported elsewhere [1]. As reported
by Kuo et al. [7], the shallow and deep welds could be achieved
by GTAwelding assisted with the Fe2O3, Cr2O3 and SiO2 fluxes.
Several mechanisms were addressed by various researchers to
reason out the higher depth of penetration achieved via A-TIG
welding process. The flux used in the welding process shall
serve as an insulation barrier to the arc current. As reported by
Lowke et al. [16], the arc was constricted due to this insulating
effect of flux leading to higher temperatures at the centre of the
weld pool, which would be sufficient to melt the flux so that the
electric current could penetrate the flux to the weld pool and
workpiece. Moreover, for a given current, the current density
at the centre of the weld pool would be increased and led to

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Fig. 5 ac SEM/EDAX point
mapping analysis at the fusion
zone of SiO2 flux-assisted GTAwelded AISI 904L. d Area
mapping analysis on the parent
metal of AISI 904L

(a)
Si K
Cr K
Mn K
Fe K
Ni K
Cu K
Mo L

0.49%
20.15%
1.23%
49.97%
23.19%
1.01%
3.95%

Si K
Cr K
Mn K
Fe K
Ni K
Cu K
Mo L

0.70%
21.31%
1.56%
43.65%
22.97%
1.29%
8.52%

Si K
Cr K
Mn K
Fe K
Ni K
Cu K
Mo L

0.66%
21.45%
1.86%
42.10%
22.49%
1.38%
10.06%

Grain

(b)

(c)

(d)
Si K
Cr K
Mn K
Fe K
Ni K
Cu K
Mo L

increase the magnetic pinch forces and pressure in the weld pool
which would result in strong convective flow downwards in the
weld pool and an increased weld depth [16].
It is evident from the present study that there was no evidence of hot cracking tendency in the fully austenitic welds of
AISI 904L as the penetration was achieved in single pass with
the use of flux. This is well in agreement with Lundin et al.
[17]. According to these authors, avoiding the multiple thermal cycles and the enrichment of Mo and Mn at the weld and
HAZ enhanced the hot cracking tendency resistance.

0.49%
20.82%
1.61%
47.28%
23.42%
1.34%
5.04%

The microstructure at different locations of the weldment is

shown in Fig. 1ae. Microstructure at the weld interface clearly indicated the absence of secondary phases or unmixed zone,
which shall be attributed to lower heat input and the faster
cooling rate and also due to the constriction of arc focussed
at the weld pool, enunciated with flux-assisted welding. Weld
microstructure depicted the presence of coarse columnar, cellular and equiaxed dendritic growth prevailing in different
locations of the fusion zone. Specifically, the bottom region
of the fusion zone was witnessed to have equiaxed-dendritic

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Top
Middle
Bottom

Fig. 6 Hardness measurement across the different zones of the flux-assisted GTA-welded AISI 904L

microstructure. Specifically, the centre of the fusion zone was

witnessed to have equiaxed-dendritic microstructure. As reported by Norman et al. [18], the formation of an equiaxeddendritic microstructure in the centre of autogenous welds
shall be due to the development of an undercooled liquid
ahead of the moving solidliquid interface, which provides
the correct thermal conditions for the nucleation and growth
of new grains. The equiaxed growth predominant in the fusion
zone could be attributed to the faster cooling experienced in
flux-assisted GTA welding process. As reported earlier, the
flux-assisted GTA welding results only in re-melting and solidification, and the changes in the microstructure alone were
experienced in the fusion zone.
Similar observations were depicted by Sakthivel et al. [9].
Also, the weld zone was found to be complete austenitic structure even though the rate of cooling is faster. This is because
the super-austenitic stainless steel has enriched amount of
austenite-stabilizing elements Ni and N. The presence of
higher amounts of Ni in the weld zone was once again confirmed from the SEM/EDAX point analysis which depicted
that Ni is almost uniform both in the grain body and boundary.
The ferrite analysis showed that the ferrite number was zero
which clearly nurtured that the fusion zone was completely
austenitic. No much elemental variations were observed during flux-assisted GTA welding as indicated from the line mapping analysis (Fig. 4). Scarce tiny precipitates were also
Table 5 Hardness measurement on the flux-assisted GTA weldments
of AISI 904L
Description

Average hardness of
the A-TIG weldment
Average hardness at the
fusion zone

Vickers micro-hardness value (HV)

