TRADE SCHOOL BRIEFS, (091413)

WELDING HINTSSTEEL WITH A HIGH CARBON CONTENT

RALPH BATEMAN

WELDING

• WITHIN THE CRAFT OF WELDING, THE FINISHED PRODUCT IS OF SECONDARY CONSEQUENCE.

• THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IS NOT WHAT WE WELD… IT’S WHAT WE WELD.

• CONFUSED?

I’M REFERRING OF COURSE TO THE MATERIAL, AND NOT ANY PARTICULAR

FINISHED GOODS…

WELDERS WELD METAL.

NOT CARS OR PRESSURE VESSELS OR PIPES OR

STRUCTURE… WE WELD METAL.

Introduction

WELDING

• WE USE TOOLS AND PROCEDURES SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED THAT ALLOW US TO PLY OUR TRADE..

• WE ARE ARTISTS… CRAFTERS OF MOLTEN METAL.

• WE PRODUCE PRODUCTS THAT DRIVE MODERN CIVILIZATION THROUGH THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY.

WELDERS WELD METAL.

Introduction

WELDING

• WE’RE YOU’RE BLACKSMITH’S, YOU’RE RIVETERS, YOU’RE WELDERS.

• WE CONTROL LIGHTENING AT OUR FINGERTIPS.

• WE WORK THE HEAVY STEEL.

• WE WORK THE HIGH STEEL..

• WE WORK THE HEAVY STEEL UP ON HIGH…

WELDERS WELD METAL.

Introduction

WELDING

• WE ARE PROUD, GOOD LOOKING AND BRAVE. WE ARE THE BEST LOV..

OPPS!.. WRONG PRESENTATION..

IF I HAVEN'T MENTIONED IT,

WE WELD METAL

WELDERS WELD METAL.

..AND OUR SKILLS AND ABILITIES ALLOW US TO JOIN

ANY METAL PRODUCT

Introduction

HINT

KNOW THE MATERIAL

BUT REMEMBER…NOT ALL STEELS ARE EQUAL!

IT’S ABOUT THE MATERIAL

>

All

ALWAYS CHECK THE

MILL CERTIFICATE.

IF YOUR SUPERVISOR DOES NOT GIVE OR SHOW YOU COPY.. ASK

FOR IT!

KNOW THE MATERIAL

KNOW THE MATERIAL

YOU NEED TO SEE IT TO DETERMINE

THE

WELDABILITY

OF THE METAL YOU’RE ABOUT TO

WELD.

STEEL IS AN ALLOY

THIS MEANS THAT JUST LIKE YOUR MOM’S APPLE PIE, DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS WERE USED TO

PRODUCE IT.

IT’S THESE ‘INGREDIENTS’ THAT AFFECT

‘WELDABILITY’

… AND YOUR ABILITY TO WELD IT.

STEEL IS AN ALLOY

APPRECIATING THE AFFECTS OF THE INGREDIENTS FOUND IN STEEL WILL MAKE YOU MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE IN YOUR

CRAFT.

It will also make you a better welder..

KNOW THE MATERIAL

LOW COST, IMPORTED STEELS & REDUCED LEVELS OF DOMESTIC VIRGIN STEEL CAN PROVIDE A

CHALLENGE WHEN JOINING THESE METALS.

ALL STEEL IS AN ALLOY

SOME ALLOYS AND PARTICULARLY THOSE ALLOYS

REFERRED TO AS ‘EXOTIC’ DEMAND CARE AND

CONSIDERATION BEFORE STRIKING THE WELDING ARC.

…Never assume a metal is ‘easy’ to weld, check out that Mill cert. before striking an arc

CARBON IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ALLOYING ELEMENT THAT AFFECTS

WELDABILITY. THE SUM TOTAL OF OTHER

ELEMENTS FOUND IN STEEL CAN HAVE A SIMILAR EFFECT AS PURE

HIGH CARBON.

WE CALL THIS THE

CARBON EQUIVALENT

OR

CE VALUE

ALL STEEL IS AN ALLOY

ALWAYS BE AWARE OF THE CE VALUE BEFORE WELDING

HEAVY SECTION STEEL WELDMENTS.

FORMULA TO CALCULATE THE CARBON EQUIVALENT

OF STEEL >>>

THE HIGHER THE VALUE IN EXCESS OF 0.3, THE GREATER THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE STEELS

WELDABILITY

(IT WILL BE INCREASINGLY MORE DIFFICULT TO WELD AND MAY REQUIRE CONTROLLED HEAT TREATMENT)

CE = C +Mn

+Cr + Mo + V

+Ni + Cu

6 5 15

The values for the chemical elements contained inThe steel you’re about to weld will be found in the

mill certificate supplied with the steel.

Plug those values into the formula below todetermine the CE (Carbon Equivalent) of the steel.

(Always include your Engineering resource in these situations)

ALL STEEL IS AN ALLOY

CAUTION.. CE ALERT

BE AWARE OF AND FOLLOW YOUR WPS, CAREFULLY WORKING WITHIN THE ALLOWABLE PARAMETERS AT ALL TIMES. BE EXTRA CAUTIOUS IF HEAT TREATMENT IS CALLED OUT

AND YOU’LL MINIMIZE THE RISK OF MULTIPLE DEFECTS THAT MAY NOT BECOME EVIDENT UNTIL AFTER THE PRODUCT IS IN SERVICE..

WELDING DEFECTS OCCUR PRIMARILY DUE TO IMPROPER

PROCESS, WELDING TECHNIQUE AND WELD CONTAMINATION.

ALWAYS BE AWARE OF THE MATERIAL YOU’RE WELDING.

FOR INFORMATION ON CORROSIVE DEFECTS SUCH AS

HYDROGEN INDUCED CRACKING…

AND FOR ALL YOUR TRAINING NEEDS, CONTACT LABORIGHT

TODAY

WWW.LABORIGHT.COM

'We know your industry's challenges as well as any stakeholder... In fact we've lived them'.