Performance of activated TIG welding in 304 austenitic stainless steel welds

Six different types of oxides Cr2O3, FeO, Fe2O3, MoO3, SiO2, and Al2O3 were used to investigate the effect of oxide flux on weld morphology, microstructure and mechanical properties in 304 austenitic stainless steel welded joints. An autogenous TIG welding was used to join 8mm thick austenitic stainless steel plate and a thin layer of oxide was applied prior to welding. The results indicated that there was a significant increase in penetration depth on using metal oxides but Al2O3 does not give satisfactory result. The microstructures were found to be different on using different oxides. The mechanical properties of the weld were almost similar to that of parent metal. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.