ISSN: 2319-8753

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 2, Issue 8, August 2013

PROPERTIES EVALUATION OF SHIELDED

METAL ARC WELDED MEDIUM CARBON
STEEL MATERIAL
R. A. Mohammed1, M. Abdulwahab*2, E. T. Dauda3
Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria 1
Lecturer I, Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria2
Associate Professor, Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria3

Abstract: This work investigated the mechanical and metallurgical properties of medium carbon steel using
shielded metal arc welding process (SMAW) with reference to the weld metal, heat affected zone and parent metal.
From the results, shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) of medium carbon steel increased the strength of the welded
joint in particular the heat affected zone (HAZ), as revealed by lower impact strength, higher tensile strength and
hardness values as compared with the parent and weld metal which is attributed to the fine ferrite matrix and fine
pearlite distribution as compared to the weld and parent metal. However, there was a loss of ductility at the welded
joint resulting to brittleness of the material.

Keywords: Medium carbon steel, heat affected zone, grain refinement, mechanical properties

I. INTRODUCTION
Welding is a method of repairing or creating metal structures by joining the pieces of metals or plastic through
various fusion processes. Generally heat is used to weld the materials. Welding equipments can utilize flames,
electric arc or laser light to produce heat [1]. The earliest evidence of welding can be dated back to the middle ages
(Bronze Age). Examples of this were welded gold boxes. Egyptians learnt the art of welding; several of their iron
tools were made by welding. During this period a set of specialized workmen called the blacksmiths came to the
fore. Blacksmiths of the middle ages welded various types of iron tools by hammering (forge welding). The welding
methods remained unchanged until the dawn of the 19th century [1]. Arc welding and oxy-fuel welding were
developed late in the century and electric resistance welding followed soon after [2, 3]. After the end of World War
1(1919), the American Welding Society was established with the aim of advancing welding processes. Some of the
most recent developments in welding include the friction welding process developed in Russia and the laser welding
[1]. However within the past fifty years, there has been a great improvement in the technical and scientific
knowledge and equipment in welding.
Welding is more economical, convenient and less susceptible to failure or corrosion as compared to other joining
processes. Owing to the advantages of welding over other joining process, numerous welding processes have been
developed [4]. As an industrial process, the cost of welding plays a crucial role in manufacturing decisions. Many
different variables affect the total cost, including equipment cost, labor cost, material cost, and energy cost [5].
Depending on the process, equipment cost can vary, from inexpensive for methods like shielded metal arc welding
and oxy-fuel welding, to extremely expensive for methods like laser beam welding and electron beam welding.
Because of their high cost, they are only used in high production operations. The cost of materials includes the cost
of the base and filler material, and the cost of shielding gases. Finally, energy cost depends on arc time and welding
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 ISSN: 2319-8753

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 2, Issue 8, August 2013

power demand [5]. For manual welding methods, labor costs generally make up the vast majority of the total cost.
As a result, many cost-saving measures are focused on minimizing operation time. To do this, welding procedures
with high deposition rates can be selected, and weld parameters can be fine-tuned to increase welding speed.
Mechanization and automation are often implemented to reduce labor costs, but this frequently increases the cost of
equipment and creates additional setup time. Material costs tend to increase when special properties are necessary,
and energy costs normally do not amount to more than several percent of the total welding cost [5].

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Steel containing carbon content of 0.30 to 0.45 is referred to as medium carbon
steel. These steels are used for making connecting rods, gear shafts, axles, spring clips, wires and rods, automobile
engineering, structural engineering, constructions [4]. During applications, these materials are subjected to welding,
hence, the effect of welding process on the general mechanical properties of steel needs to be known to ensure
effective performance in service condition.

Materials are tested for one or more of the following purposes:

1. To determine numerically the mechanical properties i.e. ductility, malleability, hardness, toughness,
2. To determine certain data i.e. stress, strain values to draw up sets of specifications upon which the engineer
can base his design,
3. To check chemical composition and to determine the suitability of materials for a particular application.

