Choosing an Appropriate Steel Filler Metal for the Base Metal Choosing the most appropriate filler metal to use for joining your base metal can pose challenges. This article focuses on carbon steel and steel-alloy base metals and consumables (generally referred to as “steels”), excluding stainless steels, and on filler metal selection based on the type of steel base metal being welded and the related mechanical and/or chemical property requirements for the welding application. Versatile steel — an iron-based or ferrous metal, and one of the most common types of metals — can be alloyed and treated to produce various types of steels, which can be joined by numerous steel-based filler metals during the welding process. Often, more than one filler metal choice is appropriate. In these cases, other factors come into play and deserve mention, as they are also important in making a proper selection for a specific base metal and welding application. These include welding process, welding position, plate thickness, plate surface condition, and electrode size and packaging. Weldability of Steels All steels can be rated on their weldability, which refers to how easy or difficult it is to produce a good-quality, crack-free weld on that particular type of steel. In general, as the carbon and other alloy content in the steel increases, its weldability decreases. Low-carbon steels, with few additional alloying elements, have good weldability. Welds in steels with good weldability are less sensitive to cracking. Low-carbon steels can be joined with a variety of filler metals, using a 52 WELDING JOURNAL / APRIL 2015 These general guidelines will help you select the proper filler metals for some common types of steel BY TOM MYERS The general rule when welding the various types of carbon steel is to select a filler metal with “matching” strength, meaning the filler metal’s tensile strength should be at least as high as that of the base metal.
Welding Journal | April 2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above