Sustainable Analysis of Process Parameters During TIG Welding of Dissimilar Joining Between 304 Stainless Steel and AISI 1018 Mild Steel

Introduction

One of the important permanent joining processes is welding process that is used for joining of similar or dissimilar materials with the application of the heat and or the pressure. Good quality welding can be achieved by TIG welding with coalescence of the heat that is generated by the electric arc that is established between the metal and the non-consumable tungsten carbide. Weld contamination is generally avoided by using shielding gas during TIG welding and it also improves various weld characteristics. Generally inert gases are applied as shielding gas. Various Welding Processes are used in manufacturing industries that generally focus on conservation of energy. Selection of proper optimum parameters during welding plays an important role for obtaining sustainability in part manufacturing. Welding of dissimilar metals is extensively applied in very high temperature structures. Stainless steel is used in various power plants in various structures that are subjected to very high temperature. TIG welding of dissimilar materials such as mild steel (MS-108) and stainless steel (SS-304) have the potentiality for holding better metallurgical and mechanical properties. TIG welding of dissimilar metals is carried out that can be extensively used in various applications such as in reheaters, pressure vessels, reactors and heat exchangers. Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding is an electric arc welding process in which a tungsten electrode which is non-consumable and an arc is generated between the workpiece and tip of an electrode. For avoiding air contamination with the weld; metals inert gas i.e. argon, helium etc. are generally used. TIG welding is widely used in automobile, food processing, nuclear, aircraft and precision manufacturing industries etc. The present work deals with the optimization of the consumed electrical energy to reduce consumption of energy during welding that aids to sustainable manufacturing. The present work also focuses to optimize tensile strength and to observe most significant process parameters that affect energy consumption and tensile strength.