The study of weld metallurgy is very important because the overall mechanical properties, of a weldment are
determined by the characteristic properties of individual microstructure present in the weld deposit and the weld heat
affected zone. It has been long recognized that one of the major problems associated with welding fabrication arises
from the inability to obtain uniform mechanical properties throughout the weldment. Both chemical inhomogeneity
and changes in metallurgical structure result during welding operations because most fusion welding processes
generates high rates of heating and cooling in the weld metal and parent metal adjacent or the weld [6, 7-11]. In the
present study, effort have been made to analyze the mechanical and metallurgical properties of medium carbon steel
using shielded metal arc welding process.

II. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

A. Materials
Medium carbon steel rods of dimension of 12 mm diameter were used. The chemical composition of as-received
steel material obtained from Spectro Steel Company, Lagos, Nigeria can be found in Table 1:
Table 1. Chemical composition of the medium carbon steel rod used

Element C Si Mn P S Cr Mo

% 0.306 0.289 0.620 0.0110 0.0516 0.131 0.0142

Composition

Ni Al Cu V Pb Sn Fe
0.0642 0.0580 0.185 0.0038 0.0072 0.0858 98.0
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 ISSN: 2319-8753

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 2, Issue 8, August 2013

An electrode having a rating E6013 and a composition of 0.12%C, 0.1%Si and 0.45%Mn were used. The electrode
is coated with titanium-potassium materials which can be operated in all positions. It has a diameter of 3.2 mm and a
length of 350 mm which has an advantage of deep penetration.

B. Method
Mild steel rods of diameter 12 mm were sectioned using a hacksaw and coolant into twenty pieces. Four of the
pieces out of the total specimens were un-welded and sixteen were each beveled around the edges with the aid of a
grinding machine to an angle of 300 to horizontal. The beveled faces were cleaned properly and smoothened to
ensure a sound weld. Heat generated was minimized to avoid changes in the microstructure of the specimen. The
faces of two pieces of the beveled rods were placed 5 mm apart from each other, and welding machine was
appropriately set. The proper amperage and voltage were set. The electrode was placed in the holder and the welding
machine was turned on. The assembly was tack-welded to ensure alignment and an arc was struck. A single bead
was made to ensure uniform fusion of the rods. The weld was de-slagged, cleaned and welded again. The finished
bead was spread round the joint to ensure proper weld. After the final welding process a grinding machine was used
to clean the weld. The specimen was allowed to cool before further investigation was carried out. An analysis of the
weldments of medium carbon steel was carried out to determine some mechanical and chemical properties with
reference to the parent metal, HAZ and the weld metal. The specimens were machined carefully to the required
dimensions for tensile, impact, hardness and microstructure analysis. Excess heat generated was avoided and surface
uniformity was ensured when using the lathe machine.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Results
The variation in the load-extension for the first, second and third samples from the parent metal and welded
specimen can be found in Figures 1-3. While the micrographs of the weld metal, HAZ and parent metal are
presented in Plates 1-3.
B. Discussion
1) Weld metal and Heat affected zone (welded specimen)
From the micrograph in Plate 1, the microstructure reveals coarse pearlite grains distributed (black) in a ferrite
matrix (white) indicating a slow rate of cooling. This slow cooling rate is due to the number of passes/beads applied
to the weld during the welding process. Mechanical test on this specimen reveals an average hardness value of 54.0
HRA as compared with the parent metal hardness of 50.1 HRA. Visual observation of the fractured surface shows a
less fibrous surface. This shows a decrease in ductility of the specimen as seen. From the micrograph in Plate 2, the
microstructure reveals fine ferrite grain matrix (white) in fine pearlite distribution (black) indicating grain
refinement. This grain refinement is as a result of the heat generated at the weld. The mechanical evaluation of this
specimen shows that its zone has the highest hardness value with an average of 56.3 HRA with a lower impact
energy of 39.53 J compared to the un-welded specimen.

