Diffusible Hydrogen Control in Flux Cored Arc Welding Process

One of the types of hydrogen degradation of steel welded joints is cold cracking. The direct cause of the formation of cold cracks is simultaneous presence of hydrogen, residual stresses and brittle structure. The way of preventing the occurring of degradation is to eliminate at least one of these factors. Practice has shown that the best solution is to control the amount of hydrogen in deposited metal. In this paper an experimental evaluation of the effect of the welding parameters on the content of diffusible hydrogen in deposited metal obtained from rutile flux cored wire grade H10 was carried out. The state of the art of considered issues was described and results of preliminary investigations were presented. Five factors were considered: the flow rate of shielding gas, the welding current, the arc voltage, the welding speed and the electrode extension. All factors were optimized using a Plackett-Burman design to get the most relevant variables. The level of diffusible hydrogen was determined by a glycerin test. The results of the experiment indicate that appropriate choice of welding parameters may significantly reduce diffusible hydrogen content in deposited metal.