Top

Middle

Bottom

160

157

159

155

151

153

noticed at the dendritic arms of the fusion zone. The EDAX

point analysis showed that these secondary phases were richer
with the elements Cr, Mo, Ni and Si. This could be due to
micro-segregation of these elements in weld fusion zones. The
present study also attested the scarce amount of Mo segregation at the inter-dendritic arms of the fusion zone which could
be attributed to the moderate cooling rates in the flux-assisted
TIG welding process. Due to the differences in the Mo at the
inter-dendritic arms and the matrix, the corrosion potential
would be slightly different and probably reduces the corrosion
resistance compared to the parent metal. Further studies are
required to confirm the same.
Hardness studies showcased that the average hardness of
the fusion zone of flux-assisted GTA weldment was observed
to be 155, 151 and 153 HV at top, middle and bottom locations. The study inferred that the average weld hardness was
slightly impoverished compared to the hardness of the parent
metal (163165 HV). As reported earlier, the microstructure
of the fusion zone was predominantly observed with equiaxed
microstructure which may be reasoned for lower hardness.
This is well in agreement with the work carried out by other
researcher [9]. The authors reported that columnar structure
displayed higher hardness than the equiaxed structure because
of high dislocation density in the columnar structure. Tensile
results are well in agreement with the hardness data such that
tensile fracture experienced at the fusion zone for all the trials
owing to lower hardness values. The average tensile strength
of the SiO2 flux-assisted GTA weldments of AISI 904L was
reported as 553 MPa which is lower than the strength of the
parent metal (647 MPa). The joint efficiency [defined as
(UTSweld joint)/(UTSbase metal)100] of the flux-assisted AISI
904L weldments was ascertained to be 85.47 %. The average
ductility of the weldment was reported as 36.01 %. The tensile
results obtained from the current study were greater than that
of the earlier works carried out by the authors using compound
flux. However, the average tensile strength of SiO2 flux weldments was slightly lower than that of the autogenous GTA

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Fig. 7 a Tensile photographs of
the flux-assisted GTA weldments
of AISI 904L before and after test.
b SEM fractograph of the tensiletested AISI 904L weldment

(a)
AISI 904L

AISI 904L

AISI 904L

Fracture observed at the weld zone

(b)

Ridges

Voids

Secondary phases

weldment without flux [19]. SEM fractographs elucidated the

mode of fracture as ductile which could be confirmed by the
presence of macro/micro-voids in the fractured surface. Also,
Charpy V-notch test trials inferred the average impact toughness of the flux-assisted weldments as 49.3 J which was slightly lower than the toughness of the base metal (61 J). The lower
toughness could be attributed to the complete austenitic structure prevailing in the weld zone. In addition to that, sometimes
the oxides could be trapped inside during the A-TIG welding
process due to the improper melting of the flux. This will tend
to deteriorate the impact toughness and corrosion resistance of
the weld metal. The present investigation is well in agreement
with Vasantharaja et al. [14].
SEM fractograph of the impact tested sample corroborated
that the presence of scarce voids and the beach sand markings
revealed the quasi-cleavage mode of fracture; however, the
visual examination of SiO2 flux-assisted GTA weldments of
AISI 904L reported the V-notch deformation in the fusion
zone without undergoing complete rupture.
In a nutshell, this study reported the detailed study on the
effect of SiO2 flux on the weldability, microstructure and mechanical properties of flux-assisted GTA welding of 904L
plates. It is observed that the welding current plays a significant role in obtaining the depth of penetration. Similarly the

scope of research can be extended by studying the effect of

welding speed, flux and the coating thickness of the flux on
the depth to width ratio, depth of penetration, weldability, and
structureproperty relationships of AISI 904L.

5 Conclusions
This comprehensive study addressed the feasibility of joining
AISI 904L super-austenitic stainless steel by SiO2 fluxassisted GTA welding. The following are the conclusions deduced from the present study.
Table 6
904L

Tensile properties of the flux-assisted GTA weldments of AISI

Mechanical property

Unit

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

Max. load
0.2 % yield strength
Ultimate tensile strength
% Elongation at break
Fracture zone

kN
MPa
MPa
%

14.72
271.63
546.0
35.38
Weld

15.82
279.84
563.0
37.45
Weld

15.40
272.23
548.0
35.33
Weld

15.32
274.56
553.0
36.01

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Int J Adv Manuf Technol

(a)

Table 7

V-notch
deformation

Impact test results of flux-assisted AISI 904L weldments

Mechanical property

Unit

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

Impact toughness

48

48

52

49.3

5. Tensile studies corroborated the fracture experienced at the

fusion zone in all the trials, and the average tensile strength
was reported to be 553 MPa and the joint efficiency of
85.42 % could be ascertained during flux-assisted GTA
welding. Further SEM fractograph results confirmed the ductile mode of fracture by showing micro-voids and dimple
facets.
Acknowledgments The authors convey their sincere thanks to the Department of Science and TechnologyScience and Engineering Research
Board (DSTSERB) for funding this research work (File No. YSS/2014/
000706). The authors also wish to convey their sincere thanks to DST for
equipping our university with Universal Testing Machine under FIST
scheme. The support rendered by Sathyabama University for carrying
out SEM/EDAX analysis is duly acknowledged.

(b)
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Fig. 8 a Impact test carried out on the flux-assisted GTA weldments of
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