Microstructure and mechanical properties of similar and dissimilar welding joints of weathering steel and plain carbon steel by GMAW with CO2 shielding gas

The welding joints were investigated due to the significance of similar welding of Corten A weathering steel and its dissimilar welding with St12 plain carbon steel in industrial applications. The gas metal arc welding (GMAW) technique with carbon dioxide shielding gas was utilized in the present work. The welding process comprised current and voltage control, welding wire injection rate, shielding gas rate, welding speed, connection configuration, and microstructure evolution. Mechanical properties and microstructure evolution in similar and dissimilar joints and weld defects were evaluated by tensile, bending, hardness, metallographic, and radiographic tests. The weld microstructure in similar and dissimilar joints included grain boundary ferrite, acicular ferrite, and WidmanStatten ferrite. The tensile strengths of the similar and dissimilar joints were respectively 497 and 303 MPa. The weld zone hardness was 210 and 180 Vickers for similar and dissimilar joints, respectively. In conclusion, similar welding outperformed dissimilar welding considering weld joint defects, mechanical properties, and microstructure.