Development Of Cost Effective Agglomerated Fluxes From Waste Flux Dust For Submerged Arc Welding

Submerged arc welding contributes to approximately 10% of the total welding. Approximately 10% -15% of the flux gets converted into very fine particles termed as flux dust before and after welding, due to transportation and handling. If welding is performed without removing these very fine particles from the flux, the gases generated during welding are not able to escape, thus it may result into surface pitting (pocking) and even porosity. On the other hand, if these fine particles are removed by sieving, the cost of welding will be increased significantly. And if this flux dust is dumped/ thrown, will create the pollution. Therefore to reduce the cost of welding and pollution, in the present work attempts have been made to develop the acidic and basic agglomerated fluxes by utilizing wasted flux dust. The investigation of the present study showed chemical composition and mechanical properties of the all weld metal prepared from the developed fluxes and the parent fluxes to be in the same range. The welded joints were also found to be radiographically sound. Therefore the developed fluxes prepared from the waste flux dust can be used without any compromise in mechanical properties and quality of the welded joint. It will reduce the cost of welding and pollution.