INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF WELDING PASTE CONTAINING GRAPHENE NANOSHEETS ON BONDING PROPERTIES OF WELDED AISI 304 STAINLESS STEEL PRODUCED BY FLUX-CORED ARC WELDING

In this research, the effect of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets on the mechanical and microstructural properties of AISI 304 stainless steel welded joints produced by the flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) method was investigated. Light microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and tensile strength test were used to characterize the samples. GO was synthesized by modified Hummers’ method and reduced by hydrazine. Accordingly, the pastes of GO and RGO in different concentrations of 1, 3, and 10 mg/ml were applied in the groove. The results demonstrated that increasing the RGO concentration up to 10 mg/ml improves the tensile strength and hardness values of welded joints up to 23% and 43%, respectively. It seems that RGO nanosheets have a significant effect on the mechanical properties of the welded joints by pinning of dislocations.