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 ISSN: 2319-8753

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 2, Issue 8, August 2013

Un-welded metal
LOAD (KN)

Welded metal

EXTENSION (mm)

Fig. 1 Variation of load-extension for the first specimen in the parent metal and the welded specimen super-imposed
on each other
LOAD (KN)

Un-welded metal

Welded metal

EXTENSION (mm)

Fig. 2 Variation of load-extension for the second specimen in the parent metal and the welded specimen super-
imposed on each other

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 ISSN: 2319-8753

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 2, Issue 8, August 2013

LOAD (KN)

Un-welded metal

Welded metal

EXTENSION (mm)

Fig. 3 Variation of load-extension for the third specimen in the parent metal and the welded specimen super-
imposed on each other

It has tensile and yield strength of 612.24 N/mm2 and 454.08 N/mm2. Hence this shows that this specimen is the
least ductile as compared to the parent metal and the welded joint. These have been shown in Figures 1-3. Visual
observation of the fractured surface shows a crystalline surface. This indicates that the specimen was brittle and
failure occurred with lower plastic deformation as compared to the parent metal and weld metal. The investigation
of the effects of shielded metal arc welding on the mechanical and metallurgical properties of medium carbon steel
under the present investigation has been able to predict the behavior of the material under examination. This will
enabled some metallurgical treatment be carried out in order to make the material withstand failure during service
condition.

2) Parent metal (un-welded specimen)

From the micrograph in Plate 3, the microstructure reveals predominant coarse ferrite grain matrix (white) in pearlite
distribution (black) indicating no changes in microstructure due to heat generated at the weld. Mechanical tests on
this specimen show an average hardness value of 50.1 HRA, impact strength of 53.89 J, a tensile and yield strength
of 596.64 N/mm2 and 438.78 N/mm2 respectively. Visual observation of the fractured surfaces shows a fibrous
surface. This shows that plastic deformation occurred before fracture of the specimen.

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 ISSN: 2319-8753

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

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(ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 2, Issue 8, August 2013

Plate 1 Microstructure of the weld metal specimen showing coarse pearlite (black) grains in ferrite matrix (white)
(x200)

Plate 2 Microstructure of the heat affected zone specimen revealing a fine ferrite matrix (white) in fine pearlite
distribution (black) (x200)

Plate 3 Microstructure of the parent metal specimen revealing predominantly coarse ferrite matrix (white) in pearlite
distribution (black) (x200)
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International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

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Vol. 2, Issue 8, August 2013

IV. CONCLUSIONS

From the results of the investigation, the heat generated by SMAW process promotes mechanical and metallurgical
changes along the weld profile. Hence the following conclusions were made:

1. The parent metal (un-welded specimen) had the highest toughness and is the most ductile as compared to
the heat affected zone and the weld metal.
2. The weld metal possessed an appreciable amount of hardness and a deep in toughness showing less
ductility than the parent metal, but more ductile than the heat affected zone.
3. The heat affected zone possessed the highest hardness, tensile strength and least impact strength showing
that it is the most brittle as compared to the weld metal and the parent metal.
4. That shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) of medium carbon steel increased the strength of the welded
joint in particular the heat affected zone, as revealed by lower impact strength, higher tensile strength and
hardness values as compared to the parent and weld metal.

V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge with thanks the equipment support of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials
Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria during the research work.

REFERENCES
[1] The history of welding, www.gowelding.org/History-of -welding.html
[2] William, A. Bowditch and Kevin E. Bowditch, “Welding Technology Fundamental”, Good heart-Wilcox
Company Inc., USA, 1991.
[3] wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/welding.
[4] Khanna, O. P., “Material Science and Metallurgy”, Dhanpat Ral Publication Ltd, New Delhi, 1999.
[5] Weman, K., “Welding processes Hand Book”, New York CRC Press, pp. 184-189, 2003.
[6] Welding Technology, www.welding-technology-machines.info/metallurgy of welding-brazing-soldering
[7] Cary, H. B. and Scott, C. H., “Modern welding technology”, Pearson Education, New Jersey, 2005.
[8] Brumbaugh, E. J., “Welders Guide”, Howard W. and Co, Inc., USA, 1979.
[9] Davies, A.C., “Science and Practice of Welding”, 10th Ed., Cambridge University Press, London, 1992.
[10] Tweedale, J. G., “Metallurgical Principles for Engineers”, Chapel River, London, 1962.
[11] Peter, F. W., “Fundamental of Welding Skills”, Macmillan Press, London, 1976.

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